Every year in March, construction professionals across North America celebrate Women in Construction Week (WIC Week), an initiative dedicated to recognizing and promoting the contributions of women in the construction industry. Organizations such as the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) in the United States and the Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC) play pivotal roles by hosting events and providing educational resources to companies and institutions. 

While WIC Week often highlights the industry's shortcomings in gender inclusion and advancement, it is also a time to shed light on the positive strides being made. For instance, the U.S. construction industry boasts one of the smallest wage gaps between men and women. While women in the United States earn just 81% of what their male counterparts make, this discrepancy is much smaller in the construction industry, where women earn an average of 95% of what men earn. In Canada, women constitute more of the construction workforce than any other country, largely thanks to institutions offering free or low-cost apprenticeship and training programs to women.

To celebrate this WIC Week, we explored various initiatives in the United States and Canadian construction industries that are prompting the growth and advancement of female construction employees.

To address the global labor shortage in construction, the industry is tapping into a previously underutilized workforce: women. An increased focus on strategic recruitment, educational programs and long-term mentorship initiatives has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of women joining the construction industry.

“To help women build futures in the industry at all levels, we have to offer ongoing support,” says Jaime McGavin, Human Resources director at PCL Construction. “This means offering internal mentoring, in addition to investing in external training initiatives, like we do at PCL.” 

Federal funding in the United States, such as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, is creating opportunities to encourage women to join the construction industry. According to the Wall Street Journal, the federal government is collaborating with tradeswomen organizations and local governments to help women enter the workforce to support major infrastructure construction projects across the country.

Additionally, organizations like STEM Blazers, proudly supported by PCL, offer outreach, education and mentorship to young women, encouraging them to pursue careers in STEM. For women interested in pursuing a career in the skilled trades, the federal government provides grants through the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) program. In 2024, the WANTO program awarded $6 million to nine organizations across the United States that provide training and career development programs in the skilled trades.  

In Canada, initiatives such as Girls Exploring Trades and Technology (GETT), a Skills Canada initiative supported by PCL, celebrate women in trade and technology careers. The GETT program provides high school girls with insights into trade careers, broadening their understanding of available career paths.

For women further along in their careers or seeking new opportunities, there are advanced training programs. Women Building Futures, another program supported by PCL, provides free training and support services for women interested in pursuing a career in the skilled trades. In 2019, Canada’s Building Trades Unions launched Offices to Advance Women Apprentices (OAWA) in several provinces. This initiative allocated $3.1 million to support tradeswomen in finding employment and advancing in their skilled trades careers. Additional federal funding came in 2024, when the Canadian government provided over $7 million to Build a Dream and Women's Enterprise Skills Training (WEST) of Windsor Inc., organizations dedicated to encouraging and supporting women in STEM fields and skilled trades.  

The success of these initiatives can be measured by the stunning growth of women construction workers. In Canada, women make up 13% of the construction workforce, higher than any other country. Although this figure may seem modest, it is steadily growing – in 2024, the Canadian construction industry reported a decline in male employment but an increase in female workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2012, approximately 800,000 women were employed in the U.S. construction industry. By 2024, this number had risen to 1.3 million. 

“The quantity of our female project management staff has increased exponentially in recent years,” says Mike Headrick, a senior vice president and district manager for PCL’s California office. “I think women have realized that it's not just a man's industry anymore, and they are actively participating in it.” 

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in support for women actively working on construction sites, according to Theresa Segovia, a project manager with PCL. 

"When I started my career eight years ago, there were only a few women on project sites, but I've seen a significant increase in the number of female field employees in recent years," Segovia says. Segovia credits growing support systems and the company culture at PCL. "There are so many more resources available for women interested in field roles, and I’ve always felt included on every team I’ve been on at PCL – there's a strong culture of inclusion.”

An example of this support can be seen in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) updated federal safety rules that require construction companies to provide employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) that properly fits all body types. For decades, there has been a “shrink it and pink it” approach to PPE – taking male PPE and offering smaller sizes with stereotypically feminine design touches. However, wearing PPE designed for men can be uncomfortable and even dangerous for women on jobsites. OSHA’s new standards will require companies to offer PPE that is designed for and actually fits women.

The construction industry is also finding other solutions to support female workers, like offering complimentary milk shipping for traveling employees who are nursing, a program PCL has proudly adopted, and introducing lactation pods onto construction sites to help nursing mothers return to work. Through a partnership between the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association and the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers, lactation pods were rolled out to jobsites in Washington state in 2023. These pods, which resemble larger, weatherproof portable toilets, are accessed by keyless remote locks and feature a seating area, sink, cleaning supplies, solar plug-ins for equipment, a refrigerator to store milk, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. 

These advancements demonstrate a growing commitment to creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in the construction industry.

“At PCL, a part of our purpose is our commitment to supporting the communities we live and work in,” says McGavin. “I think encouraging and supporting women in construction is just another vein of how we support the communities that we build in. It's investing in the legacy of our communities.”  

This sentiment is echoed across the industry, as initiatives continue to evolve, fostering a more inclusive and supportive working environment for women. As we celebrate Women in Construction Week, it's clear that the strides being made to build a stronger, more diverse, and equitable future for the construction industry.