Building Cities, Rebuilding Careers in Construction: Anna Stutler

Over the course of the first 10 months of the pandemic, women lost more jobs than men—a net of 5.4 million jobs during the recession—nearly 1 million more job losses than men[1]. Access to childcare and other barriers left many women struggling to make it work. What’s more, a January report from the Texas Workforce Commission [2] indicates that of the new entrants into Texas’ labor force, women were the predominant group over men in terms of number (23,400 vs. 16,500 in December 2020 alone).

With many sectors in turmoil, and Texas experiencing a building boom, many women have reason to look to a less likely industry: commercial construction. The opportunities are plentiful, growth potential promising and the pay more equitable. And women should not be daunted by the prototypical image of burly construction workers. The reality is women in construction are a growing force in Texas and across the region.

Construction is in my blood. My father is in residential building, and my older brother is a developer. Along with my mom, a business owner and outstanding role model in her own right, they encouraged me to follow whatever career path I wanted to. Initially, it was engineering, but that didn’t stick. An early love of Lincoln Logs and Lego blocks led me to a love of working with my hands, ultimately taking me on to the construction sites in my community. After Hurricane Harvey, I traveled to southeast Texas to help rebuild desperately needed hospitals. It confirmed my love for construction and led me to where I am today.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics [3], 10.9% of construction professionals nationally are women. Naturally, this does not represent the general population and means that the commercial construction industry isn’t yet taking full advantage of the skills, perspectives and experiences the workforce has to offer.

In 2017, women held nearly 136,000 jobs in construction in Texas. Those jobs generate additional business activities that ultimately support about 162,000 jobs in all other industries of the Texas economy. Women account for 19 percent of the state’s 726,000 jobs in this sector.

Of all sectors of the Texas economy, construction has the lowest share of jobs held by women, although their concentration in these jobs is higher in Texas than in the nation—nearly double the national average.

It’s time to help women get more involved. Let’s encourage high school and college students to explore STEM careers, and their younger sisters to pick up those building toys like I did. Trips to science museums, learning problem solving techniques and how to make things work with my hands sparked my interest in this field from a really young age.

As time goes on, I’ve noticed that construction is more than just a traditional industry. Modern companies have embraced technology, diversity and inclusion initiatives, have flexible employment arrangements and, what’s more, the pay is better and far more equitable than many industries. Whereas women in the U.S. earn on average 81.1 percent of what men make, the gender pay gap is significantly smaller in construction occupations, with women earning on average 99.1 percent of what men make [4].

This week (March 7 – 14), is Women in Construction Week, an annual campaign to highlight women as an important and growing component of the construction industry. For women and young girls considering new possibilities whether they are graduating, re-entering the workforce or changing careers, construction can open a whole new world of opportunity while contributing to building the places and spaces that make our economies thrive.

[1] “All of the Jobs Lost in December Were Women’s Jobs”, Washington: National Women’s Law Center, 2021