WASHINGTON, D.C. - While women continue to make significant inroads in the woodworking and construction industries, there's plenty of room to grow. As we commemorate Women in Construction Week, March 6-12, here are some interesting facts and references about women in woodworking and construction, and about the week:

• Founded by the National Association of Women in Construction in 1998,  the goal of Women in Construction Week is to raise awareness and recognize the work of women in the construction industry across the country. This year’s theme is ‘Envision Equity.’

• One area lacking equity is the overall pay scale. While the gender-based wage gap in the United States has narrowed in recent years, there continues to be disparities; in general, in 2020 women earned 83 cents to every dollar earned by men. View the infographic by the U.S. Census Bureau which identifies the overall wage gap by gender throughout the United States. Only Puerto Rico had no gap in median earnings between men and women.

• According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women comprised 17.4% of the roughly 427,000 wood products manufacturing jobs, and 25.7% of the 370,000 furniture and related product manufacturing jobs in 2021. With regard to those in furniture and related product manufacturing, 85.9% of women identified as White, 9.2% Black or African American, 2.1% Asian and 25.3% Hispanic or Latino. The numbers for general wood products manufacturing were 85.9% White, 9.6% Black or African American, 0.7% Asian and 19.7% Hispanic or Latino.

Related to that, of the 11.3 million construction jobs in the U.S., 11.0% are held by women; 87.9% White, 6.3% Black or African American, 2.1% Asian and 32.6% Hispanic or Latino. (Source: BLS/Labor force statistics from the current population survey, household data annual averages for 2021)

• Despite an estimated 1.2 million women working in construction, along with pay inequality they face gender bias, discrimination "and a bunch of mansplaining," all too frequently.  How Construction Women are Using TikTok To Battle Discrimination A recent study, How Construction Women are Using TikTok to Battle Discrimination, by Workwear Guru found women have turned to social media "to show the prejudice they confront every day, inspire each other to speak up, and showcase their competencies within the industry."

Workwear Guru reviewed hundreds of videos on TikTok published with #womeninconstruction and #womenintrades. It used the videos to map out the discrimination women face and the frequent comments they receive in their workplace, and also conducted interviews. Among the comments cited: "coworkers persist on calling you babe;" hearing "so how did a pretty girl like you end up in construction;" "getting mansplained how to do my job;" being told "love the effort, but women still belong in the kitchen, not a job site. You're hot tho [sic]."

Among the findings, "Companies need to develop gender-inclusive hiring practices to recruit more women, such as removing gender names from the [conversations]. This way, the companies decrease the unconscious bias toward women joining the industry...At the same time, construction companies need to educate young women about the industry, presenting the whole spectrum of careers it offers."

And, it said, "As more women join construction, the industry’s profitability will increase. The latest McKinsey report on diversity shows that organizations with more women in executive positions are 25% more likely to achieve above-average profitability than less diverse companies."

Virtual events

• The National Association of Women in Construction has week-long events planned. Click here to find out more about the virtual events, including those in specific states.

• March 8: Women in Forestry Virtual Summit, hosted by the Canadian Forest Industries, Pulp & Paper Canada, Canadian Biomass and Opérations Forestières et de Scierie, beginning at 11:00 EST. Click here link to register or view more information.

• A number of events are also planned for International Women's Day is also on March 8.

• March 9: Building a Brighter Future: Engaging Women in Construction free virtual event/panel discussion, 12-1:30 EST, hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor in conjunction with others. Click here to register or view more information.
 
• As a final note, another source for networking and information is the LinkedIn Group Women of Woodworking (WOW). The WOW group was established to provide a forum and gathering space for women working in wood products manufacturing and related businesses. Keep watch for in-person meetings at trade shows and other events.