'There is a place for you': Increase in women in construction highlighted at event

WORCESTER — For Jody Staruk, the first female project executive at Consigli Construction Co., Inc., and a member of the board of directors at Girls Inc. of Worcester, it was clear that female representation in the construction industry had changed over her career when she met with the all-female management team overseeing renovations to the YWCA.

“I went from the only woman in the room to only women in the room,” Staruk told members of the Eureka! program at Girls Inc., Wednesday.

And last week, Staruk, labor leaders and female construction workers building UMass Chan Medical School’s new education and research building, had a message to the next generation of women considering the construction field.

“You’re wanted,” Fred Taylor, business representative for North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 336, in Worcester, said at a Friday event at the medical school for students at Worcester Technical High School.

In fact, Taylor noted that municipalities like Worcester and Boston were specifically looking for female representation in construction — setting diversity, equity and inclusion goals for municipal projects.

“There is a place for you,” Taylor said. “Always.”

Last week was Women in Construction Week, and several construction and construction-related businesses took the opportunity to host events that showcased the opportunities in the field for women.

Women represented 10.9% of the construction workforce in 2022, according to the National Association of Women in Construction, representing about 1.1 million individuals. Women made  up 9.9% of the construction workforce at the end of 2018.

According to the association, the gender pay gap is also significantly smaller in construction jobs. Women in the United States earn on average 82.9% of what men make. In construction jobs, women earn on average 95.5% of what men earn.

Decent pay

And that pay can be pretty good.

While construction workers make between $27,000 and $56,000 annually in Massachusetts, according to various career websites, there are so many construction-related careers that pay significantly higher and are also part of the building team.

For instance, workers represented during Friday's conference at UMass Chan included carpenters, glaziers, electricians, painters, HVAC technicians and more.

Then there are the related jobs that are primarily office based - the engineers, architects and financiers, project managers, support staff and more.

“They’re really good paying jobs,” Victoria Waterman, CEO of Girls Inc. said Wednesday. “At Girls Inc. we set our girls up to be self-sustaining financially and it’s a great pathway for a career.

“The beauty of construction is you can do as much or as little education as possible and still have a pathway,” Waterman continued.

Pathway starts early

That pathway for many started pretty early.

At Girls Inc. last week, young women from the Eureka! program — a five-year leadership program offering hands-on opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math — discussed their experience with the program and their future plans.

Thirty girls participated in a cohort which graduates from high school this year and was sponsored by Milford-based Consigli Construction.

Members of the cohort have been able to visit Consigli job sites, learned about the construction industry from the company’s female leaders and some members have interned with the company.

“It’s important that we’re bringing girls up through the ranks and telling them what they can do,” said Pam Daly, who's director of financial systems at Consigli, and president of the board of directors at Girls Inc. of Worcester. “Women in construction are still a minority. As you see these positions as something you want to do, we will change that.”

Staruk agreed.

“The construction industry has evolved tremendously and girls like those in our Eureka! cohort are driving change and bringing awareness to the next generation of female builders about what kinds of doors are open for them,” Staruk said. “I am excited to see the real progress these girls will bring to our industry, as they wholeheartedly embrace the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Worcester Tech students attend conference

Meanwhile, at UMass Chan, dozens of students at Worcester Technical High School heard from female workers about everything from saving money when the field can slow down in the winter, to dealing with sexist men on the job site, to finding a job, to dressing in layers during the winter, to driving over a bridge that you built, to the question of which gender whines more on the job site…to which the room answered “the men” in unison.

“The same thing men can do, you can do,” Sonia Oquendo, a worker at the site, said. “As females we can do it.”

Rebecca Sturtevant agreed.

“We make up 50% of the population. Why can’t we make up 50% on the job site?” Sturtevant asked. “We can do it.”

Students interviewed got the message.

“It helped me get rid of all the doubts I had about being women in the field because I felt like we were supported in there,” Devine Saez, a carpentry student in her senior year at Worcester Tech, said.

Lilliann Gonzalez agreed.

“In the end there will always be someone who will accept you and that’s important,” Gonzalez said.

Catherine Pena, a foreman carpenter who emceed the event, said that she was likewise inspired by the event.

“It’s exciting to see so many hardworking women and so many experienced women on this job site,” Pena said, noting she began carpentry in 1997. “I’m so excited about how much has changed and how much opportunity there is.

“You can do whatever you want,” Pena continued. "The sky’s the limit. And now’s the time to get in because we’re being embraced.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'There is a place for you': Increase in women in construction celebrated