By Karli Langner
Now, 100 years after women gained voting rights in the U.S., women are participating in the workforce at nearly the highest level ever, making them even more economically crucial as workers and consumers. There is still a long way to go in terms of hiring discrimination, gender pay gap, and lack of advancement opportunities. Industries typically dominated by men can present even more barriers that women must overcome.
The latest U.S. statistics show that 9.9 percent of workers are females, while the rest are male, with 90.1 percent. Even so, women are shattering the glass ceiling every day and exploring their passions in this “man’s world.”
When I think about prominent female leaders in this industry, I am reminded of three very influential women that I’ve had the privilege of working with in the past: Anne Ellis, Julie Garbini, and Tammy Presswood.
Anne Ellis is a structural engineer by background. She started her career in a four-person engineering office and worked her way to executive-level positions in a Fortune 500, fully-integrated infrastructure company. Today, Anne has her own consulting business.
Julie Garbini has nearly 30 years of experience in the concrete and construction industries, first with Associated Builders and Contractors, later with the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, where her final position was senior vice president. Julie then moved over to run the Ready Mixed Concrete (RMC) Research and Education Foundation, which funds research and education initiatives for the concrete industry.
Tammy Presswood began her career with Harper Industries in 2004 and has served in various capacities. She accepted her current position in 2016 as the President of Federal Materials Company, a ready-mix supplier servicing western Kentucky.
I had the opportunity to work with these incredible women on a webinar that addressed many of these challenges that I listed above. Many of the statistics that molded the issues discussed in the webinar were based on research collected in January of 2018 from Randstad, a human resource consulting firm.
GENDER BIAS
Despite women painting major strokes on the leadership front, 73 percent of women feel they have been passed over for promotions or projects because of their gender, not their skills. Unconscious bias is a significant factor in this.
Gender bias is often completely unintentional, and both men and women are guilty of it. Tammy has a background in human resources, and although she is a woman, she has been biased towards applicants for certain positions.
“Even with a 15-year H.R. background, I’ve had biased opinions when recruiting,” says Tammy. “Years ago, I initially eliminated female applicants for a multi-division safety manager position. When I made a second pass at those resumes, that oversight was glaring to me. Unconsciously, I thought of that position as a ‘male’ position, only because in the years that I had been in the H.R. field, only males had held it.”
After reconsidering those resumes and conducting interviews with other managers (who were not aware of Tammy’s original passes), they found the strongest candidate to be a woman.
Tammy states that if you catch yourself feeling biased, try and take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Just because someone who fits a specific mold has previously done well in the role doesn’t mean that someone with a different background can’t bring the same or even more to that position. Tammy says that other perspectives should always be welcomed when searching for new talent, and steps need to be taken to ensure that women do not write off their call to fill a position.
“Research shows that women will only apply to a job if they meet 100 percent of the criteria, while men will usually apply if they meet just 60 percent of the listed requirements. Employers need to ensure job description languages are written so that they do not dissuade women from applying for these roles.”
GENDER PAY GAP
We know the gender pay gap is narrowing; in 1979, females were only making 62 percent of what males were. However, the construction industry has an opportunity to bridge the gap further with many job descriptions and essential job functions being the same for females as males.
Anne has served in many leadership positions in which she had men who directly reported to her. She says that serving in these capacities, she learns that men and women approach their compensation extraordinarily differently.
“It has been my experience that men are very aggressive,” says Anne. “They are very clear about their expectations of how much money they want to make and are aggressive about initiating the conversation. I found that no sooner had we gone through the annual raise process, they were back in my door advocating for the next year, regardless of how well they had done. I found that women are much more passive.”
Discussing salary is always difficult as an employee, and typically even harder for women. Anne’s advice to women to help close this gender pay gap is to not be afraid to advocate for yourself and the compensation you believe you deserve based on your performance. If you indicate gender pay gap variances, don’t be afraid to continue asking up the chain of command, because that is the only way it will improve.
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
Unfortunately, 60 percent of gender discrimination victims in the workplace are women. There are many reasons, but one that resonates with many women across the industry is the balance of career and family. According to the AGC (The Associated General Contractors of America), it’s expected that by 2020, women will make up 25 percent of the construction industry. If this comes to fruition, there will inevitably be more moms who will struggle with this balance.
Julie says that while she was pregnant, she was asked if she intended to return to work, and whether she would still be able to perform her duties, such as frequent travel, after having a child. We live in a society where women—even women who have incredibly demanding careers—are considered the primary caregiver for children. The unfortunate reality is that women who want to continue their careers must prove themselves to their colleagues and supervisors.
“While I don’t feel it was intentional gender bias or discrimination, the unfortunate truth is that women continue to get asked these questions, while men generally do not. I think a way that you can handle this is to be proactive about it before people even raise the question,” says Julie. “You can talk about your intention to move forward and your vision for the future of your role in the organization, as well as make suggestions for how your duties can be managed while you are on leave immediately after having or adopting a child. Being clear about your commitment to the success of the organization can go a long way.”
Another issue is that women who desire to start families often are not offered maternity leave. Most organizations require women to take half disability, only receiving 60 percent of their pay. Only bringing home a little more than half of your regular income is extremely daunting.
“I think if we’re going to compete with all the other industries out there and attract a diverse workforce, flexible work schedules and benefits like family leave are something that companies should strongly consider. For both women and men, it is has become an important recruitment and retention tool and can generate a huge return on investment in terms of that employee’s level of commitment,” says Julie.
CHANGE IS CRUCIAL
One big takeaway from the webinar is that this industry and others need both men and women to enhance performance and decision-making.
“A simplistic, but vital part of effective communication with any diverse group is understanding our own biases and how our experience and values shape our views,” says Tammy. “We should not and cannot assume others think like us. It’s a fact—it’s not stereotypical—that men and women communicate differently. Understanding those differences helps us build relationships that foster a high-performing workforce.”
CLOSING THOUGHT
The construction industry ranks lowest in terms of improvement and productivity over the last 50 years when you look at other major industries. From a worker shortage standpoint and an innovation standpoint, it’s critically important that we attract a more diverse workforce by adapting and accommodating their needs. Not only will this create a competitive advantage for individual companies, but it is also crucial for our industry going forward.
About the author:
Karli Langner has been with Command Alkon, the provider of the Leading Supplier Collaboration Platform for Heavy Work, for 3 years. She currently serves as the content specialist on their corporate marketing team. In her role, Karli focuses on media relations, content creation, and media buying. She graduated from Jacksonville State University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in communications with a focus in public relations. Command Alkon is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, and has offices in locations around the globe. For more, visit commandalkon.com.
If interested in watching the full webinar mentioned in this article, visit mastery.commandalkon.com/people-in-command/wic-webinar.
Modern Contractor Solutions, October 2020
Did you enjoy this article?
Subscribe to the FREE Digital Edition of Modern Contractor Solutions magazine.
