Insight Blog
Resources for Finding Women Professionals in Construction, Facilities & Real Estate Development
In our recent blog post, Attracting & Retaining Women in the Workforce, we discussed the positive impact female professionals can make upon organizations. They bring intangible skills that promote collaboration, creativity, and adaptability. Thus, recruiting and retaining women at all levels within an organization is essential for a multitude of reasons.
While women represent about 33 – 37% of management, senior management, and director positions in the U.S., these statistics are much lower when looking at the sectors of architecture, engineering, and construction; facilities management; and real estate development. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 9.3% of the construction workforce are women. They represent 24% of facilities management professionals (IFMA) and 36% of those involved in real estate development.
Because women are a small pool in the aforementioned industries, recruitment can be challenging and is much more efficient and productive when efforts are well-planned and strategic. The following are resources that can support such initiatives.
Associations
- National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) – www.nawic.org
- National Association of Professional Women in Construction (PWC) – www.pwcusa.org
- National Association of Black Women in Construction (NABWIC) – www.nabwic.org
- Society of Women Engineers - www.swe.org
- Women Construction Owners and Executives (WCOE) – https://wcoeusa.org/
- Women in Construction Operations (WiOPS) – www.womeninoperations.com
- Women Builders Council (WBC) – www.wbcnyc.org
Linkedin Groups (and number of members as of 6/2017)
- National Association of Women in Construction – 11,412
- Professional Women in Construction – 3,049
- Women in Facilities Maintenance & Construction – 1,631
- Groundbreaking Women in Construction National Leadership Conference – 1,739
- Women Construction Owners & Executives – 2,372
- Women in Construction Action Network – 1,045
- WWIC – Women Working in Construction – 1,146
Recommended websites
- SHRM-diversity.jobs
- InHerSight.com - When it comes to recruiting and retaining women, one also has to pay attention to how an organization is portrayed when it comes to how it views and values female professionals. InHerSight.com helps women explore career opportunities and organizations that foster supportive environments for all employees. It has received numerous positive reviews from entities such as The Wall Street Journal, FastCompany, CNNMoney, and Forbes. Not only does its insight support women in making better career decisions, it allows employers to see how their organizations are perceived as the site’s main feature is a 14-factor rating system of over 27,000 companies. It would be beneficial for an organization to check if it is on there and if not, consider getting a listing, and encouraging female employees to provide reviews.
Women have come a long way and worked hard to play an instrumental role in the U.S. workforce. They bring important and valuable attributes that organizations simply cannot overlook. Finding and attracting them is imperative, and approaching those efforts strategically is the first step.