Horizons Fall/Winter 2019

Women in Construction? Yes, There are Women in Construction. Even with a lot of focus recently on diversity in the workplace, construction is still a male-dominated industry. According to recent surveys, women make up less than 10% of the construction workforce. There is a higher percentage of women serving in Congress (currently 23.7%) and in the active duty military (14%). Women do in fact make up 47% of the total civilian workforce. So, as the construction industry looks for ways to hire and develop skilled labor, diversity has become more important than ever. There are several challenges to increasing diversity, specifically among women in construction that need to be addressed. These include unwelcome worksites, sexual harassment issues, flexibility and the perception by others that women on the team are not as capable for projects that require manual labor. It’s not the women; it’s the environment and the culture. So what can a construction company do to address these challenges? First, educate both the men and women in the company about diversity and company expectations regarding a safe work environment. Also, provide opportunities for networking and training. Finally, review your compensation structure to make sure that your company enforces a policy of equal pay for equal talent. There are several resources available to help increase diversity at your company and support the women there already. The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Professional Women in Construction (PWC), as well as other local organizations have tools, educational materials, conferences and other resources available. Construction companies, as well as other organizations, are finding diversity is the key to success. Now is a good time to start the conversation or you may be left behind.

suggested, with objectives, milestones, timelines, outlined responsibilities and more.

“You want to make sure you’re the guy that gets the last look and that’s in there helping develop a budget,” he said, and the secret ingredient here is likeability. People, plain and simple, “like to do business with people they like.” That’s also the recipe for lifetime customers, which are often a contractor’s bread and butter, because “every year you work off your business and then you have to start anew,” he said. Leaders should therefore diligently maintain these relationships that continue to add work to the pipeline, and never to take them for granted because somebody else is inevitably “knocking on that door.”

5. Effective Business Development Practices Pointing to the difficulties of a bid market versus a negotiated market is an easy scapegoat for contractors with lackluster business development practices, according to Engelbrecht. On the other hand, companies that exceed in this area can drive their market in the direction of negotiation instead of bidding.

10 Traits Successful Contractors Have in Common

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