Conscious Choice Seattle: Women at Work

February 2006 | Cover Report

Women at Work

The building trades present an opportunity for second-career women and the sustainability of our communities

By Ritzy Ryciak

Brown mud oozes down a 15-foot hill while a bright yellow excavator scoops water-rich dirt into its jaws. On a construction site in Bellevue, penny-sized drops of rain pound on hardhats. It is the kind of day when many would sit inside, sip tea and plan a vacation to Mexico.

But Erica Bean, a safety director for one year and a carpenter for 12 years with WG Clark, a third-generation Northwest construction company, is here to make sure that safety regulations are met. Clad in a heavy raincoat, fluorescent safety vest, hardhat and solid Doc Marten boots, Bean, who doesn’t mind a bit of rain and dirt, is part of the small but growing and diverse group of females who have chiseled a niche within the trades industry.

"Maybe I am crazy but I love this," says Bean, laughing as she peers over the edge of an 18-foot hole filled with puddles and construction tools. "Out here you get to be part of a process that most people never even get to see."

Most people and that goes quadruple for women.

According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, women account for only 2.5 percent of construction and extraction laborers.

"I think that there are probably more women fighter pilots than there are women in construction," says Michael Carliner, an economist with the National Association of Homebuilders. "Where most other industries have managed to recruit a much larger share of women, construction has seen much less participation."

People within the industry cite stereotypes as the biggest obstacle for attracting women.

"I think that overall there is an image problem in construction," admits Carliner. "But there may also be a question of hostile work environments for women."

Carliner says the high dropout rate of women in the trade schools is a possible indicator of the work environment issues but adds situations vary from region to region.

Here in Washington, the women involved in the trades seem to enjoy the atmosphere that they work in.

"The women who work in construction love it," says Judy Jewel, president of the Puget Sound chapter of NAWIC — the National Association of Women in Construction. Jewel is the owner of Olympian Precast, a concrete manufacturing company in Seattle.

Constructing a prototype

Jewel explains the typical woman in the building trades: "It is definitely not for someone who is afraid to get cold or dirty. But the payoffs are that you are building something that is permanent and you can see the results of your work."

Jewel notes an interesting trend among a good number of local females in construction.

"These are women who had success in other careers first, but they felt like something was missing," says Jewel. "They wanted to work with their hands and get out of the office. But for them construction is not a first career."

That certainly was the case for Jennifer Lail.

"I wasn’t sure if I would find a niche in wood construction," admits Lail, a fourth-quarter carpentry student who also is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Washington. "But with carpentry I really feel that I am applying my time and personhood to something with integrity."

Lail, a graduate of Georgetown University and a 36-year-old powerhouse who you might imagine as your high school class president, left her career in the nonprofit sector and enrolled in the Wood Construction Center, a professional technical program offered through Seattle Central Community College. Although it was not the most predictable move, Lail has always admired the work of craftsmen. Her mother is a historic-preservation planner, and as a child she spent a lot of time in old houses.

"I have a love of buildings with good bones," she says, referring to architectural integrity. She describes the process of building as a means of creating history on the landscape.

"It is just as easy to create spaces that are inspiring and feed the soul as it is to make things that simply serve a function," explains Lail, who plans to use her carpentry skills in green and sustainable building projects. "It kind of comes down to a land ethic for me. They are not making any more land."

Nonetheless—and this is where a major and vital debate stakes out—the limiting reagent of land has not yet slowed down the construction industry. In fact, according to the Brookings Institute, "residential and commercial development in the next quarter century will eclipse anything seen in previous generations. Nearly half of what will be built in 2030 doesn’t exist yet."

Data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics supports the statement. Employment in construction is expected to increase by 11.4 percent, from 7 million to 7.8 million jobs, by 2014.

Opportunity’s blueprint

Interestingly enough, while the job opportunities are increasing, the number of skilled laborers is decreasing. Unless trends change, there will not be enough skilled young workers to replace the Baby Boomers who will retire in the next 10 years.

Government numbers and job opportunities aside, Lail wasn’t thinking statistically about the best professional place for her to be.

"The field of green building wraps in so many previous interests," she says. She refers to the book Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson. Within the story the main character eventually realizes that all of the disparate threads of her life have actually been weaving together to make a beautiful tapestry.

"My experience with carpentry has helped me to trust my own path," admits Lail, who points out that creating things that are plumb, level and square is kind of a good guiding principle for all of life.

"I really do believe that throughout life we are gathering up all of the tools that we will need."
Thirty-seven-year-old Julia Cordero shares those sentiments.

"I think that it takes this long to get the confidence to go after what you want," says Cordero, a second-quarter carpentry student at WCC who came to the program after working for Habitat for Humanity as TK.

"In my 20s I would have been really intimidated to stand in a workforce of men, and now I am like, ‘Look out!’" she says. "It is funny, when you are in your 30s you can join any club that you want to."

Considering the hard numbers, the construction trades industry is a club that more women (and men) might want to consider joining.

At CITC, The Construction Industry Training Council, a state-licensed, nationally accredited training program for beginning and advanced construction professionals, apprentice pay rates are based on percentages. The minimum base rate for an apprentice with 0 to 1,000 hours of experience is $15.65 per hour, and the wage increases 5 percent with each 1,000 hours of on-the-job training until the apprentice completes the required 8,000 hours. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, carpenters in Washington State make an average $21.48 per hour.

Let’s not forget that Washington’s minimum wage is $7.63.

"I don’t think that women realize the kind of money that they can be making," says Sandy Olson Meyer, president of CITC and a female leader involved in the construction industry for more than 30 years.

Framework for success

Plus, there is the whole matter of women standing out.

"They advance so much quicker, and most of the woman that I know who come into the trades succeed and move right up. Many are in a leadership position today."

Leadership equates to more responsibility (consider it controlling your own fate) and more dollars. Both are good things.

In addition to money-making and leadership opportunities, many women have tuned into the difference-making factor within the trades.

Liffy Franklin, 56, transitioned from her position as vice president of marketing and product management of a Seattle-based software company to become a carpentry student at WCC. She hopes to gain more skills and knowledge about building quality, low-income housing.

"I am interested in making better environments and building better communities," says Franklin, who sits on the board of Common Ground, an organization dedicated to preserving housing for persons with low-incomes and special needs throughout Washington. The mother of twins points out how a house is designed affects the way an entire community feels.

"Housing seems to do even more for neighborhoods and the inhabitants than simply shelter," she says. "Housing units can either build a sense of community, safety and green space or they can be somewhat cold and isolated."

Franklin believes there is greater effort going into the design and quality of building.

"There is more thought going into creating spaces that unify," she says. "Spaces that inhabitants can take pride in and then hopefully extend to every other aspect of their life."

Ritzy Ryciak is a contributing writer and editor at Conscious Choice. Her latest construction project involved utility glue, mini nails and her favorite pair of cowboy boots—so far, so good.

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