Women in Construction Week focuses on lucrative career opportunities
PITTSBURG -- The construction industry remains male dominated. Female workers make up only 11 percent of employees, according to the federal government.
Women in Construction Week -- March 3 to March 9 -- affords a chance to raise awareness of women already in the field and about opportunities for more to join their ranks.
"In this division of the Bay Area, I am the only woman superintendent here, so that's pretty cool," said Adrea Vladyka with the home building company Taylor Morrison.
Vladyka started in customer service and then made the transition to working on the construction side, becoming a senior superintendent ten years ago. Her father was an electrician so she grew up working on houses with him. Her job today requires her to spend much of her time completing inspections.
"The best, most fulfilling part of this job is handing someone the keys and knowing that this house is going to outlive me, it's going outlive you," she said. "It is so rewarding for my kids to drive through a community and to say, 'You know, Mom built those homes.' That's cool."
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that construction has one of the lowest female employee totals of all the industries detailed in 2023 statistics.
Taylor Morrison as a company claims it has worked hard to turn around that deficit in women workers. Over the past five years, female employees have increased by 185 percent. The CEO of Taylor Morrison is a woman along with half its board of directors.
"This is not something that you have to be a male to do," Vladyka said.
She also points out that not all positions are physical for women in the construction industry. She says getting to where she is now required her to work harder and be better. There have also been instances when men have questioned her presence on the job.
"I had my vest on and I went into Costco and some guy walks over and goes 'Oh you must be a crosswalk guard' and I said 'No, I build homes," she recalled.
Women have skills to do a lot of the jobs, Vladyka says, they just don't think of this field as a career path.
"The end result is you're building a dream," she said.