Women in Construction (past and present)

[User220422]

A thread for the women who work (or used to work) in Construction.

I have worked in Construction for 8 years now. Thinking of leaving to join a new industry because I think Construction can be so brutal at times. But equally, I have enjoyed it at times, it's what i know best, and I feel like I need to do it for representation of women in Construction.

But planning for a baby in the next year or two and don't think that Construction will offer me the flexibility I want.

My question is, how do you feel about the industry? Would you ever leave? If you've left, why did you leave?

I have worked in construction for 30 years. I've changed my role having started as a Civil Engineer, to one that I felt suited living in one place and having a family. So I totally get it. It is a hard industry but is one I love. What role do you have now?

I'm in the construction industry too, specifically the rail sector. I love it and I'm pleased to see more women gradually joining the industry. I'm a Quantity Surveyor, so do have the luxury of being able to work from home as well as in the office / site.

What role do you have? As some are a lot more flexible than others. If yours is completely inflexible, is there another role you could transition into that would be more flexible?

I left but went into the training side. Brutal really is the word isn't it?

Not sure the coal face is able to accept flexible working. Maybe the management side would be easier to facilitate.

I loved and hated it. It would have been much easier without the constant digs and sexist behaviour. It was relentless.

I'm a quantity surveyor. What is it that you transitioned into?

I work as a quantity surveyor as well but for a small family business so really inflexible. Working from home isn't an option. Don't know if I want to stay in the construction industry enough to find another role in a bigger company with more flexibility.

Oh what's the training side of it?

Yeh so brutal lol. And totally with you on the sexism. There's not a single instance where I've managed a day on site without a man making an inappropriate remark towards me or about me to one of my male colleagues.

I'm an architect of 20+yrs
I used to specialise in rail architecture (👋 @Rosez) but there was a lot of travel including internationally which wasn't too compatible with family & my health/disability so I did an about turn and now work for myself on much smaller stuff mainly domestic or community projects.
I have a studio in my garden which is much more convenient. I do miss working with and leading big teams but the feedback on smaller projects is fantastic and much more gratifying.

I have been a Structural Engineer for 30 years.

There used to be a lot of sexism in the past but this has drastically changed since I started out.

Working for other companies was not great. Less pay, fewer chances for promotion, double standards etc but for the last 13 years I have worked for myself.

I love it. I don't get sexist comments. I have learned resilience and don't stand for any crap.

You need to know your stuff, prove yourself, stick up for yourself and get on with the job.

People know what you get when they ask me to do a job. I am friendly, flexible and listen to other peoples ideas then I am honest about what I think is the best solution for whatever we are trying to achieve. Get to know the people you are working with and get on with them. Construction runs more smoothly if you all get on. I get lots of repeat business because I always try to work with people.

It is hard when you start out but believe in yourself, fight your corner and know your stuff so people respect you.

I absolutely love what I do and gain great satisfaction of driving past buildings I have been involved in the construction of. They will be there long after I have gone and they have normally been built to make someone's life better or more pleasant. Be proud of your achievements.

I'm a construction health and safety consultant. It meant re- training from scratch and working my way up the management chain, but the engineering knowledge and experience has proved invaluable

Various but the industry pay a levy for training, so there are many levels of training from working for the CITB, to working for colleges teaching, working for private providers, providing grant funded training in house for companies.

I’m in construction but on the bids / tender side. I see female colleagues progressing very quickly and if I’d had daughters I would have encouraged them to consider construction consultancy roles. My job has taken me all over the world. I’m in KSA at the moment.

I worked for a construction firm in HR briefly.

A lot of lip service about becoming more inclusive, trying to attract more female staff. But when it came down to it, they weren’t willing to look at flexible working, working from home where possible or better maternity packages.

The newish father’s in the firm found the 40 hour week either on site or in the office hard enough, never mind women coming back from Mat leave or trying to sort childcare arrangements because as the Mum they feel it’s their problem.

I agree totally, the sexism has reduced drastically. Stand your ground, be confident, take no shit and get on with it worked for me. Now I'm at age where they assume I wouldn't be just starting out and don't have to prove my knowledge any more.
It's also industry where you have to be willing to learn, there are so many technical details and changes in technology that you can't know it all. The trades have been doing the work for years, they are experts in their particular fields, have seen inexperienced people dictate, so make friends, have fun and use their experience and be prepared to muck in

Sorry @User220422 I realised I didn't really answer your questions
I've had 2 kids whilst working in construction, one in a larger commercial practice, one since working for myself in small practice. It was a very different experience each time. I also have the added complication of being disabled.
I think the type of company you work for, company culture and the people you work with can make a big difference. How you manage as a parent can depend on what your partner does, whether or not you have outside support and if you can find good childcare.
With my first I was literally the first architect the company's 140yr history to be pregnant and go on maternity leave. They were great but it did send them in a bit of a tizz especially with regards to H&S and site visits. They were quite good at being accommodating with regards to family but it could be difficult as my project portfolio sent me across the country and abroad.
There weren't many nurseries to choose from that could cope with the hours but we were lucky to find one. It cost though and for those first years it meant I was working just to cover the nursery fees. My DH is a hospital dr so his hours are a killer too so we did spend a lot of time juggling stuff and work trips abroad were an absolute nightmare. My company were generally great though and I was fast tracked to director level even with maternity leave.
When DH became a consultant his contract specified we had to move and that meant a whole re-evaluation of what we wanted.
I felt that the demands of commercial practice at director level (even with flexible working) plus long commute and travel didn't work for our family. We would never see each other or our DS. This was when I decided to take a step back and change how I worked. This enabled us to have another baby. I would also say that the school years are harder than the baby years.
I now have a studio at home (proper office) and smaller shorter projects which enables me to be more involved with the kids. It's not the easy option, just as many hours (but more flexible) but less money. This meant that maternity was shit in terms of pay but was very flexible (eg I could schedule work round my weekly pregnancy hydrotherapy)
I know a lot of women in construction now and I would say all of us would say it's tough but doable.

Oh and yesterday some one I've never met before told me where she lived and I took her by suprise by saying I was involved in a certain project many years ago. It was amazing to hear that she uses the facility every day and loves it.

Snap! Women in my firm are also flying in town planning and construction PM. The QS's are few and far between for some reason but over 50% of the grad surveyors we take on are female.

Bids/tender side sounds quite appealing actually, or any role that assist with the start of the process. I have been looking into getting into the estimating side of things as well to price up jobs and quote jobs.
Is that similar to the bids/tender side? I work for a small company so we don't have specific people doing each element lol. It's all a mish-mash.

If you can estimate fees, and have the technical knowledge, organisational, time management and English language skills to get a tender out the door in time, companies would bite your hand off.

I agree with this, the market is booming at the moment and the salaries are reflecting it.

Usually I am just a reader in mumsnet, but I had to create an account after reading this so I can vent. English is not my mother tongue so excuse me if I do not write everything correctly.

AWFUL, AWFUL experience that has left me completed scarred, mentally and physically, I left with stomach problems including an ulcer.

After 20 years working on construction sites in different parts of the world, my experience in the UK has been the worst, and has made me left the construction industry. Funny that my company was one of those big ones with inclusion, women support policies bla,bla,bla....

Barbarians, I used to think what cave do they get them from. Everything I did or said was continuously observed, judged, a motive for gossip. And they say that women like gossips 😂😂😂😂
Never knew how to behave, if I tried to stablish boundaries I was a bitch and a cow, if I tried to be nice it meant I wanted to go to bed with all the men on site, I was a cougar. Of course I was hired because I was a woman, not because I had more than 20 years of experience in the industry.
Extremely tribal behaviour. If one of the foremen decided not to do what I asked, all of his men would do the same.
And not only the men on site, many of the engineers behaved exactly the same.
I have never ever met with such level of macho attitude, like if construction is a field exclusive for men, and women should stick to the kitchen and children care.

And then, I actually feel sorry for them. At the end of the day, I am a woman, I am allowed to cry. I could go home and cry, and tell my husband how I felt, and my husband would tell me, leave it, you do not have to be there, I can support you. But I think of some of those men, who might go through what I went through, who probably are working hundreds of miles from their families, who are the bread winners and cannot show any sign of weakness, because men do not cry. And then I can understand why the suicide rate in construction is so high in this country.

I left a year ago and have no intention to put my feet on a construction site again.

I would never, never recommend to a women to go in the construction industry.

Oh my goodness @GeorgeSand that sounds terrible. What a nightmare.

What area of construction did you work in and in which countries?

This is so far from how I find construction. I always recommend it.