HIRING WOMEN IS A SMART BUSINESS MOVE

摘要

The construction industry, including water well drilling, has seen a lot of rapid changes in the past 20 years. Health and safety standards have improved due to continued efforts by OSHA and other agencies, which have led to a new attitude about safety regulations on the jobsite. The industry is embracing new demographics at a fast pace as well. Diversity has improved in many areas of the construction industry as firms are realizing that reaching a more diverse workplace is not only the right thing to do, it's also smart business. Of all the people working in construction, women comprise only 10.3%. Even smaller is the number of women on the front lines of a jobsite-only 1 for every 100 employees in the field. Considering that women make up almost half (47%) of all employed individuals, this means that the construction industry is only benefitting from about 1.25% of women in the workforce. There are several factors that explain this enormous gender gap. It ranges from an unconscious gender bias to the lack of adequate training to overall perceptions about women working in construction. Despite these barriers, women continue to build their path in the industry. According to Randstad, a job-matching agency between labor and human resource services, nearly one-third of construction companies promoted a woman to a senior position in 2018.