For the last 25 years, women have represented 9%-10% of the construction workforce. That is until the number of women in construction hit the 1 million mark in May 2021 and subsequently reached an all-time high of just over 14% in July of this year, a first since the numbers were initially recorded in 1964. According to a recent Bloomberg article, record job openings, retiring baby-boomers and increased demand for companies with a more diverse workforce are just a few of the factors responsible for creating this momentum of change.

To get an insider’s perspective on how to best capitalize on these advancements, Julie Hyson, a woman well-versed in advancing her own career in the industry, provides insight. Hyson is the west region managing director and PDS Lead at JLL.

Initially following her family’s blue-collar path into urban planning, Hyson later transitioned into structural engineering, and finally, construction. It was here she saw the challenges women and minorities were facing, both in pay equity and career advancement opportunities. To bring about change, she began advocating on behalf of women by speaking at conferences, and advising business leaders by joining industry discussions on how to build a more inclusive and equitable workforce.

As a first order of business in her current role at JLL, a commercial real estate firm, she created pay equity by auditing the pay rates of those in her division, bringing adjustments as needed. She then moved on to the business and sought to convert the existing portfolio from primarily Class A office space to a diversified portfolio more representative of the communities in her region. In doing so, she transformed a stagnant part of the business into a new growth opportunity. Within a year she was promoted to oversee the entire Western region and was given control over profit and loss, allowing her the leverage she needed to continue bringing about meaningful change.

Hyson shares her top-five learnings as a change maker.

1. Work across all levels of the company to create change

Women come to the table ready to work and get the job done. This is why being repeatedly underestimated or even worse, overlooked as male counterparts are seen as having the final say, creates a demotivating work environment, making women prime candidates for burnout.

Leaders need to be prepared to educate not only themselves but their upper and mid-level managers, as well as partners, on the ways bias can negatively impact team dynamics and stifle innovation and growth. Advancements in employee policies and company culture can foster a sense of belonging. Change starts at the top with executive leaders modeling accepted behavior, but educating leaders at every level of the business is the key to sustaining it.

2. Provide equal pay and inclusive benefits that support families

“Building a building is hard. Paying somebody equitably is not that hard,” Hyson says. Ensuring your people are paid equitably and providing benefits to support family leave is a must in today’s job market. Hyson cited that some women leave construction because they can’t see the path to start a family and continue to grow their careers.

The ethos of “butts in seats” and “boots on the ground” no longer accurately represents the breadth of roles having an impact on construction projects. Parental leave policies should reflect the shift that technology has created in untethering the worker from their desk in the office and trailer.

Today, more construction companies are rolling out comprehensive parental leave policies that support parents and families. As an example, Gilbane provides family benefits including paid parental leave, adoption assistance, and IVF benefits, among others.

3. Give good feedback with accountability

According to Harvard Business Review, research shows that women are 20% less likely to receive actionable feedback that can contribute to their performance and growth at work. Hyson confirms this by noting that in her experience, people often “shy away from giving feedback because they don’t want to hurt feelings." On the contrary, she feels it’s the lack of direct, actionable feedback that stifles women’s career growth the most. She encourages leaders to “provide performance feedback and hold accountability for results.”

On the other end, women can overcome this blind spot by actively soliciting and inviting feedback, which has been shown to have dramatic results. Former Microsoft technology leader Lauren Antonoff created a year-long leadership development program based on clear and actionable feedback, called Step Up. Six out of the 17 women who participated were promoted into a leadership role after receiving specific recommendations for improvement and clear outcomes.

4. Create a diverse and inclusive leadership team

Simply put, in order to help organizations navigate these changes effectively, we need more women and individuals from underrepresented groups in executive leadership positions to make informed policy decisions.

According to a 2021 McKinsey report on women in the workplace, for every 100 men promoted into manager roles, only 86 women are promoted. This signifies we’re shrinking the number of women on the path to senior leadership. When we dive deeper into the data, we see this impact is especially prevalent with women of color. At the manager level, white women account for 28% of the total participants surveyed while women of color only represent 12%. Move up to the C-suite and we see the disparity becomes even larger, with only 4% of C-suite executives surveyed being women of color.

To build diverse and inclusive leadership teams, the industry needs to be intentional in its hiring and work to expel the myths that create bias within promotion processes. As Hyson experienced on her own journey, “Do the work that creates the outcome that stands boldface against the myth.”

5. Focus on creating long-lasting, cultural change

DEI initiatives should not be treated as checking the boxes, or as a way to share a proof point, it’s a way to change the trajectory of the future of your company. According to a 2020 McKinsey report, more diverse companies are more likely to outperform their non-diverse counterparts financially and retain a more engaged employee base. Construction leaders today, making the sustained changes needed to transform their businesses tomorrow, can capitalize on the expanding labor pool and build off the momentum of these significant milestones.