I've been working in the construction industry for more than 20 years now. It's a traditional sector, very much male-dominated. But that has never deterred me from it. I also went to engineering school, and the majority of the students were male (I think less than 15% were female).

I'm using an outdated binary classification here, I know. If women are considered a minority in construction, wait until you look at non-binary gender data. It's bad.

What inspired me to write about this was a meeting I attended the other day at my company. It was a senior management meetup between my company and a major subtrade we frequently do business with. It was basically for introductions and discussions on future opportunities. I entered the boardroom, and after I introduced myself to everybody and everyone had arrived, I looked around and realized I was the only woman in there!

There were 18 people in total in that room, giving us a 5.5% diversity representation.

I'm not saying there are no women in my company. There are! In my department, there are 17 of us in total, of which 6 are women, so about 35%. I've heard that women make up close to 15% of the total construction workforce across Canada. That's low!

My company is not the worst out there. We have inclusive diversity groups and initiatives, with regular webinars, events, and celebrations (like Pride Month, the Indigenous Employee Circle, and Black History Month, among others) to foster an inclusive workplace.

But I am always surprised when I look at the senior leadership and find it hard to spot a woman.

Anyway, this is a bit of a rant, I guess.

I don't exactly feel excluded, but... do I?

I don't have experience with how other industries are doing in terms of diversity in senior roles and high-level management (or anywhere else, to be honest). But I think we still have a long way to go!

Post 07 of #Blaugust #NoisyMusings #diversity

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By Noisy Deadlines Minimalist in progress, nerdy, introvert, skeptic. I don't leave without my e-reader.