Plumbing Contractor News

Special Recruiting Series Women In Plumbing

2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 64.7 million women employed in the United States, 46 percent of the total U.S. labor force. Yet women comprised only 0.9 percent of all 635,000 pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters; 1.4 percent of all 351,000 HVACR mechanics and installers; 3.9 percent of all 152,000 sheet metal workers; 3.2 percent of all 1.2 billion construction laborers; and 5 percent of all 121,000 construction trades helpers.

Obviously, the plumbing and piping trades won’t appeal to all women; some may be put off by the physicality of the job. But that doesn’t mean women can’t succeed in this profession; they just have to work a little smarter and find alternative methods to completing certain tasks, such as using mechanical equipment to lift heavy objects. (Think of all those back injuries and muscle strains your technicians and installers get each year, and this sounds like a good idea, right?)

I first wrote about this subject a few years ago (“Women In Plumbing: Where Are They?” November 2002). Since then, the only thing that seems to have changed is that there are more groups dedicated to women in nontraditional careers, such as the building trades, and an increase in the number of plumbing/piping training programs, some targeted at women. However, gainful employment for women in the trades is still elusive.

One positive trend is that privately held women-owned firms are diversifying into nontraditional industries. A nontraditional industry or occupation is one in which women make up less then 25 percent of the total number of workers. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research, one of the areas seeing the greatest growth in the number of these firms (50 percent or more owned by women) during the 1997 to 2004 period is construction, which saw a 30 percent growth. In 2004, women-owned construction firms were 23.9 percent of all privately held construction firms.

As most jobs in the U.S. economy are still thought of as “women’s work” or “men’s work,” it can be difficult for women to enter nontraditional occupations, such as plumbing or mechanical contracting. But that doesn’t mean women shouldn’t try, or that employers shouldn’t look at qualified female applicants when filling positions.

Why should women look into the construction trades? Well, money is one reason.

“While women have made some important gains … with slowly increasing numbers in the professional and administrative occupations, (a good percentage) are still segregated in low-paying industries in clerical and services jobs,” writes Rose Neufeld in her book, “Exploring Nontraditonal Jobs For Women.” These jobs include secretary, bookkeeper, cashier, waitress and retail salesperson.

A new study released earlier this year by Women Work!, a national nonprofit organization and network for women’s employment, states that there has been a dramatic increase (39 percent) of single mothers and displaced homemakers (women whose sole or primary job has been homemaking, but who have lost their main source of income through divorce, separation or widowhood) — from 15 million in 1994 to 20.9 million in 2003.

The report, “Chutes and Ladders: The Search for Solid Ground for Women in the Workforce,” includes additional findings:

Single mothers and displaced homemakers are “poor” or “near poor” although they are working;

Those who are employed are overrepresented in low-paying service occupations with few, if any, benefits; and

More than half have not completed education beyond high school.
“More than ever before, (these women) must be looked to as the solution for filling the workforce gap, much in the same way that women were actively recruited to fill a skilled worker shortage during World War II,” states Sandra McGarraugh, chair of the Women Work! board. “It worked then and it can work now.”

Consequently, women can make more money in the construction trades. A March 13, 2005, Parade article on what people earn named plumbing as one of the “hot jobs” of 2005, with a starting salary of $30,500 to $41,500. That’s more than what some college graduates start at (this journalism graduate surely didn’t!).

Another reason is job satisfaction. Many women working in low-paying jobs are not happy or fulfilled, but lack the education to move into other fields. Construction and related careers such as plumbing and heating involve hard work, but today, there are more and more programs available for women to obtain the training and skills needed.

“Most women in construction agree that earning high salaries, acquiring important skills and deriving job satisfaction make the hard work very worthwhile,” Neufeld says.

Why should plumbing and mechanical contractors look at women as technicians and installers? The biggest reason is the lack of skilled workers in the industry. Large amounts of new construction trades workers will be needed in the years 2005-2015 primarily because the baby boomer generation will begin to retire and leave the labor force, states a report recently released by the Construction Labor Research Council, and the construction industry must focus on attracting new entrants to the construction trades.

Women, particularly single mothers and displaced homemakers, “add value to the labor force beyond simply filling an anticipated labor shortage — they represent a dedicated and highly motivated workforce,” the “Chutes and Ladder” report states. “Mid-life and older women workers possess qualities above and beyond the necessary job skills desired by today’s employers, such as commitment to doing quality work and loyalty to the company.” And critical for the future of the U.S. economy, and possibly the construction trades, is investment in women’s education and training.

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	Did You Know?
	Plumbers install a wide varity of plumbing fixtures Plumbers install and repair the bathtubs, showers, sinks, and toilet water, waste disposal, drainage, and gas systems in homes and commercial and industrial buildings. |