性骚扰和掠夺在今年在希拉里·克林顿(Hillary Clinton)和唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)之间为美国总统任期的比赛中掩盖了许多传统问题。虽然建议性骚扰是建筑雇用这么少的妇女的主要原因 - 频繁的搬迁,家庭或产假不足以及弹性小时的政策发挥作用 - 排除在外是错误的。这是审查费用的好时机。新利18备用官网登录

Women remain woefully underrepresented in construction. Overall, they account for less than one out of 10 people employed in any kind of construction job, according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Construction trades, where women account for only about 2.6% of staff, lag even further behind. All together, this has heavy repercussions for the industry and the economy as a whole. For example, once a woman is employed in construction, she is likely to earn only about eight dollars for every 10 that a man makes. Ironically, that is a much smaller pay gap than in other industries and a bigger incentive than ever for a woman to embark on a construction career.

Although construction can be a path to economic security and independence for women and the families they support, the rate of sexual harassment charges brought per 100,000 workers is among the highest of any business sector.

The typical victim of harassment in any industry is a woman between the ages of 25 and 45, and the typical harasser is a male in a higher position at the organization or in a supervisory role on a jobsite or in an office. Besides the emotional scars it inflicts, sexual harassment depresses the victim’s productivity and triggers more days taken for sick leave. Victims are more likely to quit, as well.

Engineering degrees provide a vital career path into construction, and percentages for women enrolling in and graduating from degree programs are getting higher. But a 2012 National Science Foundation-funded survey reported that only six out of 10 women who graduate with engineering degrees stay in the profession. More recent studies have shown that the exiting women engineers departed because of an “organization climate,” which includes non-supportive supervisors and co-workers and “general incivility.” Others cited frequent travel, few opportunities to advance and low pay.

建筑不再仅仅是男人的俱乐部。但是,工作条件仍然可以刺激令人沮丧的恐惧。毫不奇怪,在教育和卫生部门,妇女占四分之三的人雇用的人,骚扰投诉率最低。

这表明一个显而易见的解决方案:更多的女性在the office and in the field will create a network of support that will lead to less sexual harassment in the construction industry, which, in turn, will draw more women to construction, engineering and the crafts, where they are badly needed. It is as simple as making good-faith efforts to hire talented women, building policies to retain them and never giving harassment a pass.