Women鈥檚 participation in the American workforce has increased from a 30% share in the 1950s, to nearly half of workers today. But, there are still some trades where women are underrepresented.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports women are underrepresented in manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and utility work, fields where they makeup less than 30% of the total workforce.
But construction is by far the most male-dominated industry 鈥� just 11% of the industry is made up of women.
Through concentrated efforts, a third-generation construction company in Columbus has been able to raise that figure for their operation. Marker Construction鈥檚 workforce is 18% women and became woman owned when Alison Marker took over for her father as president and CEO, and bought ownership in the company last year.
Marker wasn鈥檛 the natural successor to the family business.
鈥淭here was no representation of women that I was aware of in the construction industry," she said. 鈥淚 studied psychology and Women's Studies, and got my master's in social work. And then I became a psychotherapist.鈥�
While the two industries aren鈥檛 traditionally aligned, when Marker鈥檚 father asked her to help out, she did. And, her role in the company grew into what it is today.
But, Marker didn鈥檛 forget her earlier schooling and became determined to do things a bit differently from other construction companies. Early on, she set out to ensure the women in the company were being paid on par with men.
Labor statistics highlighted by the National Association of Women in Construction show that while women in the U.S. still make just 83% of what men make, women in construction occupations come closer to closing that gap 鈥� they鈥檙e paid about 96% of what men in the industry are paid.
Marker said vigilant companies like hers are working to eliminate that gap completely, and construction jobs in general pay better than a lot of jobs out there.
鈥淐onstruction pays very well. I remember when I got out of school with a master's degree in social work, and I was making $11.72 an hour with a master's degree. You can come work in a construction company right now, have no degree and make so much more than that," Marker said.
Related: It's Equal Pay Day. The gender pay gap has hardly budged in 20 years. What gives?
One of the reasons civil engineer Abbey Zimmer was attracted to working with the Ohio Department of Transportation was the standardized pay grades in the government work.
鈥淚 was specifically really interested in working for ODOT because I knew there wouldn't be a gender pay gap that regardless of, of, you know, if I was a woman or a man doing the same job and I'll be paid the same a