Darche Hood went to college to earn a degree in finance.
But now the numbers she’s calculating are from a measuring tape stretched between wall studs. Hood is an insulation installer working on an expansion project at Toray Plastics (America) Inc. in North Kingstown.
The 46-year-old Providence resident is typically one of the only female carpenters on the job, part of a small population of Rhode Island women who are finding benefits of going into construction, such as plentiful job opportunities and equal pay. They’re ironworkers, laborers, electricians – and in some cases, new business owners.
But while women accounted for about 10% of the national construction workforce in 2019, Rhode Island saw a dip in the number of women in
the field – from 3.4% in 2017 to just 2.2% in 2018, according to figures provided by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training.
“For a long time, people looked down at us, putting on work boots instead of loafers and a tie,” said Michael Sabitoni, president of Rhode Island Building & Construction Trades Council and business manager for the Rhode Island Laborers’ Local 271. “But it’s one of the few industries where you get the same pay if you do the work. There’s absolutely more opportunity for women.”
In Rhode Island, there’s been an industry-led push to recruit more women into construction, led by nonprofits such as Building Futures and the Building & Construction Trades Council’s Women’s Caucus, which officially started organizing last January.
Hood, vice president of the caucus, said before the group was formed, there was no support system for women going into the construction field and to retrain them in the industry.
“Some men still feel like there’s no place for a woman on a job site,” Hood said. “This caucus is going to help mitigate those issues.”
Caucus members are aiming to start lobbying lawmakers and companies themselves for stricter mandates on the percentages of women and people of color on construction sites.
“There’s been some pressure for the industry to be better,” Hood said. “I don’t think there’s enough.”
And recruiting women for careers in construction is only half the battle, according to Vennicia Kingston, the Women’s Caucus president. Retaining them after they have experienced work at a job site is key.
It was difficult for Kingston, 43, of Johnston, when she started out. Early on, she was surrounded by men on work sites, which often made her feel like an outsider. She was seven years into her career before she worked with another female construction worker.
Even after she had a decade of experience, she walked onto a project site and saw a new male apprentice using power tools while she was told to sweep up dirt.
“That gets to me. Even with all the knowledge I have, I still get treated like I’m at the bottom of the totem pole,” Kingston said.
That kind of treatment motivated her to start Eagle Eye Post-Construction Services LLC in Johnston in 2018. She said she wanted to show other women that they not only can handle working on construction sites, but they can own the construction companies themselves.
Lisa Silvio is an ironworker for Warwick-based Aetna Bridge Co. and is in the second year of her apprenticeship. The 34-year-old single mom said that while working on the Route 6-10 interchange reconstruction highway project in Providence, she didn’t ever feel as though she was treated differently on the site.
On other projects, however, she felt as though there were more eyes watching her.
“You never want to show even a little weakness. You never want them to think you can’t do the job,” said Silvio, who lives in Providence with her two sons, ages 10 and 14. “Sometimes it weighs heavy on my mind – being the only female.”
The lobbying efforts of the Women’s Caucus have been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. But Kington is determined to make an impact, voicing the concerns of why many women are not staying in the industry.
Other programs, such as Building Futures, are looking to make the presence of women on construction sites commonplace. In a five-week, pre-apprenticeship program, Building Futures connects low-income adults to careers in construction, specifically large-scale projects such as heavy, highway and commercial jobs.
The training, which Silvio described as “construction boot camp,” provides hands-on instruction that would be valuable in any trade, but also offers trade-specific courses such as masonry and bricklaying, welding and others.
Kingston, Hood and Silvio graduated from the Building Futures program.
Since 2007, 309 pre-apprentice graduates have begun careers in the field, including 30 women, according to Rachel Miller, the program’s spokesperson. Miller is also a Providence city councilwoman.
“Women are leaving money on the table by not going into construction,” Miller said, noting that there is virtually no gender-based pay gap compared with other fields.
But Andrew Cortés, executive director of Building Futures, said many women aren’t aware of the opportunities in the trades. He said women are the only population the program actively recruits. Some at the program are hopeful that the Women’s Caucus will be able to help with community outreach and retainment.
“It is always my goal to show that us women are capable, that we have strong backs, that we have the smarts,” Kingston said. “But it’s breaking a culture. And it’s still a man’s world.”
Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com.
