White men still dominate construction, though some companies are committed to changing that
Born to immigrant families struggling to get by in Providence, Edwin A. Montas and Christopher L. Calderon had a lot in common growing up.
Similarly devoted to math, drawing and their communities, each dreamed of careers that prioritized their interests.
Though job opportunities are often limited to even the brightest children of poor city families, Gilbane Building Co. saw Montas, Calderon and others like them as the potential faces of a new, more diverse generation that would replace an aging workforce.
As an elementary school student, Calderon, now 26, remembers being treated to pizza parties with classmates at the company’s corporate office as recognition for good grades.
Today, thanks to Gilbane’s community focus, internship program and scholarships, Montas and Calderon, of Dominican and Guatemalan descent respectively, are both employed by the Providence-based construction firm.
“There aren’t many others who … go back as far as [grade] school to invest and raise a workforce from the ground up,” said Montas, a project engineer II.
Yet despite such efforts by Gilbane, other local companies and the state to promote workforce diversity, the local construction industry remains overwhelmingly white and male-dominated.
While Rhode Island’s low rate of female construction workers is in line with national averages, the local industry lags in its employment of minorities.
Rhode Island, like other states, has a process for ensuring a percentage of all state contract spending goes to minority- and women-owned businesses (a minimum 10 percent). But it is lengthy, and some affected businesses feel it is overly complicated.
Meanwhile, most stakeholders in the local industry say more collaboration and compromise between the state and private sector are needed to make meaningful gains in workforce diversity.
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GRAFFITI REMOVAL: Jhonny Leyva, owner of Heroica Construction in Providence, was subcontracted to do the graffiti removal and painting of the parking garage on Main Street in Pawtucket. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
WHO’S ON THE JOB?
In Rhode Island, about 9 in 10 local construction and extraction workers identify as white, and it’s been that way for years, according to 2008 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 2008 and 2017, a maximum of 7.9 percent of workers identified as black and a maximum of 15.1 percent made up an “all other races” category, both occurring in 2013. The most recent data, for 2017, shows 87.9 percent of the industry was white, 4.6 percent black and 7.5 percent “all other races.”
The overwhelming majority – a 10-year average of 98 percent – are male.
Rhode Island has seen some small gains in minority employment in recent years but falls well short of the 2017 national average for minorities of 43 percent.
Last year, women held 3.4 percent of construction jobs in the state. Over the past decade, that percentage has never risen above 5 percent. Nationally, the situation is even worse for women looking to break into the field. At job sites across the U.S., women represent just 3 percent of the workforce – a rate unchanged between 2008 and 2017.
The years following the Great Recession were challenging for the state’s construction industry.
At its low in that period, employment stood at 18,737 (2010). The sector is now doing much better, employing 25,202 as of 2017, and companies are increasingly looking to hire, though not necessarily equally across all demographics.
The call for workers is matched by a pending rush of construction work across the state. If passed, the statewide November ballot includes $320 million in elementary, secondary and higher education construction bonds, along with a host of local bond requests targeting school repairs.
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A slowly changing workforce Even as the size of the construction and extraction industries workforce in Rhode Island gyrated thanks to the Great Recession – from 24,467 in 2008 to a nadir of 18,737 in 2010, and back up to 25,202 in 2017 – its diversity has not changed much in the last decade. / Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey[/caption]
STATE EFFORTS
For more than 38 years, Cheryl A. Burrell has worked in Rhode Island’s state government, and for the past 18 on issues involving diversity.
Now, four years into her tenure as R.I. Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity associate director, she said racial representation in the local construction industry is “very much improved.”
While she recognizes state practices to ensure women- and minority-owned businesses meet state-purchasing requirements “have not been attractive over the years,” she said creation of the 4-year-old state diversity office under the leadership of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has played a significant role in improving diversity in state contracting.
Burrell pointed to gains made in state contracts awarded to certified minority- and women-owned businesses over the past four years as evidence of a turnaround. Notably, the state more than doubled the rate, to 14.7 percent of state contract spending, 18 months prior to a 2020 deadline for achieving that.
Meeting the strict requirements of the certification program, which the state diversity office admits needs streamlining, is challenging for some women- and minority-owned businesses.
The process – which includes submitting a personal financial statement; outlining any licenses, accreditations and permits held by owners; listing employees and their roles; and previous denials of certification, among 33 total questions – is required of interested black, Hispanic, Portuguese, Asian and Native American firms and others identified by the U.S. Small Business Administration as “socially disadvantaged.”
Heroica Construction President Jhonny Leyva said the reason he is most often turned down for a job by the state is a perceived lack of “capacity.”
He said those with the ability to award contracts, including the state, often describe him and his Providence-based firm as having less-than-adequate skills and experience – claims he feels are discriminatory and race-based – when turning him down.
“How will I build the capacity if you don’t give me the opportunity?” said Leyva, a Latino who emigrated to the U.S. at age 8 from Colombia.
While Leyva knows he’s done better than some minorities and women in the business, he feels there were more hurdles in his way because of his race. Yes, he’s reached some professional goals after 11 years in the industry, but “it’s taken longer than it should have.”
Leyva, who also serves as president of the Black Contractors Association of Rhode Island, also questions some of the gains the state claims in women- and minority-owned contracting.
“I question what has increased and if it’s people of color,” said Leyva.
He believes reported growth is due to an influx of Portuguese individuals and white female contractors, rather than to groups he would consider minorities.
Burrell, however, believes the reported gains are genuine.
Commenting on the categorization of white women and persons of Portuguese descent as minorities, she said: “We don’t have the data to support excluding any group.”
One effort she feels is “satisfying concerns” surrounding increased diversity is a state-launched Diversity in Construction working group.
Set up by the governor in January 2017, the group includes industry, state and municipality representatives and helped achieve the doubling of state contracts awarded to women- and minority-owned firms. The group is co-chaired by John Sinnott, Gilbane’s vice president and business unit leader of Rhode Island, and Darrel Waldren, R.I. Indian Council executive director.
Burrell says California-based consultant Mason Tillman Associates was hired by the state in August to conduct a two-year study documenting the percentage of women and minorities operating in the industry, measuring utilization of the state certification program and assessing the state’s efforts to boost women and minority-owned contracting.
She said the study’s findings will be a “critical piece” in understanding how the state can continue improving diversity in its contracting efforts.
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ENGINEERING DIVERSITY: Christopher L. Calderon, left, and Edwin A. Montas, right, flank John Sinnott, vice president and Rhode Island business unit leader at Gilbane Building Co., who oversees a lot of the recruitment of local minority workers such as Calderon and Montas, both project engineers at Gilbane. / PBN PHOTO/MARK S. MURPHY[/caption]
STARTING EARLY
Industry leaders say the way to build the future construction-industry workforce is to sell it to young men and women of all races, ethnicities and economic backgrounds as a stable, well-paying career.
Andrew Cortes, executive director and founder of Building Futures Rhode Island, says his 12-year-old group helps commercial construction companies meet workforce needs by funneling youth into a pre-apprenticeship program. Partnering with local firms, Building Futures introduces Rhode Island residents with low incomes, who have graduated high school or hold a GED, to entry-level opportunities in a multiweek program.
Gilbane’s Calderon said giving young people a chance to look beyond the careers of their parents is important. Rhetorically, he asked: “How often have people had to figure out, ‘I can get paid to do that?’ ” before going on to satisfying careers in fields they didn’t completely understand.
Nearly 300 people have gone through Building Futures, per Cortes’ count. Of those 300, 80 percent are minorities and roughly 10 percent are women.
While Building Futures is statewide and based out of Providence, Cortes said the program “disproportionately draws from people of color.” The reason, he said, is because recruitment happens solely by word of mouth and over 10 years has “yielded the same demographics.”
Acknowledging the lack of women in his program, Cortes said the group joined five similar organizations across the U.S. as members of a Federal Highway Administration pilot program targeting women, veterans and minorities for construction jobs.
As the state demographic mix changes, said Gilbane’s Montas, clients will increasingly represent “people with our backgrounds – women, blacks, Hispanics.” So, from the company’s perspective, “It’s very important for us to have a diverse face.”
Similar to Montas and Calderon, Danielle Crafford also benefited from an early introduction to construction. Growing up in a Victorian house, she said she acted as her father’s “right hand” when undertaking home improvements.
“Working with your hands … always had my interest,” said Crafford, now a Gilbane general superintendent. She enrolled in a Gilbane internship prior to graduating from Roger Williams University with a degree in construction management.
For Crafford, a 32-year-old, white woman, the industry still lives up to the “old boys’ club” stereotype, but she feels things are slowly changing.
“In five to 10 years,” she said, “the percentage [of women and minorities] will increase slightly, but it won’t be drastic.”
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LIFELONG INTEREST: Danielle Crafford, a general superintendent with Gilbane Building Co., said she was always interested in working with her hands and acted as her father’s “right hand” when undertaking home improvements growing up. On the ladder is Mitchell Sinnott, pipe fitter. / PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
SMALL GAINS
Gilbane’s Sinnott knows employment in the construction industry does not reflect Rhode Island’s demographic mix as well as it could.
“There’s more than there used to be,” he said, referring to the number of women- and minority-owned firms and construction workers, but “there’s still a ways to go.”
And it’s companies such as Gilbane, ranked No. 2 in Providence Business News’ 2018 Book of Lists General Contractors List (by number of regional employees), that stand out for their efforts. Gilbane said it has had annual growth of roughly 3 percent since 2008. Today its headcount stands at 2,773 workers.
As of mid-October, Gilbane’s workforce was comprised of 26.4 percent women, an increase from 2008’s 22.2 percent.
Similarly, the company’s minority representation grew from 15.8 percent a decade ago to about 20 percent in 2018.
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CAREER PATH: Christopher L. Calderon, left, and Edwin A. Montas, project engineers at Gilbane Building Co., benefited from an early introduction to construction. Calderon, who remembers being treated to pizza parties with elementary school classmates at the company’s corporate office as recognition for good grades, said giving young people a chance to look beyond the careers of their parents is important. / PBN PHOTO/MARK S. MURPHY[/caption]
When its corporate employees are removed from the total, Gilbane’s minority representation grows from 16.2 percent in 2008 to 21.4 percent this year. Its percentage of women employees has increased more slowly: from 21.3 percent to 22.8 percent during the same period.
Each year, when Gilbane looks to hire from its intern pool and young professionals, it tries to ensure at least half of the hires meet one of its goals for improving diversity.
“The last two years, we’ve exceeded that goal,” said Courtney E. Cannata, Gilbane vice president and human resources director.
Cannata explained the company also tracks diversity in its employment turnover.
New Gilbane hires participate in Engaging Diversity and Inclusion training, which promotes diversity and identifies unconscious biases.
And in-house employee resource groups for women, blacks, Hispanics, veterans, LGBTQ and young professionals also exist as networking outlets.
Qualifying diversity in the construction sector as “lagging,” Doug Peckham, vice president of Boston operations at Providence’s Dimeo Construction Company (tied for No. 4 General Contractor in the PBN 2018 Book of Lists for regional employees) also believes improvement is achievable.
Head of Dimeo’s intern program, Peckham said women and people of color account for between 20-40 percent of the roughly 25 individuals chosen each year for the program.
Dimeo’s internship is the first of a five-step program implemented to target and promote diverse employees. After interning, the steps jump from professional education and promotion to management, additional training and resources, consistent engagement with the community, and ends with ensuring retention.
Peckham emphasized the importance of the five-step program in today’s workplace, given baby-boomer retirement.
And Dimeo has made strides increasing minorities among its ranks.
A decade ago, nearly 1 in 5 of Dimeo’s 273 employees were women. In 2008, minorities made up 6 percent of the company’s workforce, including eight blacks, six Hispanics and two Asians.
Today, its total headcount stands at 255, with 16 percent females (roughly 40) and 15 percent minorities (roughly 38). Of today’s minorities, there are 22 blacks, 12 Hispanics, three Asians and one Native American.
Arden Building Cos. LLC just started tracking employee diversity this year. Of its 198 total workers, less than 1 in 10 are women. At 7 percent, racial diversity is similarly low.
Taking a more organic approach, Jeff Potter, vice president of the Pawtucket-based firm, said the company does not have any diversity-related hiring goals. But it does hope to reach a diverse pool of talent via traditional recruitment.
“Obviously, we want the best person for the role,” said Potter, who said recruitment at the No. 3-ranked PBN Book of Lists General Contractor for 2018 (by number of regional employees) occurs via campus visits and job boards.
If the company “can throw as wide a net as possible … we will be able to reach [minorities],” he said.
Calling the 2018 construction industry “not very” diverse, Potter added responsibility for changing that lies with the private sector. Firms such as Arden, he said, are the employers and therefore, “The initiative needs to come from [them].”
Local construction-industry groups are taking notice of the efforts on behalf of private companies to diversify the workforce. Michael F. Sabitoni, president of the Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council, said overall the unionized construction sector is “doing a pretty good job” of promoting diversity.
Though he declined to highlight any particular company’s effort, he lauded companies such as Gilbane, Dimeo and Arden that recruit Building Futures candidates.
Leyva, however, said on most construction sites, the number of minority workers still isn’t high enough to count on two hands. Leyva, a Central Falls native, looks to hire minority workers from his hometown, Pawtucket and Providence whenever possible.
Heroica employs 18, of which 16 (15 Hispanics and one black) are minorities.
At 32, Laura Moss co-owns Functional Aesthetic Design ± Build out of Providence with her husband and business partner, Gordon. They met while the pair were studying architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Moss, who is white, knows she is somewhat unique in her field as a young, female business owner.
It’s been difficult to start a business in “an industry as old … and established as construction,” she said of breaking into the sector, “especially in New England.”
However, her gender and age have also attracted business. The company, which operates in both the design (architecture) and building (construction) industries, draws a clientele of young women and couples who identify with Gordon and her.
“Generally, people trust others that are most like them,” she said.
Moss knows not all women- and minority-owned businesses can survive operating within small circles of potential clients. Yet, branching out is challenging.
After six years, the company’s business had grown enough to take on one employee in 2017.
Moss’ own outlook for diversification in the industry isn’t bright. “To be honest,” she said, a decade from now, “I think it will be the same.”
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, Gowdey-backus@PBN.com.
