The labor shortages faced by the construction industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic present an opportunity to focus on attracting a diverse pool of workers and on a renewed commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Construction companies should focus on hiring individuals from underrepresented groups within the industry to address the labor gaps and build a stronger workforce. There is ample evidence that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce is more productive, more engaged, and experiences less attrition. This is key to the industry as, during the pandemic, it lost more than 1 million workers and is continuously failing to attract and recruit young talent, even though the industry pays nearly double the average hourly rate. According to the Labor Department, the industry is still down 238,000 workers from pre-pandemic levels.

Current Numbers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the construction industry:

• The industry employed between 7.7 million and 8.3 million people between 2019 and 2021. Of the approximate 8 million workers, nearly 60% were laborers, 20% held management, business, or finance positions, and the remaining 20% were office or administrative support. Out of these totals, approximately 600,000 of these workers were women.
• Women are almost half of the overall U.S. workforce, but only account for under 10% or approximately 600,000 of the construction workforce. Moreover, significantly few of them are employed in field...

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