Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Women accounted for 11.3% of the construction workforce in 2025, a 20-year high, according to data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS). The number of women employed in the industry rose to around 1.37 million, an increase of around 31,000.
Experts from the National Association of Home Builders claim increasing the number of women in the construction labor force is a significant opportunity for growth in an industry that continues to face a shortage of skilled labor.
According to CPS, the number of women in construction today has risen drastically since 2012 (828,000) with persistent increases each year. This has been a noticeable rebound from The Great Recession, which sharply reduced construction activity.
Still, most women are employed in occupations like office and administrative support, management, business and financial operations, accounting for 78% of office and administrative support occupations within the construction industry, according to CPS data.
Women comprised just 4% of workers in construction and extraction occupations, 3% in installation, maintenance and repair occupations and 6% in production occupations.
