Operating a tower crane hundreds of feet above Nashville, Sammy Cossairt earns $120,000 annually in a sector where female representation remains low. Across construction and repair trades, companies are actively recruiting women through enhanced benefits, flexible scheduling, and stricter jobsite conduct policies.
The skilled trades have long operated as a male-dominated domain, but shifting economic demands are rewriting the playbook. Federal figures from last year show that women make up roughly 4.4% of workers in construction, installation, and repair fields—a modest climb from 2.9% a decade prior. For companies facing an intense labor squeeze, recruiting women represents an untapped talent pool.
Turner Construction and Mortenson Expand Paid Leave and Jobsite Perks
Major construction firms are rolling out targeted incentives to attract and retain female workers. Mortenson introduced 12 weeks of paid leave for birth mothers in its skilled workforce in 2024, helping push its female skilled workforce past 10%, up from 7% a decade ago. Meanwhile, Turner Construction hit $29 billion in revenue last year and expects around $35 billion, fueled in part by work on data centers.
To support that growth, Turner President Abrar Sheriff emphasized that the company offers creature comforts such as heated and cooled running-water bathrooms and regularly cleaned breakrooms on worksites. Kym Gardner, a 39-year-old project engineer in Charlotte, N.C., utilizes a schedule combining onsite mornings with remote afternoons, allowing her to balance her career with caring for three children, including a 5-month-old.
Universal Technical Institute Sees Quadrupled Female Enrollment
Educational institutions are experiencing a parallel shift. At Universal Technical Institute’s Exton, Pa., campus, career services director Katie Yurick noted that students are gravitating toward tech-infused roles. Modern automotive technicians hook cars to computers for diagnostics, while fields like welding and electrical work reward attention to detail alongside physical capability.
These jobs aren’t even dirty jobs anymore.
Katie Yurick, Universal Technical Institute
Across UTI’s 17 U.S. campuses, female enrollment has reached 8%, quadrupling over five years, with concentrations hitting 19% in collision repair and auto refinishing.
Enforcing Inclusivity and Addressing Jobsite Harassment
Companies and legislative bodies are moving to dismantle hostile work environments. Skanska began mandating inclusivity for all its team leaders and supplying correctly sized safety gear—such as gloves, boots, and helmets—rather than forcing female workers to make do with men’s sizes. Deila Ray, who spent a decade as a pipe welder and now teaches the trade in high school, recalled needing to shrink her own gloves with fire when she started.
State legislation is also adapting. Washington and Illinois recently enacted laws requiring nursing rooms, breast milk refrigerators, flexible break schedules, and cleaning water on construction sites. Concurrently, firms are cracking down on misconduct. Turner enforces a policy where senior leaders jump on a call within four hours of a reported incident. In a recent Texas case, an entire subcontractor crew of about a dozen men was replaced after management could not identify the author of derogatory graffiti targeting female employees.
Rebecca Heustess and Sammy Cossairt on Trade Realities
Despite cultural improvements, subtle friction remains. Rebecca Heustess, a 42-year-old tile foreman making $65,000 a year in Henry, S.D., noted that after 20 years in the trades, she still encounters men who ignore her instructions or patronize her. Yet she values the tangible permanence of her labor.
When I leave a job, it’s this beautiful shiny sparkly project that I know will be there for years to come.
Rebecca Heustess, tile foreman
For Cossairt, navigating 12-hour shifts atop a Nashville crane offers both financial stability and personal satisfaction.
There aren’t too many careers you feel are AI-proof, and being in the skilled trades is one that isn’t going away.
Maja Ericksen, Mortenson