Women in Construction: Share, Jobs and Pay Compared With Men, 2005 to 2025

Women in construction vs men: the 2025 side-by-side

Men outnumbered women in the U.S. construction industry by 7.9 to 1 in 2025. The two groups also do different work: most women hold office, management or professional jobs, while most men work in the trades.

Women in construction (as used in this report): Employed women age 16 and over whose main job is in the construction industry, as measured by the BLS Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 households. The count covers wage and salary workers and the self-employed, and every occupation inside construction firms, from estimators and bookkeepers to electricians. Occupation tables (for example, electricians) cover workers in all industries.

BLS CPS Table 18 reports 12,121 thousand people employed in construction in 2025, of whom 11.3% were women. Table 17 counts 1,365 thousand women and 10,756 thousand men in the industry. Women's share of all U.S. employment was 47.1%, so women in construction are present at 0.24 times their share of the total workforce.

The occupational split is close to a mirror image. Within the construction industry, 21.3% of women worked in construction and extraction occupations in 2025, compared with 63.2% of men. 36.5% of women held office, administrative support or sales jobs, against 2.4% of men.

Construction trades: where the gap is widest, at 4.3% women

Women's representation is lowest in the hands-on trades. Among the trades, only painters and paperhangers passed 10% women in 2025 (11.1%); electricians, carpenters, plumbers, HVAC mechanics, drywall installers, roofers and masons were all under 4%.

BLS CPS Table 11 shows 8,490 thousand people employed in construction and extraction occupations across all industries in 2025, 4.3% of them women. Painters and paperhangers had the highest share among the trades (11.1%), followed by construction trades helpers (6.5%), sheet metal workers (4.9%) and construction laborers (4.7%). Construction and building inspectors, also classed with construction occupations, were 12.6% women.

The licensed mechanical and electrical trades sit lower: electricians 3.5%, plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters 3.1%, and HVAC and refrigeration mechanics 2.7%. Roofers (0.9%) and brickmasons, blockmasons and stonemasons (0.0%) were lowest. Both of those estimates fell sharply from 2024 (4.1% and 2.9%), which more likely reflects sampling error in small occupations than a real change.

An independent source points the same way. The Department of Labor Women's Bureau, using 2019 American Community Survey data for full-time, year-round workers, listed plumbers (1.4%), electricians (1.8%) and carpenters (1.9%) among the occupations with the smallest share of women in the country. The Women's Bureau defines a nontraditional occupation for women as one in which women are 25% or less of workers (Women's Bureau); every construction trade in Table 11 meets that definition.

Management, engineering and estimating roles: smaller gap, faster growth

Management and professional roles are where women's presence in construction has grown fastest. Women in management, business and financial jobs inside construction firms rose 97.1% from 2005 to 2025.

Inside the construction industry, 410 thousand women worked in management, business and financial operations occupations in 2025, up from 208 thousand in 2005 (Table 17, 2005 archive). Women were 16.0% of that occupational group within construction, and 23.6% of workers in professional and related occupations employed by construction firms.

Across all industries, women's shares in design and estimating occupations were well above the trades in 2025: architects 29.8%, civil engineers 21.8%, cost estimators 20.5% and construction and building inspectors 12.6%. Civil engineers showed the largest gain since 2005 among the occupations tracked here, 8.6 percentage points.

Construction managers have a lower share. Women were 8.5% of the 1,199 thousand construction managers in 2025, up from 6.3% in 2005 but down from 10.5% in 2024. The annual series for construction managers has ranged from 5.9% to 10.6% since 2005, with several one-year moves of 2 points or more, so the 2005 to 2025 change of 2.2 points is the more reliable signal than the 2.0-point drop from 2024.

Office and administrative roles: majority women, but a shrinking share of women's jobs

Office work is the one part of construction where women are the majority, at 78.6% of office and administrative support workers in the industry in 2025. It now accounts for about a third of women in construction, down from about half in 2005.

The number of women in office and administrative support jobs inside construction firms fell 17.1% from 2005 to 2025, from 563 thousand to 467 thousand (Table 17). Over the same period, women in construction and extraction jobs in the industry rose 40.6%, from 207 thousand to 291 thousand.

Those shifts changed the profile of women in construction. In 2005, 52.2% of women in the industry held office and administrative support jobs and 23.1% held management, business, financial or professional jobs. By 2025 the figures were 34.2% and 37.1%. Women's share of the industry's office workforce also slipped, from 86.7% to 78.6%, and the all-industry share of women in office and administrative support occupations fell 4.8 points (Table 11).

Earnings gap: construction occupations compared with all industries

In 2025 the women-to-men earnings ratio was 88.4% in construction and extraction occupations and 82.1% across all occupations. Averaged over 2021 to 2025, the two ratios are almost the same.

BLS CPS Table 39 reports median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers. In 2025, women in construction and extraction occupations earned $977 and men $1,105, a gap of $128 a week. Across all occupations the medians were $1,089 and $1,326, a gap of $237. On the single-year figures, the trades ratio is 6.3 points higher than the all-occupation ratio, meaning a smaller gap.

The single year overstates the difference. The trades ratio swings widely because BLS bases it on only 228 thousand full-time women. From 2005 to 2025 it ranged from 79.2% to 108.6%. Averaged over 2021 to 2025 it was 83.0%, against 82.9% for all occupations. Over 2016 to 2020 the averages were 89.6% and 81.7%. The evidence is therefore mixed: the trades gap was narrower than average in the late 2010s, but not in the most recent five years.

Among office occupations common in construction firms, the 2025 ratios were 84.9% for office and administrative support, 84.5% for bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks and 72.4% for secretaries and administrative assistants. In professional roles they were 81.5% for civil engineers and 64.3% for architects. For local wage levels by metro area, see construction pay by metro.

These are raw comparisons of medians for full-time workers. They do not adjust for hours above 35 a week, experience, union status, specialty or employer, and the occupation figures include workers outside the construction industry. BLS notes that its earnings comparisons do not control for factors such as job skills, responsibilities, work experience and specialization.

Trend: women's share of construction jobs, 2005 to 2025

Women's share of construction employment stayed between 8.9% and 9.7% from 2005 to 2017, then rose to 10.9% in 2020 and 11.3% in 2025. The trades share followed a similar path, from 3.0% to 4.3%.

Women's share of construction employment fell to 8.9% in 2010, as total construction employment dropped from 11,856 thousand in 2007 to 9,077 thousand, and stayed between 8.9% and 9.3% through 2017. It rose to 10.3% in 2019 and 10.9% in 2020, and has stayed at or above 10.8% since. From 2015 to 2025 the industry added 436 thousand women (2015 tables, 2025 tables).

Women's share of all U.S. employment barely moved over the same 20 years (46.4% to 47.1%), so the construction increase is not explained by more women working in general. The construction representation ratio rose from 0.21 in 2005 to 0.24 in 2025. For the industry's demand for workers, see the construction labor shortage report.

Pipeline: apprenticeships and women-owned construction firms

The two pipeline measures move slowly. Women are a small minority of construction apprentices, and women-owned firms were 8.7% of construction employer firms in 2023, little changed from 8.4% in 2017.

The Department of Labor reported almost 100,000 women active in Registered Apprenticeship across all industries in FY2024, about 14% of active apprentices and a 214% increase since FY2015 (DOL Trendlines, November 2024). The most recent construction-specific figure that could be opened is older: a DOL analysis of 2010 to 2019 records found women were 3.5% of construction apprentices, against an 8.5% average share across all apprenticeships (DOL apprenticeship overview). Apprenticeship.gov publishes current data only in an interactive dashboard, so no FY2025 construction figure is included here.

The Census Annual Business Survey counted 774,636 construction employer firms in reference year 2023. Women owned 67,503 (8.7%), men owned 617,311 and 83,460 were owned equally. Across all sectors, women owned 22.9% of employer firms, so construction's share is 0.38 times the all-sector rate. Women-owned construction firms employed 616,012 people (8.2% of construction employer-firm employment) and reported $203.6 billion in receipts (6.7%).

From 2017 to 2023, women-owned construction employer firms increased 13.3% and men-owned firms 13.8%, while equally owned firms fell 15.2%. The women-owned share peaked at 9.5% in 2021. The 2023 women-owned count has a relative standard error of 4.4%, so the 2022 and 2023 counts (67,527 and 67,503) are effectively unchanged.

Equipment fit is part of the jobsite picture. OSHA amended its construction PPE standard to require that protective equipment properly fit each worker, effective January 13, 2025 (OSHA), aligning construction with the general-industry rule. NIOSH has studied fall-protection harness fit for male and female construction workers (NIOSH). Related coverage: construction jobsite culture and construction worker deaths.

Why estimates of women in construction differ by source

Published figures for women's share of construction range from about 11% to about 14% depending on the survey, the year and whether jobs or people are counted.

• BLS CPS household survey: 11.3% in 2025. Counts people by main job, including the self-employed (Table 18).
• BLS CES payroll survey: 14.4% in 2025 (1,188 thousand of 8,267 thousand payroll jobs). Counts jobs on employer payrolls and excludes the self-employed (CES flat file).
• CPWR tabulation of CPS microdata (Tier 2): 11.3% in 2025 and 4.0% among construction craftworkers (CPWR data file).
• NAHB analysis of CPS (Tier 2): 11.2% in 2024, 1.34 million women (NAHB).
• Women's Bureau, ACS 2019 full-time year-round workers: occupation shares such as electricians 1.8% and carpenters 1.9% (Women's Bureau).

The CES and CPS series agree on direction. Payroll jobs held by women in construction rose 33.5% from 2005 to 2025, faster than all construction payroll jobs (12.7%).

Ratios behind the comparison

Download the calculations (CSV)

Where the numbers diverge

1. Women held 11.3% of U.S. construction industry jobs in 2025 (1,365 thousand of 12,121 thousand), compared with 47.1% of jobs across all industries.^[1][3]
2. Women's share of U.S. construction employment rose 1.7 percentage points from 2005 (9.6%) to 2025 (11.3%), and 2.4 points from the 2010 low of 8.9%.^[1][6][7]
3. From 2015 to 2025 the number of women in U.S. construction grew 46.9%, from 929 thousand to 1,365 thousand; men grew 19.4%.^[3][8]
4. In 2025, 30.0% of women in U.S. construction worked in management, business and financial occupations, up from 19.3% in 2005.^[3][6]
5. Office and administrative support jobs accounted for 34.2% of women in U.S. construction in 2025, down from 52.2% in 2005.^[3][6]
6. Women made up 78.6% of office and administrative support workers in the U.S. construction industry in 2025 but 4.1% of construction and extraction workers in the industry.^[3]
7. Across all U.S. industries in 2025, women were 4.3% of construction and extraction workers, up from 3.0% in 2005.^[2][6]
8. Women's shares in design and estimating roles were higher in 2025: architects 29.8%, civil engineers 21.8% and cost estimators 20.5% (all industries).^[2]
9. Women were 8.5% of U.S. construction managers in 2025, compared with 6.3% in 2005.^[2][6]
10. Full-time women in U.S. construction and extraction occupations earned a median $977 a week in 2025 versus $1,105 for men, a ratio of 88.4%; the all-occupation ratio was 82.1%.^[4]
11. Women construction managers earned a median $1,383 a week in 2025 against $1,893 for men (73.1%); in 2024 BLS reported a ratio of 98.7%, showing how volatile small-sample medians are.^[4][5]
12. Women owned 67,503 of 774,636 U.S. construction employer firms in 2023 (8.7%); another 83,460 were owned equally by women and men.^[14]
13. Women-owned U.S. construction employer firms reported $203.6 billion in receipts in 2023, 6.7% of the sector's employer-firm receipts.^[14]
14. Women made up about 14% of all active U.S. registered apprentices in FY2024; a DOL analysis found women were 3.5% of construction apprentices over 2010 to 2019.^[22][23]

Summary

• Women held 11.3% of jobs in the U.S. construction industry in 2025, against 47.1% of jobs across all industries, a representation ratio of 0.24 (BLS CPS Table 18).
• The number of women employed in construction rose 26.5% from 2005 to 2025 (1,079 thousand to 1,365 thousand), while the number of men rose 6.3% (BLS CPS Table 17).
• 73.6% of women in the construction industry work in management, business, financial, professional, sales or office occupations, compared with 25.3% of men in 2025.
• In the trades, women's shares are lowest: 4.3% of construction and extraction workers, 3.5% of electricians and 3.1% of carpenters in 2025 (BLS CPS Table 11).
• Full-time women in construction and extraction occupations earned a median $977 a week in 2025, 88.4% of men's $1,105; the 2021 to 2025 average ratio of 83.0% is close to the all-occupation average of 82.9%.
• The widest measured pay gaps among construction-related occupations in 2025 were for architects (64.3%) and construction managers (73.1%), both based on fewer than 100,000 full-time women.
• Women owned 67,503 construction employer firms in 2023, 8.7% of the sector, against 22.9% of employer firms in all sectors (Census ABS).

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

Source selection. The core data are BLS Current Population Survey (CPS) annual-average tables for 2025 (Tables 11, 17, 18 and 39) and the archived versions of the same tables for every year from 2005 to 2024. The CPS is the federal survey that publishes construction employment by sex together with occupation and earnings every year. Firm ownership comes from the Census Annual Business Survey (ABS), reference years 2017 to 2023. Apprenticeship figures come from Department of Labor publications. BLS payroll (CES) data, a CPWR data file and an NAHB article are used as cross-checks only.

Inclusion and exclusion. Every figure was taken from a source opened on 2026-10-05; the raw files are stored with the report. Claims found in secondary articles without a primary source were excluded (see excluded list). Occupation estimates are used only where BLS publishes them (base of 50,000 or more). Apprenticeship.gov's current dashboard could not be read outside its interactive viewer, so no current construction-only apprenticeship figure is reported.

Definitions. 'Construction industry' means people whose main job is with an employer or business classified in construction (Census industry code 770, NAICS 23). Occupation tables (Tables 11 and 39) cover workers in those occupations across all industries; for example, an electrician working for a manufacturer is included. Earnings are medians of usual weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers (35 hours or more), excluding the self-employed.

Conflicting numbers. CPS (people, including self-employed) and CES (payroll jobs) give different shares; this report uses the CPS as the headline and reports CES separately. CPWR and NAHB tabulations of CPS microdata differ slightly from the BLS published tables because of weighting and coding choices; the published BLS tables take priority. The 2024 earnings ratios in BLS Report 1117 match the archived 2024 Table 39 medians.

Derived metrics. Shares, ratios, percentage-point changes, percent changes and five-year averages were calculated by CB&C from the published figures; each formula and its input rows are listed in derived_metrics.csv, and the scripts folder reproduces every step from the raw files.

Limitations. CPS figures are sample estimates; BLS publishes standard errors for some medians (for example, $35 for women's median weekly earnings in construction and extraction occupations in 2024). 2025 annual estimates are 11-month averages because October 2025 data were not collected. Industry codes changed in January 2025 and occupation codes in 2011 and 2020. Earnings comparisons are unadjusted. ABS counts cover employer firms only and exclude nonemployer businesses. Not advice: this report describes data and does not provide legal, employment or financial advice.

Last update: 2026-10-05. The CPS 2026 annual averages are expected in early 2027.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (27)

• [1] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor Force Statistics from the CPS, annual averages 2025, Table 18: Employed people by detailed industry, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. 2025 annual average (11 months, October 2025 not collected); table last modified 2026-02-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [2] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor Force Statistics from the CPS, annual averages 2025, Table 11: Employed people by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. 2025 annual average; table last modified 2026-02-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [3] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor Force Statistics from the CPS, annual averages 2025, Table 17: Employed people by industry, sex, race, and occupation. 2025 annual average; table last modified 2026-02-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [4] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor Force Statistics from the CPS, annual averages 2025, Table 39: Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex. 2025 annual average; table last modified 2026-02-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [5] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Highlights of women's earnings in 2024 (BLS Reports, Report 1117). 2024 annual averages; published January 2026. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [6] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS annual averages archive, 2005 (Tables 11, 17, 18, 39). 2005 annual averages. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [7] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS annual averages archive, 2010 (Tables 11, 17, 18, 39). 2010 annual averages. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [8] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS annual averages archive, 2015 (Tables 11, 17, 18, 39). 2015 annual averages. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [9] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS annual averages archive, 2020 (Tables 11, 17, 18, 39). 2020 annual averages. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [10] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS annual averages archive, 2024 (Tables 11, 17, 18, 39). 2024 annual averages. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [11] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPS tables index with annual-average archives 2002 to 2024 (used for every year 2005 to 2024). annual averages 2005 to 2024. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [12] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics flat file: construction employment, including women employees (series CEU2000000010, CES2000000010). monthly 1939 to September 2026 (August and September 2026 preliminary). Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [13] U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics flat file: total nonfarm employment, including women employees (series CEU0000000010). annual averages 2005 to 2025. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [14] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey 2024 (reference year 2023), Table AB2300CSA01: Statistics for Employer Firms by Industry, Sex, Ethnicity, Race, and Veteran Status. reference year 2023; released 2025-11-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [15] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2017), Table AB1700CSA01. reference year 2017. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [16] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2018), Table AB1800CSA01. reference year 2018. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [17] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2019), Table AB1900CSA01. reference year 2019. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [18] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2020), Table AB2000CSA01. reference year 2020. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [19] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2021), Table AB2100CSA01. reference year 2021. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [20] U.S. Census Bureau. Annual Business Survey (reference year 2022), Table AB2200CSA01. reference year 2022. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [21] U.S. Census Bureau. Census Bureau Releases New Data About Characteristics of Employer and Nonemployer Business Owners (CB25-TPS.77). 2024 ABS (reference year 2023); released 2025-11-20. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [22] U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Youth and Women in Registered Apprenticeship (Trendlines, November 2024). FY2015 to FY2024 (RAPIDS). Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [23] U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs. U.S. Apprenticeship Overview (equity brief). apprentice sample 2010 to 2019; published 2021-11-03. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [24] U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Occupations with the smallest share of women workers. American Community Survey 2019, full-time year-round workers. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [25] U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations. definition page, accessed 2026-10-05. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [26] Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Personal Protective Equipment: Construction (29 CFR 1926.95 final rule notice). final rule published 2024-12-12, effective 2025-01-13. Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [27] National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC). Personal Protective Equipment Fit in the Construction Sector (NIOSH Science Blog). 2023. Accessed 2026-10-05.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (2)

• [28] CPWR, The Center for Construction Research and Training. Construction Chart Book (7th edition) interactive dashboard: Women in Construction, data file DD-Women_Workers.xlsx. 2011 to 2025 (CPS microdata tabulations). Accessed 2026-10-05.
• [29] National Association of Home Builders. Women Represent Highest Share of Construction Industry Personnel in 20 Years (NAHB blog, 2025-09-19). 2024 (CPS). Accessed 2026-10-05.