A scholarship initiative aims to encourage more women to pursue careers in construction, an industry where female representation has been traditionally low. One of the women driving this mission is Angela Ramirez, a project engineer with Gilbane Building Co., who is working on the University of Nevada, Reno’s new Nevada State Public Health Laboratory.

Ramirez finds her work particularly satisfying, noting how she gets to watch the building take shape. “I really like it because I can go out there and see the progress,” she shared. “It’s like solving a puzzle and I really appreciate that of construction, that no day is exactly the same.”

In recognition of Women in Construction Week, which took place from March 3 to 7, attention was drawn to the need to inspire more women to join the trades. While there have been significant efforts to recruit women and show that construction is not all about physical strength, the percentage of women entering skilled trades is still much lower than men.

According to Melissa Maguire, the first female board president of the Nevada Builders Alliance, women make up only 10.4% of Nevada’s construction industry. On a national level, less than 10% of jobs in skilled trades are filled by women. Maguire hopes to see a significant increase in the female workforce in the coming years, aiming for 16% participation.

Maguire, who was born into the electrical industry, has been in the field since she was 14 years old. “I was born into the electrical industry and I decided when I was 14 that that's what I was going to do permanently,” she said. “I apprenticed during that time, got my license as soon as I was legally allowed to after four years in the trade over 18.” Her message is clear: “Women are underutilized in this trade, and there are plenty of opportunities to apply their skills.”

Though women in construction acknowledge that they may not have the same physical build as their male counterparts, there are still plenty of roles for women in this field. “It has to happen because we have nobody coming into the trades,” Maguire pointed out. “There’s no younger people that want to do it. There’s no older people that want to do it, so if women don’t step in, like World War II, we’re not going to get anything done. So typically, we need to save the world.”

To inspire more women to enter construction and related trades, the Nevada Builders Alliance has partnered with the Nevada Women’s Fund to offer a $10,000 endowed scholarship for full-time students attending local schools. Eligible students can receive up to $1,000 annually, or $500 per semester, to cover expenses such as courses, materials, or childcare.

Stacy Rich, the NBA’s director of operations, shared that the scholarship aims to help young women pursuing skilled trades. “Students who are eligible with a 2.5 grade point average can use the funds for courses, materials or childcare, as long as they are enrolled,” she explained.

Another significant contribution to the cause is the creation of construction academies, such as the Career and Technical Education program at Carson High School. Natalie Molleson, a business and commercial insurance agent, sees this partnership as vital for creating a pathway for young women in construction. “There are a lot of avenues that women can go in — and obviously, everybody needs to be trained — but if you can literally walk in the job and have a full-time job, these are great careers that will last,” said Rich.

Training for these positions is evolving as the industry shifts towards using more technology, where operating computers or machinery has become as important as manual labor. As Rich emphasized, “The important message is to keep the industry alive with the hope that much of the workforce stays in Nevada.”

Maguire also emphasized the importance of giving unskilled individuals a chance to learn. “Almost every company that we work with and encounter and work beside, they all would hire and take on an unskilled, untrained person and train them,” she said. “We’re all willing to train right now, so just ask.”

With the construction industry continuing to modernize, more women have the chance to step into roles that weren't traditionally accessible to them. Whether it’s managing projects, working with machinery, or leading teams, women are making significant strides in a sector that has long been male-dominated. As construction becomes more about problem-solving, technology, and collaboration, it’s clear that women can excel and bring unique perspectives to the field. Programs like the NBA’s scholarship initiative are important steps in making sure that young women know that construction is an open and viable career path for them.

Originally reported by Jessica Garcia in Nevada Appeal.