The U.S. construction sector saw rapid expansion in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. A skyrocketing real estate market exposed a severe housing deficit, prompting a surge in new residential construction. Between 2020 and 2022, private construction spending climbed sharply, peaking in April 2022, when housing starts hit their highest level in more than 15 years before slowing as interest rates rose.
Just as private-sector momentum began to cool, federal investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reignited public construction, creating one of the strongest combined construction booms in decades.
Yet today, the industry faces mounting uncertainty, pressured by high interest rates, inflation, foreign import tariffs and a softening labor market. Despite these headwinds, one challenge remains unchanged: contractors still can’t find enough workers.
The Associated Builders and Contractors estimates a labor shortage of 439,000 workers, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 306,000 open jobs as of July 2025.
With traditional labor pools stretched thin, construction firms are turning more aggressively to women, a historically underrepresented demographic in the trades.
Researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis data to identify the best-paying states for women in construction, revealing that Texas ranks among the strongest markets.
According to the report:
For comparison, nationwide:
The report notes that only 6% of construction workers were women in the 1960s. That number remained low for decades but began to climb steadily beginning around 2016, reaching 14.4% of all workers — and 10.7% of full-time employees — as of July 2025.
While women are still underrepresented in skilled trades like plumbing, masonry, carpentry, and electrical work, they excel in higher-paying administrative and professional roles.
The research highlights that:
“Lawyers in the construction sector are the industry’s top-paid workers, with median annual wages of $170,000 for female lawyers working full-time.”
Women also hold outsized representation in training, management, engineering, financial oversight and technology-related positions, leading to a smaller gender wage gap in construction (4.9%) compared to all industries (18.9%).
Even as economic uncertainty clouds the broader outlook, construction continues to offer women strong earning power — especially in states like Texas, where wages exceed statewide female income averages after adjusting for cost of living.
With labor shortages unlikely to subside soon, analysts suggest that female participation in construction — both in the office and on the jobsite — will continue climbing.
Originally reported by Construction Coverage in https://www.kten.com/news/state/texas-female-construction-workers
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