As associate dean of Construction Sciences and Building Technology at Dunwoody College of Technology, Heather Stafford Gay has personal experience as a woman in the construction industry beginning in her teen years.
With personal perspective and professional experience to back it, Gay is passionate about recruiting women into the industry through educational programs, networking groups, and partnerships. Honing in on support systems, creative and flexible thinking, and education, Gay shares more on recruiting women into the industry below.
How did you get into the construction management field?
In high school, I had a friend whose family owned an underground electrical and plumbing construction company. They needed someone to run parts and work in their shop doing inventory and keeping track of project costs. Over the summer I worked there, I was given more responsibilities and started to learn estimating. I fell in love with being involved in projects where I could fly into town or drive past and say, “I had a part in working on that.” I left for college and didn’t realize there was actually schooling I could get into where I could learn more about construction. It took me working at another construction company when I found out that I could actually go to school for construction management. This was in the early days of the internet, so doing web searches for programs involved making phone calls and waiting for informational packages from schools to come in the mail.
Has there been growth in the percentage of women who are studying construction?
From the research I’ve seen, we are looking at a 1% increase in 20 years [according to the NAHB, the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics], which is not a significant change. Have I seen more women in our Construction Management program at Dunwoody? Yes, but we continue to hover around 20%.
I think success for women and people of color enrolling in construction management type programs happens when there are wraparound support systems in place. This means financial support and mental health support, as well as industry partners taking an active role in mentorship, programs where students learn empathy, empowerment strategies, and negotiation tactics. These are all confidence boosters and holistically help shape a student’s future.
We still need to move the needle more, especially for the trades. I was speaking with a colleague at another school a while ago, and she was looking at doing research on women in the field (specifically site-based roles) and what happens when they have children. She was unable to find a woman in the field who had just recently had a child and had returned to working on-site. I personally know of only one.
Is there a set career path or place to start for women who want to enter the industry, especially in leadership capacities?
One of the things that I think is great about construction management is there are so many various roles that graduates can choose. They can work for a large builder or a general contractor. They can work for a trade partner. They can work in sales. They can work for the public sector or as a construction consultant, or they can start their own business—it’s really a bit of a choose your own adventure.
I recommend that anyone interested in leadership roles in construction management find an organization that they’d like to network with. NAWIC and Professional Women in Building are just two of the ones that come to mind.
What is your go-to advice for young girls or women who want to pursue a construction career?
To young girls or members of underrepresented and underserved communities interested in a career in construction: Find a summer camp that offers programming around the construction industry. If one doesn’t exist in your area, look for programs from the Home Builders Institute or one of the local construction associations that provide daylong or short introductions to the industry. For example, Dunwoody College summer camps for 2024 include Measure, Map & Model: Land Surveying Camp; Design Camp; and Pathways to Careers (P2C).
To women and people from underrepresented and underserved communities that are interested in construction: This is an industry that is full of people who have made construction their second, third, or fifth career change and love it. You are not alone in starting out a little later in life. Look for a place, like Dunwoody, offering options like certificate training, associate degree programs, or short-term training, as a start. For those who already have a degree in a related field, Dunwoody also offers stackable degrees that lead to a bachelor’s degree. It’s never too late to start in this industry.
What are some ways that colleges or trade programs could recruit more women into the field?
It is never enough to just provide scholarships or create diversity programs. We need to push the industry to be more flexible, and it has to come from many voices. It isn’t just young parents that struggle with getting to a jobsite at 7 a.m. because day care opens later than that. It’s thinking creatively about how to address transportation issues and enhanced support for siblings who are parenting their family members. It’s hearing the success stories from those already working in the field.
Are there any groups or programs that you've seen success in attracting more women to the construction industry?
Aside from Dunwoody? Dunwoody offers the Women in Technical Careers program, aimed at empowering women to earn technical degrees from Dunwoody College of Technology and eliminate barriers for women to enter and succeed in technical industries.
I want to give a shout out to Crew Collaborative—they have a great ambassador program that people can get involved in. Take a look at Women in NECA, Sisters in the Brotherhood, and Professional Women in Building as groups that can help attract and keep women in the industry.
What do you think deters more women from construction career paths?
Being “othered” in your work environment is never a positive experience. That is still happening.
Why is it important for women to be represented in construction?
If we are not representative of the communities in which we live and work, how are we sure that we are providing what each community needs? I think this is a serious question to consider. There’s a McKinsey study that says companies that have better representation have up to 35% more financial returns than their non-diverse counterparts. The 2023 NAWIC study backs this up, especially as it relates to diversity in leadership roles.
In addition, there are clear returns from the financial side. The construction industry is made up of many high-paying jobs, and the pay gap, which still exists in construction, is less than many other industries. We also have an aging workforce and a true need to fill these roles.
From your personal perspective, how does it feel to be a woman in the industry?
The bulk of my experience has been very good, and the friendships and working relationships have transformed my life. I have people who believe in me, and support me, and all I have to do is send an email or a text, and I have someone who will tell me that I belong, that I deserve to be here, and that I am making a difference. That does not mean that it has always been easy. The experiences that I had as a young person being the only woman on the jobsite are still happening. We need to make sure that leadership holds all levels of workers accountable to the values that the company espouses.
Steeped in trades education, Minneapolis’ Dunwoody is the only small, private nonprofit technical college in the upper Midwest. The college offers various degree patterns in studies ranging from Construction Management and Automation to Architecture and Radiologic Technology.
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