Numbers Matter: Women Working in Construction in 2025

In 2025, an estimated 365,070 women worked in construction and extraction occupations. This is marginally lower than the 2024 estimates of 366,360, reflecting slow growth in construction employment overall.¹ However, because no data were collected in October 2025 due to the federal government shutdown, annual averages for 2025 and 2024 are not fully comparable.²

Tradeswomen were only 4.3 percent of all construction trade workers, unchanged from 2024. Progress slowed after rapid growth since 2015.³ In three of the five largest trades, women’s 2025 share of jobs was even smaller: 3.1 percent of carpenters; 3.1 percent of plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters; and 3.5 percent of electricians (Table 1). Women’s share was highest among painters and paperhangers, at 11.1 percent, and construction laborers, at 4.7 percent (Table 1).

Women’s share of construction industry jobs (including administrative and professional as well as tradesworkers, both directly employed and self-employed workers) increased marginally in 2025, from 11.2 percent to 11.3 percent, adding an estimated 22,649 jobs to reach close to 1.4 million jobs.

Women construction managers saw a decline both in their employment and in their share of jobs. In 2025, an estimated 102,000 women worked as construction managers, down from 131,355 in 2024. Women construction managers were hit disproportionately by job losses, with their share of jobs falling to 8.5 percent from 10.5 percent in 2024.

Women’s share of construction apprentices improved slightly during 2025, but women remain highly underrepresented. Earn-as-you-learn apprenticeships train the next generation of tradespeople. The number of active women apprentices in construction increased from 11,216 in 2024 to 13,200 in 2025 in the 43 states in the Department of Labor database (RAPIDS) with construction industry data by sex. Women were 5.3 percent of active construction industry apprentices (for whom gender was known) in 2025, compared to 4.9 percent in 2024.⁴

State variations suggest that apprenticeship policy matters. In five states, women’s share of construction apprentices is at least 9 percent: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and North Dakota.⁵ Women’s share is less than 3 percent, however, in Arkansas, Delaware, Nevada, and South Dakota.⁶ Strength in numbers matters as well: In California, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington, there were at least 1,000 active women construction apprentices.

Policymakers and industry leaders must continue to tackle discrimination to accelerate growth and support women in the industry. The 2025 numbers point to women’s resilience and staying power, but also show uneven progress and continued dramatic underrepresentation in construction. Too many women—particularly women of color—face discrimination in hiring, employment, and promotions, and experience sexual or racial harassment and gender bias on the job.⁷ Such adverse conditions mean that women are less likely to complete their apprenticeships and are more likely to leave the industry than men.⁸ Making matters worse, the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are creating a chilling effect on supporting women in nontraditional occupations.

Construction companies need to recruit and retain workers to meet projected demand and replace retiring workers,⁹ and the industry benefits greatly from the skilled work of tradeswomen and investments in apprenticeships.¹⁰ Neither women nor the sector can afford for policymakers and industry leaders to slow or reverse focus on growing women’s numbers in construction.

This Quick Figure was prepared by Ariane Hegewisch and Pamela Alvarado and was made possible with the support of our key funders. It updates an earlier version prepared with the National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues, a coalition of tradeswomen organizations, advocates, allies, and individual tradeswomen.