March 1 to 7 marks Women in Construction Week, a time to recognize the professionals contributing to construction and field service and to examine the future of the workforce shaping the trades.
According to the National Center for Construction Education & Research (NCCER), women represent 11% of the U.S. construction workforce. In field-level trades such as plumbing and electrical, that number drops to roughly 3%. At the same time, contractors across the industry continue to navigate global skilled labor shortages that affect backlog, service timelines, and long-term growth.
Those realities exist together. The industry needs more skilled professionals, and the workforce pipeline has room to grow.
The Workforce Reality Facing the Trades
Construction has long carried a reputation as a physically demanding, male-dominated industry. Physical strength has often been treated as the defining qualification. That framing overlooks two truths. First, physical capability does not belong to one gender. There are women across the trades performing demanding field work every day. Second, the nature of physical work itself is evolving.
Modern jobsites increasingly rely on advanced equipment, lift-assist technology, robotics, prefabrication, automation, and digital coordination tools. Tasks that once required brute force now depend on training, precision, and the ability to operate technology effectively. As tools evolve, the playing field expands. Individuals with different physical builds, strengths, and even physical limitations are finding new entry points into careers that may have once seemed out of reach.
Technology is not replacing skill. It is amplifying it. It is also broadening who can participate.
Leadership Has Evolved Beyond the Jobsite
At the same time, trade businesses are becoming more operationally complex. Profitability depends on more than completing a job. It depends on understanding how labor, materials, scheduling, and pricing interact in real time.
Amy Carnrick, former CEO of Foster Plumbing, grew a 10-million-dollar plumbing company by refusing to let margin be a mystery. “When systems are disconnected, profit erodes quietly. When pricing lives in someone’s head, control disappears.” By aligning estimating, purchasing, and invoicing workflows, she built financial visibility into the core of the business. The company ultimately sold at a six times EBITDA multiple, reflecting disciplined operations rather than short-term hustle.
Dawn Lawrie, Group Systems Director, Virtual FM, has described growth as the result of alignment. “All those things linked together give you a really good outcome. It’s the key to business growth.” Frances Paku, Co-Owner of Vertac Wellington, captured the shift in practical terms: “We moved away from gut feeling and opinions, because now we actually have the data to justify decisions.”
The modern trades run on clarity. They run on systems, coordination, compliance, and real-time insight. They require skilled technicians in the field, disciplined operators behind the scenes, and leaders who understand how to connect both.
Expanding Access Strengthens the Industry
Women remain underrepresented in many trade roles, particularly in field positions. Yet across plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and construction, women are contributing as technicians, project managers, operators, business owners, and executives. Their presence today is measurable. Their potential impact on a constrained labor market is even greater.
Women in Construction Week offers a moment to recognize the professionals already shaping this evolution and to acknowledge a broader opportunity. As robotics, automation, and digital tools continue to transform how work is performed, the trades are becoming more accessible to a wider range of skilled individuals.
Building the Next Decade of the Trades
The next decade will favor companies that adopt technology, build disciplined systems, and expand their talent pipelines intentionally. Labor challenges will not solve themselves. Workforce growth will come from rethinking assumptions about who belongs on a jobsite and who can lead a trade business.
At Simpro, we support that evolution by connecting people, processes, and financial truth in real time. As the workforce expands and technology reshapes the field, businesses equipped with clarity and control will be positioned to grow with confidence.
Women in Construction Week highlights part of that future. The larger story is about strengthening the entire industry by widening access to skill, leadership, and opportunity.
Back to top