How would the construction industry be different if it was predominantly female employees?

Question

Phoenix98 · Accepted Answer

It wouldn't work.

Women don't tend to work well together when it's a predominantly all female workforce.
A good example of this would be the article catfights over handbags and tears in the toilet. Which I suggest you check out.

On top of that women have 33% less skeletal muscle on their bodies then men do and have far less upper body strength then we do. And anyone who's been a manual laborer knows how important it is to have a strong upper body and strong body in general.

It's also quite physically dangerous and the elements play a major part in the exhaustion of it as well not everyone is built to work in extreme cold and heat.

We also handle stress differently as a user below already stated women tend to talk it out while men tend to act it out I can agree with this as when I get stressed out I take it out on the work and work harder so do my coworkers who are all men

That kind of work is fast paced, dirty, heavy and dangerous you often times find yourself in cramped and uncomfortable positions and it's not only the work itself you have to watch out for but the elements as well.

There's a reason why we don't see women doing manual labor often or at all and it's because they either can't do it or won't do it because they don't want to.

I am a manual laborer and I know most women couldn't do my job because I've seen guys built like tanks who couldn't do it because it's just that tiring and exhausting between the work and the elements it kills your body. There is not a single day in 3 years I've come home from work where my body wasn't killing me and I wasn't covered in sweat, dust and dirt or occasionally blood from accidents.

Now I'm not gonna say that there aren't women who couldn't succeed or even thrive doing that kind of stuff because I have seen farm girls who work the fields and it's hard work but they are few and far between and more of an exception and not the rule.

And most women that you do see doing that kind of labor or working in those kinds of environments grew up doing that kind of work and in that kind of environment such as working on farms and such as kids and stuck with it as they got older which is why they can do it.

CasuallySamsonite · Accepted Answer

Hell, to anyone who thinks women can't do the job... You ain't met the right bunch of women yet. My mother worked construction, and I ain't talking lite trim and paint work... I mean the heavy stuff. Framing, Roofing, Floor Joist Repair, Big Heavy Beams, Sheet Rock, Tile work, interior, exterior, everything... She could swing a sledge, work a hammer drill, and had no problems with a full size nail gun or whatever kind of saw you can imagine... Believe me. Think she's unique? Guess again, I got a buddy who is one of the toughest, meanest SOB's I've ever had the pleasure of calling a friend, his wife works construction and can out work any three of the other guys on her crew every day of the week. Hell, she fell off a roof once, landed on a running table saw and not only survived but gave birth to their happy healthy son 8 months later and went back to work.

All that said, to answer your question... as someone who has worked construction myself, I'd gladly welcome more women on the job. I think overall not much would change but that's okay too.

Rachelspiks · Accepted Answer

"Furthermore, please show some class and refrain from cheap shots such as "women are weaker and slower than men", focus on other topics, for instance teamwork, mental health, objectifying men and communication."
Why should anyone do that though? Don't you want everyone's honest opinions here? In my view, teamwork is grossly over-rated, because what you wind up with is a situation where one or two members of the team do all of the work while the others just slack off and don't do anything. Admittedly, I've never worked on a construction site, but everywhere else I've worked (and at university as well), whenever "teamwork" was involved I would find myself wanting to just get the job done but couldn't, because the other team-members just didn't care.

Coulis · Accepted Answer

Well who's to say but if it were anything like in an office there would be a whole bunch of snarky power tripping and fault finding texts shooting around the jobsite all day.

Sabotage between the trades over petty crap like tone.

The forewoman targeting one employee and gathering a bunch of persnickety dirt on her to get her kicked off the job.

Meetings about one woman being to harsh with another about how she framed a job causing her to cry and the subsquent sensitivity training.

Then of course the celebratory pub night once the job is done. It would be kinda cool.

Hairylegs222 · Answer

So this topic focuses on just the construction industry. But I can share my experience working in a production steel pipe mill for over 10 years. To elaborate what goes on in there, there's grinding, welding, operators, maintenance, crane, forklift, plasma cutting, and much more.

All women in there EXCEPT 2 either got themselves fired, quit very early, involved in a messy drama situation with human resources stepping in, big complainers, attendance issues, or showing up late often. Supervisors would even assign women the easiest jobs in the mill just pushing buttons at a control panel.

Everyone is different and finding good workers man or woman isn't easy to find. There were a lot of bad workers in that pipe mill both men and women. It was unlucky that almost all the women hired through there weren't good.

The 2 women that were excellent workers, one was the plant manager, other was high up on the quality side doing ultra sonic.

My opinion to the question from my experience in the working world is if a construction site has majority women and it has good workers overall, then I see the site doing just fine. If there's majority of bad workers then lol it would be quite the opposite.

As for the upper body strength differences between men and women for particular physically demanding jobs. I see no issue if she's willing to work hard and eventually gain some muscle overtime to be able to handle the job easier and get used to it doing it daily. Which is true for everyone.

This_Is_My_Opinion8 · Answer

I am a civil engineer.
I had a front row seat to see how women work on this field. Unlike most people here.

Literally all of them were great professionals! Do you have any idea what takes to be a woman giving orders to construction workers? Literally all the cliches about them are true and even we men have a hard time dealing with them sometimes.

So every single of them is super assertive and knows a LOT about what they are doing. Probably because they knew they had to be taken seriously.

I had already 2 bosses who said they would never hire woman. And funny thing is the ones I met working as engineers where some of the best on the field I have ever seen.

I never seem a woman working as a constructor. But make no mistake I give you no guarantee they would be worse then men. Do you know how many times I have to ye at my worker because they are being basically scratching their balls all day and nothing more?

Flower7 · Answer

A lot less work would get done because females don't have as much upper body strength.

Oigit · Answer

My grandparents have a farm where they grow hay and alfalfa. My uncle and aunt also raise cattle on the farm as well. In a lot that has left me more open minded. To the men are not as superior to women as we a taught to think. Because both my grandmother and aunt have near had any real issues keeping with my grandfather and uncle when it comes to the physically intensive jobs on the farm. If it was not for my grandmother and aunts help for the years a lot of jobs would have taken a lot longer or never been finished at all.

Of course when it comes to loading a entire load of hay bales for a customer it's going to come down the the individual. I can see some women Not being up to loading hay bales for customers. I can a lot of the "men are superior" guys bitching after loading 10 bales and bitching about it being too hard. When my grandmother and grandfather are still going.

Vviiccttoorr · Answer

Of course there will be those who call me sexist but, I’m being realistic here. I love the ladies and all but, when it comes to heavy lifting and dangerous construction; that’s something you typically leave to guys who would be more likely to handle those sort of things and that’s just for everyone’s safety and how to get better and faster results.

However, things like planning, critiquing, and handling smaller objects (that are maybe even meticulous) would work out a lot better. Men and women can both handle things like those and can work together for those things but, dangerous things like you’ve mentioned are better off in the hands of men.

Physically and psychologically speaking men and women are different (which is what can make for great compatibility for certain situations) and have their strong suits and this particular one tends to lean into what guys can do better but, there are definitely women that can contribute to this field greatly as well.

TDDMS · Answer

It would all come crashing down. As a case in point, look at the bridge that was designed by 6 latinas who were so incompetent they don't understand basic structural engineering equations. Ultimately they are so incompetent, 6 people died and 9 were severely maimed. You know missing arms, faces sheered off, just minor inconveniences. And as a last point, the latinas who designed the bridge based it on their feelings, not on 2500 years worth of equations and established science. Or the fact that they felt re-enforced concrete wasn't necessary because it didn't feel good, rather than using re-enforced concrete. So to your question, that is what construction would look like if women were in charge.

Ukrainianbuddafly · Answer

For one thing the quality would be better because we have more attention to detail and tend to take more pride in perfecting the things we do.

Charliefretz329 · Answer

The planning and engineering parts, the heavy equipment operators, the non “heavy manual labor positions could run fine.

Heavy manual labor, especially upper body strength demands, are better suited disproportionately to men. Not all men, but disproportionately so. It’s just the facts. It can’t be argued. My own mother worked such a position and while she a great deal more built than some men are and many women, she suffered far more joint damage from the abuses of the job than my Father, a well built man

MTC29 · Answer

If women were in charge, there would be a LOT more attention to small details. In addition, meetings would involve honest discussion, rather than a group of guys getting together who had already made up their minds on what they were going to do.

Women are much more detail oriented, which is why I prefer having a female doctor.

Miristheiss · Answer

It would be pretty non existent.
All of the houses, buildings, roads, super structures, rocket engines, space craft/rockets, cars, engines, tractors, aircraft, trains, ships, welders, pipe fitters... etc. have pretty much been done by men.

The vast majority of women don't have any interest in that stuff at all.
If the world had been dependent on women throughout history to build all the houses, structures, sky scrapers, roads to think up and create internal combustion engines and vehicles, machines to power the industrial revolution, build all the roads and bridges, invent the airplane and jet engines... etc., we'd probably still be waiting for a lot of that.

hellionthesagereborn · Answer

Statistically speaking? Considerablly less efficient. Women take more days off, more sick days, work fewer hours, and are physically weaker then men as well as being in general less inclined towards that kind of work. Obviously any woman who does this job and does it well is fine, but they are the exception not the rule.

ChrisMaster69 · Answer

I have zero experience of construction but I have of Aviation, Electronics, Software etc and there are a large number of women working in those areas.

There are really good and add to the overall team.

Even in metal fabrication etc, I’ve noticed a rise in women working there.

Also I seem to remember both the UK and the US had a huge female workforce for WW2, building aircraft, ships etc.

BeMuse · Answer

They would give up and go home after 30 minutes rather than working 10-12 hour days. They would take a lot of days off. Most women don’t stick at hard labor unless a man is there saying keep going, we have to get the job done. So if a house normally takes 3 months to build it would take women six years to get it done and that’s before they even got to arguing over how to decorate it... The client might be dead before the house is ready to live in.

TonyV · Answer

Nothing would get done cause women in general dont want to do construction. I'm an electrician, I've seen a handful of female electricians but only. on big jobs most places I go there are none, no one is stopping them from doing this work but themselves, so based on the fact that they could be construction workers if they chose to but many dont they would find any excuse to avoid work.

cth96190 · Answer

Women are physically incapable of doing the heavy, dirty and dangerous work that is involved in construction.
Most women are also not interested in doing that type of work.
When they try, this is how well it works:
https://iotwreport.com/female-led-construction-company-was-responsible-for-deadly-florida-bridge-collapse/

andreasderjuengere · Answer

''Here'' (Thailand) this isn't too uncommon.
We have a number of girls working in our boat yard, too. They work just fine - fully accepted as part of the team and performing no different from men.
In previous and similar arrangements -in Europe- I saw the same; but it is spread less widely.
I think, the MAIN difference are the breakfast and lunch breaks. Men are less ''noisy'' there :D

Anpu23 · Answer

The primary reason why men dominate this field is because of how physically dangerous it is. Im not saying women can't be put into dangerous situations, I am saying biologically men are more disposable. So for more women to be involved safety becomes a more important factor. So if it was female dominated I think our construction techniques would change significantly, less reliance on brute force and more concern over employee safety. The get it done factor just goes away.

Massageman · Answer

I'll have to consult my older daughter. She has a Masters in Architectural Engineering, was a LEED certified instructor, had her thesis published, and has published under her own label recently. Knowing her planning capabilities, (COVID notwithstanding) at least she would "bring the project in" on schedule!

crazy8000 · Answer

Most likely not that much difference.

A lot of ideological gender beliefs gonna fly on this.
Even superiority complex beliefs.

When it comes to it humans have a way to adapt and a lot of thing's are intelligent created to fit someone's agenda.

darkfoxjj · Answer

On average, there would be far more talking and discussing going on. There would be longer cues at the dixietoilet 😁 Possibly they'd work smarter with more machinery and technical efficiency.

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exitseven · Answer

I used to sell equipment and uniforms for police and fire departments. This was when female police officers was becoming a thing. It was hard for the first of them but it became more mainstream. Maybe the same could happen in construction.

Juan_Curious · Answer

In our era, when machines have replaced physical strength in a great degree, women can be as efficient workers as men.

rcljr · Answer

None of the heavy lifting would get done unless the entire operation was mechanically assisted. Women do NOT have the upper body strength to handle the repetitive lifting.

pinaypixie · Answer

Some bum ass company will make a bunch of pink tools

Anonymous · Answer

There would be more vanity mirrors, such as you might find in a mercedes and the badges on the back indicating the vehicle was fuel injected e. g. 206 GTi would have heart shapes in place of dots for the 'i'.

Fuentes · Answer

Them. coming in as the guy would be great cause everytime there's a new female in a warehouse every dude and even the bosses are all over her but when your that dude it should be the other way around lol

Anonymous · Answer

"Focus on other topics, for instance teamwork, mental health, objectifying men and communication"

Seems much less like a question attempting to uncover truth and more like propagandistic promotion of an agenda. . .

EnglishArtsteacher · Answer

The collective IQ of all construction workers would raise about 50 points.

ToastyOats · Answer

The construction industry might not be too different but the overall society would probably collapse.

Youdumbeotch · Answer

Nothing would ever get done. All work would be spontaneous and then remain unfinished for several weeks

Mofunfour20 · Answer

Production would decrease by about 35-60 percent. Men have 30% more muscle than women. Men and women are different, its not sexist

Anonymous · Answer

Nothing would get done. They would screw around and either gossip or be at each others' throats. Have you ever seen an all-female workplace?

Rangers · Answer

Yeah, even less shit would get done. That may seem impossible, but I assure you that it is

Anonymous · Answer

Progress would slow to a halt. Prices would be unaffordable because demand would far far far far outstrip production. Women are unable to do these jobs productively

Dayman343 · Answer

I work in construction and there are many females involved but everyone is treated as an equal

RawIronhide · Answer

Everything would be very colorful but completely falling apart lol. I don't know how could someone answer that with certainty, it's not.

msc545 · Answer

There would be far more accidents, and things would not be built correctly.

007kingifrit · Answer

well gee... nothing would ever get built for one =p

Anonymous · Answer

It wouldn't exist.. Most women don't want that kind of work it requires strength, precision, and getting dirty,..

MCheetah · Answer

It wouldn't last a week.

jshm2 · Answer

It would cease to exist.

Not_Average · Answer

Would be a lot less effective lol

ManHater · Answer

Nothing much would get done.

LtJackass · Answer

I think women would be hotter and more miserable.

Hanmakev · Answer

Everything would be pink I guess

Anonymous · Answer

No work would get done

Anonymous · Answer

We would be at least 75 years behind.

Anonymous · Answer

we'd still be living in caves and pitching tents

Nachowedgie · Answer

Things would take longer and cost more

Anonymous · Answer

Just people bitching and not getting work done

Anonymous · Answer

We’d probably have a lot of building collapses

Dvchill · Answer

Things would b shorter?

Joker_ · Answer

Shit

How would the construction industry be different if it was predominantly female employees?

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