BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Editor

The construction industry has one of the smallest gender wage gaps between women and men, yet women account for only 9.9 percent of its workforce, according to a recent Bureau of Labor statistics report.
In a move to change that number, students and staff from Northern Michigan University’s Construction Management program joined area female students in ninth and tenth grades for Women in Construction Day last Friday at Clarkston Junior High.
The students took part in projects in woodworking, simulated construction equipment operation, urban planning, and more.
“The purpose of the event is to expose young women to careers in the construction industry, from skilled trades to leadership-type positions, with an understanding that there is a severe need, a severe shortage of labor and all positions in the industry,” said Heidi Blanck, assistant professor in NMU’s Construction Management program. “It is an extremely viable and successful career choice for anybody. The intent is to try to fill the roles and needs of the construction industry and just let these young ladies experience something that maybe they haven’t had the chance to experience otherwise.”

One Northern Michigan freshman Construction Management student, Olivia Torres, graduated from Clarkston High School in 2021 and came back for last Friday’s event.
“It means the absolute most to me to be back and I’m thrilled to be having this kind of impact,” Torres said. “I do like to think about my larger place in life and if I could influence more girls to join the construction industry, or even to just get excited and thinking about it, that would mean the most to me.”
Torres added that there are many aspects of the construction field that makes the industry appealing.
“Just the fact that I can apply what I know and see it become this huge building or even this smallest of little memorials, no matter what, just knowing that my hard work becomes something physical and something I can look at or something to look back on, that means so much to me and makes me feel accomplished.”
Blanck noted that in a field more known for male workers that female workers, the CJHS event was hopefully a step in the right direction to steer females to looking at construction.
“I think it’s getting better, but we still don’t think of construction as something that is a traditional field or a traditional role for women,” Blanck said. “We want them to see professional women in the industry and the skilled trades and in all of these roles to see that, look, they’re doing great, they love it, and here are their stories and how they got there. We want them to also see the males that are here volunteering and seeing that they have that support.
“When we get a diverse work force, we get a better product. In construction, we seem to have picked up on that a little sooner that some other industries have, and I hope that these women feel supported in any field that they may choose in construction.”
Torres agreed with Blanck that more females can definitely have roles in construction.
“It’s always been a male-dominated field because, I mean, look at me, I’m 5-foot-3, very petite girl, and I get looked at when I lift something over ten pounds, get asked if I need help,” said Torres. “I would love for that stereotype, that stigma, of women not being able to do construction to be destroyed greatly.”

Top photo: Richard Lau, of Ironworkers Local 25, goes over the finer points of construction with Holly High School ninth grader Kylie McLeod last Friday at CJHS.