Construction firms must give women reasons to stay, RESCON panellists say

By Grant Cameron

for Daily Commercial News

Nov. 6, 2026

Recruiting more women into construction is only half the battle. Building workplaces where they want to stay and advance is the next big challenge.

That was one of the central messages from a panel discussion held at a recent online Women in Construction webinar hosted by the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON).

Women are making gains in Ontario’s construction industry, particularly in residential construction, but their presence on jobsites remains stubbornly low, underscoring the need for the sector to focus on retention and career development and opportunities for career advancement, they said.

Creating supportive workplaces, offering flexibility and providing genuine opportunities to advance will determine whether women continue to build lasting careers in the sector, they noted.

Shaily Allison, marketing and engagement manager at BuildForce Canada told the webinar that women account for approximately 13 per cent of Ontario’s construction workforce. However, much of that employment is concentrated away from jobsites in occupations such as project management, estimating, bookkeeping and health and safety.

Women’s share of onsite construction roles is just six per cent, representing approximately 25,000 women across Ontario, according to BuildForce data presented at the webinar.

There are encouraging signs, however.

Allison noted that the proportion of women on construction jobsites has climbed from 3.9 per cent in 2019 to 5.7 per cent, suggesting efforts to recruit women are having an impact. But the numbers also reinforce the importance of ensuring women who enter construction remain there.

Residential construction appears to offer particular opportunities.

Women are more likely to work in residential than non-residential construction, Allison said, with participation reaching as high as about seven per cent in some residential segments. In residential maintenance, she noted, the figure has reached 7.8 per cent.

The reasons are not fully captured in available data, Allison cautioned, but proximity to jobs could be one factor. New-home construction and residential maintenance can provide worksites closer to the communities where workers live.

For women balancing childcare, elder care and other family responsibilities, reducing lengthy trips to changing jobsites can make residential employment more practical, she said.

Allison said women are also represented in construction management, home building and renovation management and supervision, as well as trade-helper and labourer positions and finishing trades such as painting and decorating.

Sylvia Hitchcock, labour relations specialist at Aecon Group, said just getting women through the door, though, will not be enough.

Seeing women succeed in both field and office environments sends an important signal that the industry offers opportunities to grow, lead and make a lasting impact, she said.

“Visibility matters,” because it demonstrates there is no single career path for women in construction.

At Aecon Nuclear, women represent 31 per cent of the permanent workforce, Hitchcock said, and occupy leadership positions ranging from manager to vice-president.

Programs aimed at building sustainable careers include workplace respect training, mentorship, job shadowing, career exposure and women-in-construction committees. Aecon also works with unions on recruitment and pre-apprenticeship initiatives.

For Hitchcock, however, the real measure of progress comes after recruitment.

“Success isn’t just when a woman enters the industry,” she said. “It’s when they stay, grow into leadership.”'

Women need networks from the beginning of their careers, along with mentors, role models, inclusive workplace cultures and clear opportunities for advancement. Most importantly, she said, they have to feel respected and supported.

“When women feel supported, respected, they see a future and they’re more than likely to build lasting careers in construction.”

Jacqueline Morin, director of labour at Plan Group Inc., delivered a similar message, warning employers that recruitment initiatives will have limited value if companies fail to give women reasons to stay.

She said there has been an increase in female applicants for project co-ordination and project management positions, with women moving beyond traditional administrative support roles and taking advantage of opportunities for advancement.

The trend is also showing up in the building trades, with more women entering and remaining in occupations working with tools.

Programs that introduce young women to apprenticeships can be particularly valuable, she said, because they expose them to well-paying career alternatives before they automatically choose a post-secondary path that might not suit them.

According to Morin, many women are coming into the industry through family referrals.

“They see their parents, their uncles, their aunts that are working in the building trades and the life that they've been able to build for themselves and they want to have that similar opportunity.”

Yet Morin stressed that employers must look beyond simply increasing their recruitment numbers.

“You can recruit women, you can entice them to come over, but those things are short-lived” without retention, growth and development, she said.

Flexible workplace practices can also help, particularly as women continue to shoulder significant family responsibilities ranging from raising children to caring for aging relatives, she noted.

Morin said companies ultimately need to demonstrate through their actions that women are essential contributors to their businesses, rather than treating their participation simply as a diversity initiative.

For Allison, better information could help the industry determine what interventions will work best. She called for funding for another comprehensive examination of the status of women in Canadian construction, particularly research into retention challenges and opportunities.

“I would love to have a little bit of funding to do another deep dive report and really look specifically at retention issues and opportunities there.”