Pay gaps between men and women are a problem in the AEC industry and beyond—and they are a sign of complex, systemic problems in companies. “It’s more of a symptom,” said Elizabeth Walgram, senior consultant in the compensation and career strategies practice at human resources consulting firm Segal.

The problem is acute in construction, however, with a workforce comprised of 90% men and 10% women, leaving the latter to fight harder for equity in pay and career advancement, said Sharon Hidalgo, firm vice president of new client acquisition.

Hidalgo and Walgram spoke about pay equity May 6 at theGroundbreaking Women in Constructionvirtual conference, presented by ENR in partnership with law firm Peckar & Abramson. Their keynote session comments were among others that addressed how to achieve equity and inclusion in industry office and jobsite workplaces.

希达尔戈说，在新利luck一项研究中，女性建筑经理的每一美元赚了82美分，同一份男人的薪水为女性建筑经理的薪水为平均约71,000美元的男人的82,000美元。Walgram说，薪水不平等往往会随着时间的流逝而发生，妇女被忽视晋升或更高的薪水，因为公司经常在系统内建立内部偏见。

While men and women all start on equal footing at the bottom of the career ladder before age 30, by the time they reach 45, 37% of men, compared with 25% of women, are managers, and 8% of men, compared with 4% of women, are executives at a firm, according to Segal research.

Walgram说，薪酬差距是从第一个工作要约开始的。妇女要么不太愿意以更高的薪水进行谈判，要么即使他们提出要求也不会获得更多的薪水。但是，她补充说，如果一个女人正在与另一名女性进行谈判，那么妇女更有可能成功地谈判。

妇女之所以受到阻碍，是因为她们经常受到志愿工作的任务，例如组织办公室聚会或在不提前薪水或职业生涯的委员会工作。

对这样的志愿者要求不说是女性可以做的一件事，以提高薪水竞争环境。女员工应确定女性冠军和导师，并进行谈判并接受延伸机会。对于雇主，Walgram建议公司必须了解围绕薪资公平的文化，并“建立围绕薪资股权主题和性别代表差距的紧迫性”。

Top Contractors Set Construction Inclusion Week

Five of the largest U.S. contractors—Turner Construction Co., DPR Construction, Gilbane Building Co., McCarthy Building Cos. and Mortenson—told the GWIC audience about the coalition they formed to build a zero-tolerance community against racism, hate, bias and harassment. Rodney Pope, Turner senior vice president, was “not surprised” that 54% of attendees responded in a poll that they personally had experienced hate or racism in the industry.

教皇在比较仇恨，骚扰，种族主义，偏见和歧视病毒时说：“使这些行为的发生并不容易或迅速，但绝对有必要建立正确的文化。”这些公司同意，所有仇恨和种族主义事件都需要采取行动，这意味着要为愿意改变的个人提供教练，或者在某些情况下，如果没有改变。

Stacee Barkley, DPR's diversity, equity and inclusion leader, announced one new remedy the coalition is developing—the first Construction Inclusion Week, set for Oct. 18-22. As they educate and celebrate, participants can “stand united in setting expectations and promoting consistent behavior,” she said, adding that the program is modeled on Safety Week in many ways.

Mortenson project manager Sydney Wittmier said that when a woman or person of color starts work on her site, she pulls them aside and says, “I hope you are treated fairly here, but in the event that you are not, please know that you have someone who is in your court—someone that will do something about any things they may happen to you.”

Young women of color shared experiences and challenges they had encountered in advancing construction careers.

They agreed that while the industry is becoming more diverse, there are still some preconceived notions they face. Nadene Taylor, associate at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, noted that while prejudices exist, “showing that you know who you are and are just as good as them will dispel those lies.”

他们同意，成为盟友的最好方法是倡导您的同事。纽约州长岛市的当地1工会水管工亚历山德·迪达里亚（Alexandria Defaria）说：“不要驳回我们的投诉。”泰勒补充说，领导者“听取他们信任我们做得很好的人的声音”在职业发展方面可能意味着很多。

在MNS Engineering工作的加利福尼亚州理工学院圣路易斯·奥比斯波（San Luis Obispo）的三年级土木工程专业的学生Hephzibah Dadala是第三代工程师。她说：“我妈妈是一名工程师，所以我很想看到工程上的女性。”但是进入田野是一个“大开眼界”，即成为有色人种的挑战。她说：“直到到达那里，我才质疑我属于。”

Digitized Diversity

威斯康星大学 - 斯托特大学（University of Wisconsin-Stout）副教授，工业研究专家Mona Affifi说，建筑业的女技术专家指出了数字化的力量，尤其是在“对经济产生显着影响”的行业“对经济产生重大影响”的能力。技术采用。

Noting that a key challenge for industry women has been jobsite “acceptability” and the long hours required, Nancy Novak, chief innovation officer of owner Compass Datacenters and a former contractor manager, said new technologies allow more offsite work that improves efficiency, reduces physical impacts on people and allows better oversight—for men as well as women. “We’ve really learned that with technologies like remote commissioning and digital twins, you can still have major project impact from a remote location,” she said.

辩称，在技术采用方面的行业领域中，该构建是“终于倒数第二”的，行业软件公司Hexagon PPM副总裁Cathy Hayes指出，女性专家需要“带到餐桌上”的技术，例如4D和5D BIM和5D BIM和5D先进的机器人技术“改善构建方式并利用技术利用现有知识来展示如何做得更好。当今公司的利润很薄，这一点很重要。”

Autodesk Construction Cloud的客户成功经理Cara Wilcynski表示，虽然负责人知道该行业，但我知道计算机以及如何在i-Pad上启动模型，并访问嵌入式数据以更好地了解安装过程。”

妇女专家一致认为，技术领域的能力已经开始提高竞争环境，并改变了行业女性的看法。海斯在职业生涯的早些时候说：“很少有人要求我意见。现在我是桌子上的专家。这需要毅力和激情，但是如果您带来良好的价值，他们会听。这就是您要改变行业所要做的。”

设计多样性

GWIC的与会者还了解了已经开始影响AEC专业人员在设计和建筑设施和基础设施方面的新兴领域的见解。

Ileana Rodriguez, principal at I Design Access, an international architecture design consultant, who is a paralympic swimmer, shared howinclusive designbenefits everyone, not just the disabled. In a May 5 keynote, she said that inclusive design also improves a company’s bottom line and that making a design accessible does not necessarily mean it has to be ugly.

罗德里格斯（Rodriguez）鼓励业主和设计师考虑从一开始就可以访问设计，而不仅仅是以后增加这些功能。

在GWIC的闭幕主题演讲中，新名称为HNTB公司基础设施和流动性权益公司总裁Diana Mendes指出，在更广泛的规模上，项目计划和执行也将被要求集中在对环境正义上的重点，从而权衡公平对社区的影响。

“基础设施团队在与社区互动时需要更具包容性。计算与会者和交易公众参与的日子已经一去不复返了。我们需要邀请所有人参加桌子，甚至是那些不愿意来的人。我们必须负责对他们的想法采取行动。”

门德斯说，需要扩大公众参与的必要性刺激了该公司在爱荷华州运输部的工作，以创建公众参与管理应用程序（PIMA）虚拟平台，该平台使该机构可以跟踪数千个利益相关者的评论，并突出不同社区代表的差距。

“Equity must shape our mindset in how we create infrastructure to serve all people, not just those using facilities,” she said. “Investors know that such action builds value and stronger communities, the backbone of our country.”

孟德斯说，宣布新兴的心态“共同创造经济”时说：“我们需要建立自己的共同创造模式，以交付基础设施，这是从真正倾听员工，社区和其他人创造最佳解决方案的基础设施开始。”

ESG pressure is one catalyst, as is the Biden administration.

Mendes pointed to what she termed its "transformational" Justice40 initiative that incorporates environmental justice into all federal agency missions—mandating that 40% of federal investment, including in infrastructure delivery, must address disproportionate impacts on underserved communities.

门德斯说：“这不仅是一个目标。”“政府将对此进行跟踪……对资金，项目优先级和决策产生影响。”

Mendes also敦促AEC行业to reframe its view of engaging with minority and women-owned small businesses and others traditionally labeled “disadvantaged,” not as “an obligation or requirement,” but as a way to “open eyes to different talents ... that may show an entirely new way" to do work, and even offer “competitive advantage.”

She said: “This is a time of great introspection and new conversations to change the way we do things."