This story was produced by The 19th and reprinted with permission.
In 2023, Diamond Harriel was looking for a career change. She had a 10-month-old daughter and had recently gone back to school to get her business administration degree. Because she hoped it would help her get a higher salary than the temporary administrative position she was working.
One day, through a program helping single mothers, she saw a flyer for a new city plan in Rochester, Minnesota, aimed at attracting women of color into the construction workforce.
After learning more, Harriel enrolled in a career readiness training program that taught him everything about construction, from how to read blueprints to operating different tools and basic safety. The program exposed her to possibilities in the construction field, including building inspection, project management, and apprenticeships in skilled trades such as plumbing and electrical.
The city initiative that guided Harriel through training and helped prepare him for the interview is called the Equity in the Built Environment Program. It began in 2023 after Rochester Mayor Kim Norton received a $1 million grant from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Global Mayors Challenge.
When the 2020 recession hit, one thing became clear to Norton: Women of color are bearing the brunt of it. In Rochester, they already held some of the lowest-paying jobs, and when the pandemic hit, those positions were eliminated in fields like the service industry, which disproportionately employ women of color.
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“They’ve probably had the hardest time,” Norton said. “But it was so obvious in the sunlight during the pandemic that it couldn’t be ignored.”
What her office realized was that there was no shortage of employment opportunities.
Rochester, with a population of about 220,000, is halfway through a $585 million, 20-year funding plan to build new infrastructure downtown. It was also home to the renowned Mayo Clinic, which announced $5 billion in economic growth projects.
All this growth meant that many construction jobs were facing worker shortages. Could diversifying the workforce solve this problem?
“Our research shows that very few women and almost no women of color work in construction. We said, ‘There’s an opportunity here,’” Norton said. According to the city, women of color make up 13% of the city's population, but less than 1% work in the construction industry.
Over the past year, the city has been testing equity in the built environment to create solutions that work for both the construction industry, which faces staffing shortages, and the women it seeks to help. If successful, it could serve as a model for other cities, sparking a boom in construction projects across the country.
The pilot project consists of addressing staffing issues in three ways, said project manager Julie Brock. Educate women and girls about employability. training and recruitment for women of color; Addressing long-standing issues related to discrimination and harassment within the industry.
First, program participants are assigned with a career counselor from a local workforce development nonprofit and then enter either a career readiness track or an entrepreneurial track that helps women start their own construction businesses. During that time, they have access to comprehensive services such as child care and transportation to remove barriers to attending classes. For those looking for a job, the program places them with three different companies that are partners in that work. To date, eight women have completed the program.
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Brock said it was a challenge to explain to women that there could be jobs that suited their interests and skills. She initially thought that the only jobs available to women would be trading. Now the pilot program has framed the conversation about the built environment more broadly, alongside other career opportunities in health and safety inspection, interior design and project management.
“The mindset change is we’re not asking people to go to the construction crew and swing a hammer,” Brock said. “If someone wants to do that, that’s great. “But the built environment can create tremendous wealth.”
Aaron Benike, vice president of operations for Benike Construction, one of the pilot's partner companies, said his company is committed to attracting a more diverse workforce. That's why he got involved in this pilot.
With the industry currently experiencing a retirement trend of its predominantly white, male workforce (nationally, one in five construction workers is over 55), he realized he needed to be more intentional about his outreach efforts.
Few of the more than 200 employees are women, and there is only one woman of color currently working at the company.
“It’s just a part of the population that’s not part of the team for whatever reason,” Benike said. “For whatever reason, either they are not welcome or we have not contacted them. Probably both.”
The construction industry as a whole is notorious for discrimination and harassment. According to a report released by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year, women were often denied jobs or subjected to harassment and discrimination in the construction industry.
Benicke, who had the opportunity to talk to women interested in construction while planning the program, said the program opened her eyes to things she had never thought about. He told women, “Safety means safety from harassment… “That was a blind spot for me,” he said. “I've been working all my life and I've never experienced anything like that. Why is that?”
His company is currently undergoing training to obtain the Inclusive Workforce Employer designation, a series of trainings focused on diversity, equity, inclusion, and pilot participation requirements. He hopes job seekers will see this as a sign that his company is a safe place to work. The city's pilot program also trained mentors at each company to work with women to ensure a smooth transition into new fields when they are hired.
Benike hopes to persuade more women to consider entering the field. “The pay is good. Training is good. “It’s safe and the pension is good,” she said.
In recent weeks, the city has begun making public service announcements to get more women involved in the pilot program. Now that it's been running for over a year, organizers feel ready to scale up.
For Sara Tekle, a participant on the Entrepreneurship track, the pilot helped her start a business in the crafts sector, demonstrating construction projects and cleaning.
Tekle, who is from Eritrea, worked as a nurse at the Mayo Clinic for several years. She was already working on her architectural side job after doing some remodeling on her own home.
But the program helped her begin the process of building a website, obtaining a contractor's license and registering her business. She is currently receiving training to help her bid on construction projects. She was also able to network with city pilot companies that could potentially lead to contracts for her own company.
The Rochester City Council has adopted a requirement that a certain number of women- and minority-owned businesses be involved in the construction of city projects that could help women like Tekle.
The program helped Tekle feel more comfortable working on a construction site and assisted with the transition to running the company full-time in May, when the construction job bidding season begins.
Teckle, who also works as a women's advocate, said she would like to encourage other women she knows to consider a career in construction. Eventually, she hopes to become an employer.
“The construction industry is neither welcoming nor welcoming to women,” she said. “When I started my company, my biggest vision was to hire women.”
This story was produced by The 19th and reprinted with permission.