Hoosier highlight: Women in Construction week

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — March is here and that means it is Women’s History Month. The month is starting off highlighting an important industry that is looking to get more women involved.

March 2-8 is Women in Construction Week. It’s a week to celebrate and promote the role of women in the construction industry.

As Indianapolis continues to grow and develop, a lot of construction is happening to turn plans into reality. While this industry is still male-dominated, there are a growing number of women who are part of those teams.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows there has been a lot of growth for women in construction in the last 10 years.

In 2015, there were around 929,000 women in the industry. That number grew to 1.34 million by 2024. However, that is still only about 11% of the construction workforce.

Autumn Schmicker and Ayren Cobb are two Purdue graduates working for homebuilding company Taylor Morrison in Indianapolis.

Both say they got into construction watching their family members in the industry. They shared what their favorite parts of their job are.

“I get to have a really unique experience being a superintendent,” said Schmicker. “I get to deal with the buyers and clients that we bring through the door. So the rewarding thing to me is knowing that I get to manage this process.”

“It’s seeing something come from nothing,” said Cobb, who is a purchasing agent. “There’s like, a certain beauty to building that I really enjoy and that drew me into the construction industry in the first place.”

Both said they are thankful to work for Taylor Morrison, which said it has 44% female representation in its workforce. In the last five years, it has seen a 185% increase in female construction roles.

As of last September, the Department of Commerce reported there were about 300,000 job openings in construction. Schmicker and Cobb want to encourage more women to consider these jobs.

“Both Ayren and I are in those meetings where we’re the only female in that room, or we’re the only female on the job site, and that can be really intimidating,” said Schmicker. “But don’t sell yourself short. You’re smarter, stronger and more competent than you think you are.”

“You can pursue the financial side of things, there’s the interior and extra design side of things, if you go the commercial route, there’s electrical, mechanical and civil engineering,” said Cobb. “So there’s a lot of avenues and paths you can follow, but just having the confidence to pursue it.”

Purdue recently announced a new program launching at its Indianapolis campus in 2026 to get more construction leaders into the workforce. Click here to read more about that program.