Pursuing a career as a woman in construction can be challenging. Women currently represent only 9.1% of the workers in the construction industry in the United States. Schillivia Baptiste, CEO of Laland Baptiste and Principal Partner of Baptiste Engineering, became a civil engineer and has never looked back, even though being a woman in construction isn’t always easy. In the 2019 CNBC “Women at Work” article, Schillivia explains how she thinks we could overcome some of the stumbling blocks that women in construction face today:
“I think there is not enough introduction at the elementary and middle school grade age of what young girls can be”, says Baptiste, who links the industry’s scant female workforce to a lack of early exposure. “I think it starts there, and before you get to high school, you’re choosing a high school that has something you want to study, and then by the time you get to college, you’re able to make a decision and say, ‘OK, this is what I want to do.’”
– Schillivia Baptiste, CEO of Laland Baptiste & Principal at Baptiste Engineering
