The Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship released its FY2025 data in February 2026, and a single number tells a story that was unthinkable five years ago: women now represent 14.3% of all active registered apprentices in the construction trades, up from 3.9% in 2020.
That is a 267% increase in five years. In absolute numbers, the construction trades went from approximately 24,700 female apprentices in 2020 to roughly 103,000 in 2025. The acceleration has been dramatic — 7.2% in 2022, 9.8% in 2023, 12.1% in 2024, and now 14.3% in 2025.
This is not a feel-good story about diversity initiatives. It is a workforce story about an industry facing a 501,000-worker shortage that has finally started tapping the single largest underutilized labor pool in the country. And the data shows that the women entering construction apprenticeships are completing at higher rates, advancing faster, and staying in the trades longer than their male counterparts.
What Is Driving the Surge
Several factors converged to produce this acceleration, and understanding them is important because they suggest the trend will continue rather than plateau.
Federal investment and prevailing wage requirements
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act collectively authorized over $1.6 trillion in construction spending between 2022 and 2032. Much of this spending carries prevailing wage and registered apprenticeship requirements.
Executive Order 14126, signed in September 2024, requires federal construction contractors on projects exceeding $35 million to participate in registered apprenticeship programs and establishes diversity goals for apprentice enrollment. While the order does not set mandatory quotas, it creates strong incentives for contractors to recruit women and underrepresented groups into apprenticeships.
The practical effect: contractors bidding on federal work need apprentices, and the traditional pipeline of young men from construction families is not producing enough candidates. Recruiting women is not just socially progressive — it is a competitive necessity for firms pursuing federal work.
Pre-apprenticeship programs
Pre-apprenticeship programs — structured training programs that prepare participants for entry into registered apprenticeships — have expanded dramatically. The Department of Labor funded 278 construction pre-apprenticeship programs in FY2025, up from 89 in FY2020. Many of these programs specifically target women and have been highly effective at building the foundational skills and industry connections that enable successful apprenticeship entry.
Programs like Oregon Tradeswomen, Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) in New York, Chicago Women in Trades, and the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) women's initiatives have developed models that consistently produce apprenticeship-ready graduates.
Key elements of effective pre-apprenticeship programs include:
- Tool familiarity and basic skills training: Many women entering construction did not grow up using power tools or working on construction projects. Pre-apprenticeship programs close this gap with hands-on training in tool use, safety, blueprint reading, and basic construction math.
- Physical conditioning: Construction work is physically demanding. Effective pre-apprenticeship programs include fitness components that prepare participants for the physical requirements of the trades.
- Industry connections: Programs partner with local Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs) and contractors to create direct pathways from pre-apprenticeship to registered apprenticeship.
- Mentorship: Connecting pre-apprentices with women who are already working in the trades provides role models and realistic expectations about the work.
Wage competitiveness
Construction apprenticeship wages are highly competitive with other entry-level career paths available to young women. A first-year electrical apprentice in a major metropolitan IBEW local earns $22-$28 per hour with full benefits, including health insurance, pension contributions, and annuity. By the fourth year, that same apprentice is earning $36-$44 per hour.
Compare that to the median hourly wage for women aged 20-24 across all occupations: $16.38 per hour according to BLS data, often without benefits. A construction apprenticeship offers wages 40-70% higher than the median from day one, with a clear path to $80,000-$100,000+ in annual earnings as a journeyperson.
This wage advantage, combined with zero student debt (apprentices are paid to learn), has made construction apprenticeships increasingly attractive to young women who might otherwise pursue four-year college degrees with uncertain employment outcomes. For more on how construction wages are outpacing inflation, see our wage analysis.
Cultural shift
The cultural barriers to women in construction, while still significant, are eroding. Social media has played an underappreciated role — accounts run by tradeswomen on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have accumulated millions of followers and have normalized the image of women working in the trades. These are not corporate recruitment campaigns; they are working tradeswomen showing their daily work, their paychecks, and their career progression.
High school career counseling has also shifted. The stigmatization of trades careers that peaked in the 1990s and 2000s — the era of "everyone must go to college" — has faded as student debt has become a generational crisis and skilled trades wages have risen. Guidance counselors are increasingly presenting apprenticeships as viable and valuable career paths for all students, not just those who are "not college material."
Completion Rates: Women Are Outperforming
The most surprising finding in the FY2025 apprenticeship data is completion rates. Nationally, the overall completion rate for construction registered apprenticeships is 58.2%. For women, it is 64.7%.
Safety note: While this section focuses on career outcomes rather than physical safety, the data suggests that diverse crews may actually be safer crews. A 2024 study by the CPWR — The Center for Construction Research and Training found that crews with at least 15% women reported 12% fewer recordable safety incidents than all-male crews. The researchers attributed this to stronger communication patterns, higher rates of near-miss reporting, and less risk-taking behavior in mixed-gender environments.
Several factors appear to contribute to higher completion rates among women:
Selection effect: Women entering construction apprenticeships have typically made a very deliberate career choice. They have often completed a pre-apprenticeship program, researched the trades, and overcome significant social pressure to pursue a non-traditional career. This level of intentionality correlates with persistence.
Program support: Many apprenticeship programs have invested in retention supports specifically for women, including mentorship programs, cohort-based learning where female apprentices train alongside each other, and policies addressing harassment and discrimination.
Economic motivation: For many women entering construction, the apprenticeship represents a significant economic step up. The wage differential between construction apprenticeship wages and the alternatives available to women without four-year degrees is larger, on average, than the differential for men, creating a stronger economic incentive to complete the program.
Trade-by-Trade Breakdown
Women's representation varies significantly across construction trades. Based on FY2025 DOL data and survey data from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC):
Electrical (IBEW/NECA JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 11.2% (up from 3.1% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 3.8%
- Trend: Rapid growth, driven by data center construction demand and strong IBEW recruitment initiatives
Plumbing and pipefitting (UA JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 9.7% (up from 2.8% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 2.9%
- Trend: Steady growth, with particular strength in service plumbing and fire protection
Carpentry (UBC JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 16.8% (up from 5.2% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 4.7%
- Trend: Highest growth rate among the major trades, partly driven by carpenter union recruitment of interior systems and drywall workers
Sheet metal (SMART JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 8.4% (up from 2.1% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 2.2%
- Trend: Growing, but from a small base. SMART has invested heavily in recruitment marketing targeting women.
Ironworking (IW JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 6.9% (up from 1.8% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 1.6%
- Trend: Slowest growth among major trades, partly reflecting the extreme physical demands of structural ironwork
Operating Engineers (IUOE JATCs)
- Female apprentice share: 12.3% (up from 3.6% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 3.4%
- Trend: Strong growth, with heavy equipment operation increasingly recognized as a field where physical strength differences are less relevant
Painting and finishing
- Female apprentice share: 22.1% (up from 8.7% in 2020)
- Female journeyperson share: 8.9%
- Trend: Highest female representation of any construction trade, both at apprentice and journeyperson levels
The Retention Challenge
Recruiting women into apprenticeships is only half the equation. Retaining them through completion and into journeyperson careers requires addressing the barriers that have historically driven women out of the trades.
Harassment and discrimination
The most commonly cited reason women leave construction is harassment. A 2024 survey by NAWIC found that 58% of women in construction reported experiencing sexual harassment, and 71% reported experiencing gender-based discrimination. While these numbers are lower than historical surveys (a similar NAWIC survey in 2018 found 68% and 82% respectively), they remain unacceptably high.
Effective harassment prevention requires more than a written policy. It requires:
- Clear reporting mechanisms that do not require the victim to report to the harasser's direct supervisor (who may be the harasser)
- Prompt investigation and consequences — workers watch what happens when someone reports. If nothing changes, reporting stops.
- Bystander intervention training for all workers — teaching the crew to intervene when they witness harassment, rather than treating it as someone else's problem
- Leadership from the top — when the project superintendent makes clear that harassment will not be tolerated and then follows through, the culture shifts. When leadership is silent, the message is equally clear.
Jobsite facilities
Basic jobsite facilities — restrooms, changing areas — are still not always adequate for women. OSHA requires that employers provide toilet facilities for all workers (29 CFR 1926.51(c)), and best practice is to provide designated facilities for women that are clean, lockable, and private. This is not a luxury — it is a legal requirement and a basic condition of employment.
Equipment and PPE fit
Personal protective equipment designed for male bodies does not fit women properly. Harnesses with chest straps designed for male torsos, gloves sized for male hands, and boots without women's sizing create discomfort, reduce productivity, and can actually increase safety risks. The PPE market has responded — multiple manufacturers now offer full lines of women's construction PPE — but employers need to stock and provide it.
Mentorship and community
Isolation is a significant factor in attrition. A woman who is the only female worker on a 200-person jobsite can feel profoundly isolated, particularly if the culture is unwelcoming. Structured mentorship programs, connections with other tradeswomen through organizations like NAWIC or Tradeswomen Inc., and cohort-based training models all reduce isolation and improve retention.
What Companies Should Do
Formalize recruitment partnerships
Partner with local pre-apprenticeship programs that serve women. Commit to interviewing and hiring their graduates. Budget for sponsoring participants through pre-apprenticeship training. This creates a reliable pipeline and demonstrates commitment.
Audit your jobsite culture
Conduct anonymous climate surveys on your jobsites. Ask specific questions about harassment, discrimination, inclusion, and facility adequacy. If you do not measure it, you cannot improve it.
Invest in mentorship
Assign every female apprentice a mentor — ideally a journeywoman, but a supportive journeyman mentor is better than no mentor. Structure the mentorship with regular check-ins and clear expectations.
Fix the facilities
Provide clean, private, lockable restroom facilities designated for women. Provide a private changing area. Stock women's PPE in appropriate sizes. These are not expensive investments, and their absence sends a loud message about who is welcome on your jobsite.
Track your numbers
Report on female apprentice recruitment, retention, and advancement alongside your other workforce metrics. Set goals. Share progress with your workforce. What gets measured gets managed.
The record 14.3% of women in the overall construction workforce is closely connected to this apprenticeship surge — apprenticeship is the primary pipeline for skilled craft workers, and as female apprentice numbers grow, the overall workforce composition follows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of construction apprentices are women in 2026?
Women represent 14.3% of all active registered apprentices in the construction trades as of FY2025, according to the Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship. This is up from 3.9% in 2020, representing a 267% increase in five years. In absolute numbers, approximately 103,000 women are currently enrolled in construction registered apprenticeships, up from 24,700 in 2020. The growth has been particularly strong in carpentry (16.8%), operating engineers (12.3%), and electrical (11.2%).
Do women complete construction apprenticeships at higher rates than men?
Yes. The national completion rate for women in construction registered apprenticeships is 64.7%, compared to 58.2% overall. Researchers attribute this to a selection effect (women who enter construction have typically made a very deliberate career choice), stronger program support services including mentorship, and a larger economic incentive to complete (the wage differential between apprenticeship wages and alternatives is typically larger for women than for men).
What are the biggest barriers to women in construction apprenticeships?
The most commonly cited barriers are harassment and discrimination (58% of women in construction report experiencing sexual harassment), inadequate jobsite facilities (restrooms and changing areas), PPE that does not fit properly, isolation on jobsites with few or no other women, and cultural norms that discourage women from entering the trades. Pre-apprenticeship programs, mentorship, proper facilities, women's PPE, and strong anti-harassment policies and enforcement are the most effective strategies for addressing these barriers.
How much do women earn in construction apprenticeships?
Construction apprenticeship wages are set by trade and locality, with no gender-based differential. A first-year electrical apprentice in a major metropolitan area typically earns $22-$28 per hour with full benefits including health insurance and pension contributions. By the fourth year, wages increase to $36-$44 per hour. Upon completion and achieving journeyperson status, annual earnings typically reach $80,000-$100,000 or more depending on trade, location, and overtime. These wages are 40-70% higher than the median hourly wage for women aged 20-24 across all occupations ($16.38/hour).
