PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The coronavirus pandemic has driven many women out of the American workforce, but not all fields suffered. The number of women in construction grew by 3.2% during the pandemic, more than in any other industry.
Layla Bibi, Philadelphia representative for the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, is making big strides in the male-dominated field.
Right from the start traditionally many girls are taught to play with dolls and play dress up while boys are encouraged to get dirty and play with their toy construction trucks. So Bibi says she wasn’t surprised by her mother’s reaction when she told her she wanted to work in construction.
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“I was raised in a very old-school, traditional household,” Bibi said. “When I told my mother that I wanted to be a carpenter and wanted to work in construction she said, “Absolutely not. That’s no place for a woman.”
Her mom eventually came around. Attitudes are changing more widely, and the industry is evolving, but Bibi says it was tough when she started out.
“I’ve been in situations that were a little rougher than others, and I didn’t feel like I was being treated fairly, and I felt like people were mean to me, and they didn’t have faith in my abilities,” she said.
Now Bibi has a solid 16 years in the industry, and what she does is not for everyone.
“I’m a general carpenter, but I did commercial concrete and heavy highway for most of my career. I did a little bit of everything, but I stuck with concrete. That’s the roughest work,” she said.
She encourages interested women to go for it, though she notes they may have to prove themselves to prospective employers.
“Once they realize not only are you capable but that you’re also committed, then it sparks something in them, and then you have full support,” she said.
Now when she walks onto a job site for work, she can command some respect.
“I may get a little hesitation,” she said, “but if I say I’m Layla Bibi, and I’ve worked for Madison Concrete Construction for six years. I worked for Driscoll and did heavy highway for four years … then they’re like, ‘Oh, can you start today?’”
Philadelphia has the second-lowest percentage of women employed in the construction industry at 5.5%.