An appeal for women to take up construction

Housing Minister Maria Browne wants to see more women take up careers in the
construction industry as she bemoans the dearth of women engaged in that sector.
Speaking during the debate on the National Budget on Tuesday, Minister Browne
said as minister responsible for housing development and of works she has only
come across ‘a handful of women’ who are actively engaged in construction.
“Construction is a male-dominated industry and I have only met a handful of
females who are interested in construction. In fact, we had about ten interns from
the Harrison Centre assigned to National Housing this year and all have agreed to
stay on after they were offered permanent jobs by the agency; among them was
one female,” she observed.
According to the minister, going forward, it is her wish to see more females taking
up jobs in the construction sector. She noted that there is a scarcity of skilled
construction workers in the country and this has led the government to contemplate
granting special waivers for skilled non-nationals to come to Antigua and Barbuda
to fill those vacancies.
Minister Maria Browne noted also that the wages paid in the construction sector
are quite good and females answering the call can be guaranteed that they will
receive attractive wages.
“You would have heard of the construction boom, the attractive wages and I
believe that it is time for our women to tap into that industry; whether it is heavy-
duty, construction itself or construction management, there are many avenues for
revenue-generation especially for single mothers,” she exclaimed.
Minister Browne made it clear that the opportunities for women are endless and
she is making a special appeal for women to come forward and to share in the
many benefits that are available in the construction sector.