Construcciones Yamaro: Advancing women in the global construction industry

The International Institute for Women in Construction will amplify the voices of those who are helping women thrive in the industry. (Image: Cultura Creative/stock.adobe.com)

With four decades in construction behind her, Dr Gretchen Gagel now leads a global institute focused on advancing women in the industry.

By Dr Gretchen Gagel.

People have started referring to me as a person who has “dedicated her life to advancing women in construction”. Yes, I have been a woman in construction for four decades. But my work to advance women in construction only began in 2019 when I arrived in Australia. Prior to that, I was the CEO/managing director of two companies where we provided strategic advisement to clients such as General Motors (GM) and Intel on how to build physical assets in the safest, fastest, most cost-effective way. I also continued to provide strategic advisement to contractors, engineering and architectural firms, and building material manufacturers on how to best serve the industry. I was a girl from Kansas in a very “blokey” world.

Dr Gretchen Gagel. (Image: Heidi Victoria)

Then came the move to Australia. No GM. No Intel. I was 54 years old with a newly minted PhD in leadership and agility, and unsure of how I could contribute to the construction industry here. A remark by Steve Davies, CEO of the Australian Pipelines and Gas Association, at its annual conference in Darwin two weeks after I arrived grabbed my attention – we need to do a better job of supporting women in our industry. I later suggested to Steve that we replicate the American Gas Association’s women’s leadership development program. Cohort 10 of that program finished in December 2025, and we implemented a mixed-gender leadership program as well. Wiley US publishing then approached me about writing a book about women leading in construction, something I had no intention of doing until asked. The rest, as they say, is history. Now I am, indeed, a person working hard to support women, and men, in construction.

My latest adventure, perhaps my last, is the creation of a new global non-profit, the International Institute for Women in Construction. My membership on both the Construction Industry Culture Taskforce (CICT) in Australia, and the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America Culture of Care Committee, caused me to realise that we are having similar conversations throughout the world about how to build inclusion, how to attract young people to our industry, how to support women. The statistics for women are remarkably similar in both countries – about 12 to 14 per cent women overall and 2 to 4 per cent women in the trades. We can do better.

I have created this global institute to accomplish four foundational pillars:

1. Research: IIWIC serves as the world’s first global repository for data, research and best practices focused on women in construction. We partner with universities, think tanks and industry leaders to identify and share evidence-based strategies that work.
2. Global storytelling: Culture shifts when stories shift. Through podcasts and global media, IIWIC amplifies the voices of the organisations, associations, unions, teams and individuals who are helping women thrive in construction around the world.
3. Convenings and partnerships: Our local and international convenings will bring together CEOs, union leaders, government officials, educators and advocates to share what’s working and what’s not. We want to bring together the boldest thinkers to redefine our approach to attracting, developing and retaining women in construction.
4. Funding scale: Eventually we will be a source of funding to scale the strategies with proven results in our industry.

We are an amazing industry of humble people who come together every day to solve complex technical challenges. We build and maintain the assets of civilisation, ensuring that the world has clean drinking water, safe bridges and beautiful places that feed our hearts and souls. We are not broken. But we can and will do better. And the changes we make for women will help build a culture that attracts men as well.

Last year I devoted my editorials to sharing the key concepts from my book. This year I am grateful to have the opportunity to share the work happening throughout the world to support women and our next generation of leaders. Thank you to those who take the time to read my words. I hope they stimulate thinking about yourselves as leaders and your daily impact on our industry.

Dr Gretchen Gagel, GAICD, founder and CEO of the International Institute for Women in Construction (iiwic.org), is a member of the National Academy of Construction and a leader respected for her four-decade career of strategic advisement in the construction industry. Gretchen is passionate about leading change in the construction industry and developing future leaders. You can hear more from Gretchen on the Greatness Podcast and her book, Building Women Leaders: A Blueprint for Women Thriving in Construction, is available on Amazon. Find out more at gretchengagel.com

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