From The Contrarian by Jaime Lodge
Last year, the number of women in the construction industry hit a 20-year high—1.34 million, with more than half a million in managerial or professional roles. Yet despite these gains, discrimination against women business owners remains rampant. Some recount prime contractors withholding payment unless they agreed to inappropriate advances. Others remember when banks refused them loans unless a husband co-signed. I know firsthand that the barriers women face in construction are not always this blatant—but they persist all the same. They show up in who gets access to opportunities and who is assumed to belong in the room.
For those of us in the industry, this inequity isn’t abstract. It’s a daily reality. The outcomes speak for themselves: women- and minority-owned businesses receive fewer opportunities in private contracting where no federal inclusion goals exist. And even with such goals, women-owned construction firms earn just 48 cents for every dollar they should, based on their availability in the marketplace. Federal support has been essential to helping these businesses get a fair shot—but that support is now at risk.
My company, PJR & Associates, is one of those businesses. Founded in 1989 by my grandmother, Patricia J. Reiman, PJR has been a female-owned, independently operated union ironworker contractor for more than 35 years. I purchased the business from her in 2016, carrying forward a legacy built by the women in my family. We are based in one of the most rural corners of Jackson County, Ill., where more than 20% of residents live in poverty. Our hometown of Campbell Hill has just over 300 people, and the local school district spans more than 200 square miles, serving low-income families across five small communities. Many of our employees come from these same towns, and several have worked with PJR since its founding, now joined by the next generation of their families.
The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is part of what has made our continued growth possible. By helping remedy past and present discrimination, the DBE program gives women- and minority-owned small businesses a fair chance to compete for government contracts and build the relationships that keep companies like mine afloat. For nearly 40 years, the program has set participation goals to ensure competition is truly open, not dominated by the largest or best-connected firms.