Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are essential for a modern workforce and indicators of the development and sustainability of an industry. Construction is yet to be considered a fully diverse, equitable, and inclusive industry sector (Sang and Powell 2012) due to pervasive structural prejudices and unconscious biases. The construction workforce is dominated by men; in the US, women make up only 1/10 of the overall construction workforce (CPWR 2018) even though 50.8% of the US population are females and 21.9% of civil engineering bachelor’s degrees in the US were earned by females over the last two decades (Hickey and Cui 2020). These statistics demonstrate the lack of gender equality within the construction industry (Navarro-Astor et al. 2017).

Furthermore, challenges related to masculinity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, language, age, and other stereotypes have negatively impacted the experience of underrepresented groups working within the construction industry. With the high turnover rate and increased labor shortage across different work classifications, construction organizations must overcome the aforementioned challenges and to achieve and sustain a safe, productive, and inclusive work environment. Inclusion is essential at work and results in everyone having the opportunity to fully apply themselves, contribute to the success of the company, and be valued for their specific skills, experience, and vision.

During the presentation, Dr. Simmons will discuss her funded interdisciplinary construction engineering and management research which centers people across three themes: DEI, interactions between humans and technology, and competency development via education and training. She will also describe her motivation for this work from her perspective as an African-American woman with decades of experience in the construction industry.

Denise R. Simmons, Ph.D., PE, PMP, LEED-AP is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering at the University of Florida. She has over ten years of construction and civil engineering experience working for energy companies and as a project management consultant; nearly 15 years of experience in academia; and extensive experience leading and conducting multi-institutional, workforce-related research and outreach. She is a leader in research investigating professional formation of civil engineers, with an increasing focus on project managers and the practical strategies that transform and sustain inclusive and productive organizations. While overseeing the Simmons Research Lab, her current research focuses on three areas: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); interactions between humans and technology; and competency development via education and training.