A typical exploitative company
The construction industry remains a male-dominated field. Even though I knew it was that kind of industry, I chose to enter it on my own.
A few years ago, the main reason I decided to join that company was because of how much it valued the advancement of women.
Even though I now work in construction management at civil engineering sites, back in my college days—wearing a brand-new suit and with jet-black hair—I went through the so-called job-hunting process to decide where to work.
When it came to job hunting, the question that all female students asked in unison was, as expected, whether the company offered job security and proper employee benefits for women.
In response, however, every company said the same thing: “We have a workplace where women can work comfortably,” and “We have many examples of women returning to work after getting married or having children.”
Back then, when I decided to join that company, that was one of the deciding factors for me, but once I actually started working there, it turned out to be completely different. Yep, there it was: a "black company."
There isn't a single trace left of the enthusiasm I felt when I first joined the company (lol).
In a situation like this, is it really okay for the construction industry to be talking about things like “women in the workforce” and “Construction Maids”? Isn’t that exactly the problem? That’s what I find myself thinking from the sidelines of the construction industry.
Returning to Work After Marriage or Childbirth: Surprisingly, There Are No Precedents
When I was job hunting, that exploitative company explained this to me over and over again.
"Even among female engineers working in the field, there are many who return to the field after getting married or having children," she said.
Once I actually joined the company and talked to my senior colleagues, I found out there was absolutely no precedent for that.The turnover rate for field employees who got married while working at this company was 100 percent.
I figured that if so many people were returning to work, the system must be fairly well-established, but that wasn’t the case at all. When I asked the president about it during a regular meeting, he told me, “We don’t have a system like that here. You guys need to be the pioneers!”
To an outside observer, it might seem at first glance like a “heartwarming story” or a “story about women’s empowerment,” but I was stunned.
Some female employees in the company's accounting department—who aren't involved in on-site operations—have returned to work after maternity leave. "Well, that makes sense," I thought.In the end, it turns out I didn't have a good eye for businesses.
Unless you're a major corporation, you can't attract new hires to a construction company without telling a few white lies—and perhaps there aren't any companies out there that would be completely honest from the start. That might be especially true in the construction industry.
Only Female Employees Attend a Mysterious Training Session
At that exploitative company, in addition to office staff in roles such as accounting and administration, there were female employees in every department, including field technicians like myself.
Looking back now, it seems strange, but until recently, female employees—regardless of their department—were frequently required to attend training sessions designated by the president.
The locations varied both inside and outside the company, and I was sent to various training sessions, such as “Etiquette Classes for Women,” “Cooking Classes,” “Communication Skills Improvement Classes,” and “Take Flight into the World! English Conversation Classes.”
Male employees do not have to attend this type of training; they are only required to participate in skills training for the construction industry. However, we female employees are required to attend not only that skills training but also the women-only training sessions held frequently, and absences are not permitted.
What bothered me the most was being forced to present the results of the training in front of all the employees every single time. I’d have to find a spare moment in our insanely busy kitchen, rub the sleep from my eyes, and demonstrate the dining etiquette I’d learned during the training.
It's at a rather drab construction company. According to the president, this is supposed to be "promoting women's participation and skill development," but I can't help feeling they're heading in the wrong direction.
If you ask me, I think the other male employees are the ones who really need to work on their manners and communication skills.
I believe that this “dark side of women’s advancement” is still widespread in the construction industry.
