DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF)- A North Texas construction company is breaking the stigma on women in the industry.
The commercial masonry industry is a $31 billion market according to IBISWorld, a leading market research company. Currently there are more than 225,000 people employed in commercial masonry across the United States but women only represent approximately 1.1% of the workforce.
Richardson-based Dee Brown Inc. (DBI) is trying to change that by pushing out messaging to attract female workers to join the team.
“We are pushing social media with articles on women that work within the business and talking about our contribution to our business and raise awareness about the opportunities that are out there,” said DBI CEO Rob Barnes.
Barnes says DBI would like to see more women enter the field as it offers many types of jobs in the field as well as in their offices. “Our greatest challenge is finding individuals who want to work as an artisan in a centuries-old craft,” said Barnes. “It’s projected that we are going to be 650,000 jobs short in 2022 and that’s a national number. We have been feeling significant pain in the labor side of the business since the last depression in 2008.”
Barnes said they are looking to recruit men and women eager to learn and take pride in their work.
“We provide on the job training and continue to train our employees for success as they continue to grow,” he said.
With a shortage of labor in the masonry industry, there are great opportunities for women. 23-year-old Lucia Trujillo moved to Dallas with her family from Guanajuato, Mexico when she was 12 years old. The Duncanville resident graduated in 2017 from Justin F. Kimball High School in Oak Cliff and tried several different jobs.
After working at a restaurant the past three years, Lucia was ready for a change. Her four older brothers all worked for DBI and they enjoyed their work.
“I told Lucia we could teach her anything she needed to know if she was willing to work hard,” said DBI superintendent Santos Gorrostieta. “And she has proven herself the past six months. She’s done everything we’ve asked of her. And she’s a quick learner.”
Trujillo has recently worked on the restoration of the Dallas Records Building and the AT&T Whitacre Tower in downtown Dallas.
“There is no typical day,” explained Trujillo. “Some days I’m cleaning or patching. Every day I’m learning something new. I never get bored.”
Trujillo plans to return to school to study architecture.
“Women are not weak,” said Trujillo. “We can do whatever we propose to do.”
DBI a third generation, family-owned stone and masonry business, has shaped the Dallas-Fort Worth landscape over the past seven decades building many projects locally and nationally. DBI continues to recruit and train the next generation of brick and stone masons. All that is required is a willingness to work hard and proper documentation.
“We are flexible on interview times if someone has a high interest,” explained Barnes. “Qualified workers can make an appointment to apply at our offices in Garland, South Dallas, and our headquarters in Richardson. We have bilingual staff in our Garland and South Dallas locations.”
DBI has been around for 67 years with offices in Dallas, Garland and Houston.
More information about the company can be found at deebrowncompanies.com.