Published March 5, 2026 at 11:20 AM MST

The Mountain West has a growing number of women working in construction jobs. But some business leaders say the construction industry needs to do more to ensure that safety equipment is gender-specific to better protect women on job sites.

A recent industry report notes that 67% of women in construction jobs said personal protective equipment (PPE), like helmets, don’t fit well. That’s one of the topics that was discussed this week at the Women in Construction conference in Las Vegas.

Victoria Carreon is the administrator with the State of Nevada’s Division of Industrial Relations. She said workers face a higher risk when safety equipment doesn’t fit properly.

“If you fall and the safety harness is not fitting you adequately, you don’t want to be slipping out of it. These are work hazards that really have to be addressed. And that’s why PPE is really important to be fitting correctly.”

Carreon said the workforce is diversifying and the construction industry must evolve by improving workplace safety and inclusivity.

“They need to be inclusive in their planning for equipment, for facilities, for ensuring that they have policies that protect women and all workers."

Women make up 14% of construction workers in the US, according to the latest statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the Mountain West, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada have the highest percentage of women construction workers.

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.