Of the many phrases that pass over my computer screen in a day, the “600 Construction Workers on the Jobsite, 350 are Women” immediately caught my attention. The only place I’ve ever seen more women than men on a jobsite has been some Habitat for Humanity projects. I doubted they would be doing one with 600 workers.

I clicked on the article and found the project they were building was a large shopping mall. That further intrigued me, I had assumed it was a big residential project. Since the skill level of the various trades certainly increases from residential to commercial, that meant a substantial training program must also be involved.

In fact, that’s the case in for the Greenspan Estate in Eastlands shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Construction supervisor Paul Wafula says “We initially started off with few women, but over the past year, the performance of women has simply shocked us,” he says. “As a result, we have gradually taken in more women and have not regretted it.” They set up training programs for tile setting, painting, steel erection, concrete work and heavy equipment operation. Wafula also noted that women take instructions better than men and argue less on the jobsite, improving the overall atmosphere.

The concept of lots more women performing construction jobs likely will gain traction in many ways throughout the world. Construction jobs typically pay better than low skill employment. The physical strength advantage that previously kept much of the work all male has greatly diminished with new tools, equipment and processes. Though there are certainly still times when substantial physical strength is required for certain tasks. This fact, though, hardly disqualifies women from construction work any more than it does smaller, less strong men. When substantial physical strength is required, the strongest candidates are selected and they do that job.

The other element that makes me think this will be a trend is the micro-lending industry in the developing world. Most micro-loans go to women. The repayment of these loans by women has been far better than by men. There are simply going to be many more women with more interest in working outside the home and with opportunities for better wages.

Therefore, I think this is a trend worth watching.