construction

While general contractors face a higher degree of scrutiny and pay their workers salaries, benefits and health insurance, the subcontractors they hire for jobs such as plastering, framing, painting and drywall installation commonly cut costs by paying workers in cash or personal checks.

When Amenyonah Bossman decided to launch her own company, she knew she had to promote and uplift other women in construction.

Narman Construction, a full-service general contractor based in Boston, was formed in 2005 by company President J. Lynda Blake. As a black-woman-owned business, growing the company in an industry dominated by men has not come without challenges, says Blake. But, she says, she has implemented certain business strategies in order to level the playing field for minorities like her.

Construction jobs peaked in early 2007, just before the shockwave of the Great Recession reverberated across the economy. Most of these jobs were in housing construction, as the so-called “liar loans” of the preceding years created unprecedented (and unstable) demand for homeownership. By spring 2009, construction jobs had nearly disappeared, declining tenfold from peak to trough.