I'm not disputing that men have on average greater strength, but you're still missing the salient point that a big reason there aren't more women in those industries is because of male harassment and outright antagonism to women in "men's professions." Not necessarily because women don't want to do them. As already stipulated, a lot of women don't want those jobs, but then neither do a lot of men. But a lot more women want them than have them due to discrimination.
40% of all types of entry level miners are women. The only reason they don't stay is because they aren't giving the same kinds of opportunities for training and advancement. It has nothing to do with strength or choosing. They are literally edged out.
"Literature reveals that despite the increasing number of women employed in the mining industry, the equal treatment for men and women remains unguaranteed. The trade unions in South African mines have shown to be unsupportive to women. They still have the negative perception that women are not suited for mine work. Trade unions are hostile towards women and as such do not accommodate women issues in their meetings.
Literature indicates that women mineworkers in South African mines found that whilst verbal harassment is most common, face requests for sexual favours in exchange for physical labour or for promotions, transfers or changes in work schedules with verbal harassment being the most common (Keetharuth 2021). Most incidents of abuse were seldom reported, as the abused women feared losing employment, while some women did not report the abuse because they did not know their rights. However, in other cases, the abuse was reported but it was never dealt with or followed up as the most senior person (Rawoot 2014)"
Women are more highly educated than men these days, and that is true around the world — more women pursue degrees and upper level degrees than men — who are trending more toward blue collar work. This also accounts for some of the influx of women into “offices” rather than construction sites but I’ve heard from plenty of female engineers, construction managers, etc. about the disrespect, and outright antagonism they have had to deal with.
