The paper presents a review of the theoretical and empirical literature on Tanzania
women entrepreneurs in the construction industry. It also discusses and argues for the
aspects that lead to the requirement for a study on women-specific issues. A systematic
literature review approach was applied and the member check strategy was used to
minimise the author's bias. The literature involved three aspects: motivational factors for
women's entry into business, the current situation of women entrepreneurs and influencing
factors for the under-representation of women in the industry. The under-representation of
Women Entrepreneurs in the Construction Industry (WECI) in the construction industry is
caused by various factors, such as cultural background, choice of business and level of
confidence. Moreover, the social structures and cultural systems that reinforce the continued
subordination and marginalisation of women have major implications in their motives and
involvement in business. Given the barriers faced by WECI today, there is a pressing necessity
to initiate gender-sensitive empowerment programmes to enable them to succeed in their
endeavours. Based on the existing literature, this paper establishes the missing link and
proposes a study to formulate a conceptual framework necessary to help the public and
private sector initiatives in boosting women entrepreneurship in the Tanzanian construction
industr
