Construction industry and women: a review of the barriers

Abstract

The UK construction industry has a particularly low participation rate for women. Currently there are over 11 million women employed in the UK, accounting for almost 50% of the work force. However, despite increases in the number of women employed in the construction over the past decade, they still constitute only 9% of the work force. This means that the construction industry will continue to be male dominated. It is found that women are confronted by a significant number of barriers, beginning with difficulties in joining the field of construction through to capturing the most senior position in the organisation’s hierarchy. In this context, this paper presents a review of the literature on the current status of women in the construction; in particular, it discusses the barriers which prevent women’s entry and retention in the construction industry