Challenges, success factors and strategies for women’s career development in the Australian construction industry

Abstract

Construction is traditionally a male industry. Women have long had difficulties entering or advancing their career in construction. Evidence shows that a diversified workforce with gender balance will bring about higher levels of productivity. Despite the importance of this issue, there have been limited studies on women’s career development in construction. This study aims to investigate women’s career development in the Australian construction industry, with objectives to evaluate the challenges and success factors of women’s career development in the construction industry and provide strategies for narrowing the gender imbalance. A mixed approach of questionnaire survey and interview were conducted with female practitioners in the construction industry. Forty-three completed questionnaires were received and 10 interviews were conducted. Stress, family-work balance, and negative perception towards women in construction were the top three challenges identified. Dedication, determination, and independence were the top three success factors of women in construction. This study recommends construction employers consider providing personal development programs and flexible working arrangement for their female employees. Significance of this study lies on contributing to understanding women’s career development in construction. Findings will be useful for government and professional institutions to promulgate strategies for advancing women’s career development in construction.

Balancing the Female Identity in the Construction Industry

“…Using the professional background of the respondents, the result revealed that there was a statistically significant difference at the p < 0.05 level in the measures for the four professions: F (3, 45) = 4.109, p-value = 0.012 in the measure of having female mentors/ role models programmes as a way of balancing the female identity in the construction industry. The result of using female mentor/role models to balance the female identity in the construction industry is supported by several studies (Bagilhole, Dainty and Neale, 2002;Amaratunga et al, 2006;Adogbo et al, 2015;Rosa et al, 2017). Role models, mentors or significant others have been identified in research as the most valuable resource in a women's career development and profession (Ericksen and Schultheiss, 2009).…”

“…The study engaged a quantitative angle to obtain answers to the questions posed by the study. Previous studies supporting the choice of the methodology include Adogbo et al (2015) and Rosa et al (2017). A survey research method was utilised with a structured questionnaire instrument in order to elicit information from the respondents of the study.…”

“…All of the respondents in the study by Adogbo et al (2015) agreed that it is vitally important to have female role models or mentors that a woman in practice can look up to or follow for her professional development, this gives the opportunity to make better choices. Rosa et al (2017) noted that role models are beneficial for individuals to learn from by being present and assist with emotional support, verbal encouragement and help navigate through psychological and career-related issues. Amaratunga et al (2006) argued that for women to be successfully recruited and retained in construction, they need to be "supported, coached and encouraged".…”

Comparative Study of Existing Employment Regulatory in Malaysia and Selected Common Law Countries

“…This situation affects their work-life negatively (Oo, Feng, & Lim, 2019;Turner, 2016). It is also observed that the construction industry working style is difficult, with relatively less rest time as the employees sometimes work in standby mode (Rosa, Hon, Xia, & Lamari, 2017). The demand for long working hours contributes to work-life conflicts (Rosa et al, 2017) through adverse outcomes such as stress (Turner & Mariani, 2016).…”

Identifikasi Tantangan dan Strategi Perempuan dalam Berkarir di Industri Konstruksi

“…Persepsi negatif terhadap perempuan juga terjadi dalam industri konstruksi. Suatu penelitian menjelaskan bahwa dalam persepsi negatif terhadap perempuan menjadi hal yang sangat konsen dalam pengembangan karir perempuan di industri konstruksi (Rosa et al, 2017). Tindakan diskriminasi di dunia kerja tidak hanya berdampak pada progres dari pekerja profesional perempuan di bidang konstruksi, tetapi juga akan berpengaruh terhadap kondisi psikis dari mereka (Maskell-Pretz & Hopkins, 2002).…”