Baker, M; Ali, M and Crawford, L (2024) What do women want? An exploration of workplace attraction and retention factors for women in construction. International Journal of Construction Management, 24(3), pp. 270-280. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Increasing skill shortages in the construction industry are a concern worldwide. The industry is seeking to find effective ways to encourage more women to pursue careers in construction. This study explores the factors that attract and retain women, comparing them based on age (under 35 years, 35–44 years and 45 plus years) and role levels (managers, professionals and nonmanagers). A total of 655 responses were collected through a nationwide survey of women in construction in Australia. The findings suggest that to attract women, career opportunities must be emphasized; and that career advising, attractive salary/wages and training must be highlighted to attract young female talent. Further, working conditions are important factors considered by managerial and professional women when leaving the industry, particularly younger women. Organizational leaders and decision-makers seeking to recruit more women into construction may improve the effectiveness of their recruitment and retention initiatives by tailoring them to role level and age.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | age; attraction; retention; women |
| Index terms: | survey, skill shortage, manager, wages, career, exploration, Australia, retention, recruitment, construction industry, working conditions, effectiveness, women |
| Subjects: | environmental resource management, data collection methods, practitioner, business economics, sociology, industry analysis, management, performance management, employment law, Geography, professional development |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Quality Management, Legal Issues, Sustainability, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here