Powell, A; Bagilhole, B M; Dainty, A R J and Neale, R H (2004) An investigation of women's career choice in construction. In: Khosrowshahi, F (ed.) Proceedings of 20th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2004, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
In response to skills shortages in technological expertise, a number of government initiatives have been introduced to encourage women to pursue Science, Engineering and Technology degree courses, including construction programmes. Women represent the most significant group of untapped potential for the UK construction sector and so their recruitment and successful transition into the sector is vital for the future prosperity of the industry. This paper reports on the initial step of an ESRC-funded project, which is the latest phase of a programme of research conducted by the research team over the last 10 years. Specifically, it investigates the career choice decisions of female engineering students through in-depth interviews. The data are also used to explore possible ways of encouraging more women into the construction profession. It is concluded that the industry must invest in tailored promotional activities if women are to be attracted, and that construction courses must be designed to take account of women's, as well as men's, needs.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | career; education; engineering; women |
| Index terms: | interview, government initiatives, programme, science, women, investigation, career, profession, shortages, recruitment, construction sector |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, data collection methods, institututions, specialized education, sociology, project controls, political science, industry analysis, management, professional development |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Information Management, Governance, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Education, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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