Lisk, D R (2014) Equal opportunities for women in construction trades: Issues of education, training and employment in northern Ireland. PhD thesis, Queen's University Belfast, UK.
Abstract
This study seeks to identify the factors that influence young women to take up a career in the construction trades in Northern Ireland and to gain a better understanding of the perceptions that lead them to decide on a career in construction. The study focuses on the views, perceptions, understandings and experiences of young people and utilises a mixed methods approach, consisting of a large scale quantitative study of 14-16 year olds along with follow up qualitative interviews with young women and other key stakeholders in the construction industry. Within the context of this study, Roberts' notion of opportunity structures is used, and extended with Bourdieu's concepts of 'habitus' and 'field', as a way of exploring how young women have come to internalise taken-for-granted ways of thinking about occupations that reflect their wider experiences and relationships at home, school and in the world of work. The study found that the young women's attitudes and perspectives were influenced by the family and their peers. The study also identifies entrenched attitudes, where girls are discouraged, prevented and inhibited from accessing opportunities to explore particular career choices by careers officers and teachers. The study highlights how women on construction sites might be undermined but also highlights that young women are confident in their own abilities. This study is one of the first to consider a range of construction craft career choices for women to contemplate. The implications of this study include the need for schools and colleges to provide equality of opportunity for girls to participate in careers talks and vocational sampling programmes. It is suggested that sector bodies must also seek to promote and support women in construction apprenticeship programmes and that construction sector employers must implement improved monitoring and support mechanisms for female workers.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | women in construction; construction sector; occupations; vocation; construction site; schools; women; apprenticeship; careers; monitoring; employer; stakeholders; Ireland; Northern Ireland; interview |
| Index terms: | vocation, sampling, women, monitoring, Ireland, girl, construction industry, mixed method, support mechanism, equal opportunity, Northern Ireland, employment, apprenticeship, career, construction sector, interview, programme, construction site, occupation |
| Subjects: | management, professional development, sociology, project controls, industry analysis, data collection methods, control systems, work location, physical geography and landforms, Geography, professional education, demography, organization, specialized education |
| Topics: | Education, Geographical Context, Human Resources, Urban Studies, Site Management, Time Control, Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions |
| 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