Powell, A; Dainty, A and Bagilhole, B (2010) Achieving gender equality in the construction professions: Lessons from the career decisions of women construction students in the UK. In: Egbu, C (ed.) Proceedings of 26th Annual ARCOM Conference, 6-8 September 2010, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
In the UK women remain under-represented in the construction workforce, despite calls for gender equality. Research into the persistence of gender inequality in construction has investigated barriers and solutions to women’s recruitment, retention and progression in the industry. It is thought that recruitment into the industry can be supported by developing an understanding of the influences on those women that have entered construction. Using qualitative interview data, this paper explores the career decisions of women studying construction-related courses in the UK. Existing research has identified some of the factors that influence women’s career choices, including key people, such as parents and teachers, existing knowledge of construction professions, skills and ability, and perceived career rewards. These factors underline the need to raise awareness of the industry from an early age and to tackle gendered socialization processes. This research, however, goes further by analysing women’s identity through their career decisions, considering the implications of this for improving gender equality in construction. Specifically it finds that identity is often contested ground for women construction students who, at times, uphold gendered stereotypes about women’s suitability for so-called 'masculine' work such as construction, yet also subscribe to an ideal that the sector is accessible to all who want to work in it. Unlike most career choice research, this highlights the problematic nature of entrenched gender stereotypes and the need to consider the views of women in the sector when striving for cultural change aimed at achieving gender equality.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | career; equality; gender; organizational culture; sociology |
| Index terms: | stereotype, interview, retention, sociology, gender equality, inequality, career, profession, identity, women, cultural change, suitability, organizational culture, recruitment |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, institututions, social justice, sociology, design criteria, management, social theory, professional development |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Human Resources, Ethics, Design Practice, Urban Studies, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Information Management |
| 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