Edirisinghe, R; Jayasuriya, S; Almulla, J; Abobakr, M; Bastos Costa, D; Alberte, E; Hastak, M and Tzortzopoulos, P (2025) Gender diversity in construction: Demystifying the pipeline leaks in Australia, United States, United Kingdom and Brazil. International Journal of Construction Management, 25(9), pp. 1100-1114. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Globally, the construction industry is a key contributor to the gross domestic product. However, compared to the gender diversity performance of the workforce in the world economy, historically, construction has been performing significantly poorly. Literature argued that these consistently poor performances in diversity, equity and inclusion were causing leaks in the education and career pipeline. However, a systematic investigation with evidence base was lacking. In this vacuum, the proposed study aims to explore the evolution of gender dynamics within the construction sector in Australia, United States, United Kingdom, and Brazil through quantitative evidence. This study collected industry gender representation data, gender pay gaps and tertiary degrees conferred from government agencies in four countries: Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil. Quantitative data analysis was conducted with an exploration of factual figures, significant trajectories and fluctuations. Results were explored to understand local jurisdictions' possible causal relationships and interventions. Delving into findings from the education pipeline revealed declining trends and alarming opportunities for the education institutions to take a lead role in moving from a "challenge leaky pipeline" towards a "shared solution space" through international cross-sectorial collaborations with the paradigm shift in the construction industry with the emerging fifth industrial revolution.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; leaky pipeline; diversity, equity and inclusion; gender diversity; women in construction |
| Index terms: | construction industry, investigation, women, dynamics, paradigm, Australia, gross domestic product, pipeline, education institution, construction sector, evidence, collaboration, exploration, career, evolution, jurisdiction, Brazil, United Kingdom, government agency, data analysis, United States, tertiary |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, data analysis and analytics, management, education and knowledge transfer, professional development, sociology, educational institutions, administrative law, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, systems engineering, evaluation and assessment methods, environmental resource management, environmental science, legal systems, curriculum development, economic analysis, Geography |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Sustainability, Legal Issues, Education, Research Practice, Information Management, Business Strategy, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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