Women and their career progression in the Australian construction industry

This comprehensive study of women and their career progression in construction makes five substantial research contributions: longitudinal data on Australian women's participation rates; the development and validation of a career advancement measure; empirical validation that women experience 'contest'career mobility; evidence a gender inclusivity continuum exists in construction; and the development of a career typology model for professional women in construction. Construction, an industry with an image of being macho, confrontational and riven with conflict, has not yet embraced gender diversity, despite the improvements this can make to corporate performance and the industry's ongoing skills shortages. The purpose of this research was to investigate women's participation in Australian construction and the career advancement of professional women in the industry. It involved three studies with Study 1 using secondary longitudinal data and Studies 2 and 3 involving both qualitative and quantitative methods. While it is well understood that construction is male-dominated, previous research had not investigated if this has changed and what roles women undertake within construction in Australia. Study 1 revealed that since the early 1990s female participation has been relatively stagnant overall, as well as within the construction trades. As well as identifying women's participation in many non-traditional roles, this study verified patterns of horizontal and vertical segregation. In addition, a significant disparity between women's increasing participation rates in professional roles and declining rates within management in construction prompted a study of professional women's career advancement. To date, research on women's careers in construction has focussed predominantly on barriers they experience (most of which are outside their control) and explanations for their under-achievement. However, in today's industry some women are advancing, so it is timely to understand organisational, interpersonal and individual factors which facilitate this process. Many theories can be used to explain women's advancement (the extrinsic component of career success) including: homophily; organisational support theory; theory of work adjustment; values congruence theory; social capital theory; human capital theory; trait theory; role scarcity theory; and role accumulation theory. Before an investigation of career advancement could be undertaken, a five-round Delphi study (Study 2) was conducted to develop and validate a scale to measure career advancement suitable for Australian construction. Study 3, a cross-sectional correlational field study involving 456 professional women, applied this new scale and investigated factors that affect women's career advancement. Individual factors, in particular human capital variables, rather than interpersonal and organisational factors were found to have the greatest influence on women's career advancement. This finding, contrary to previous research, indicates a 'contest', rather than 'sponsored'(the typical male pattern), career mobility path. Study 3 also tested a model developed to specifically explain women's advancement and investigated aspects the intrinsic component of career success known to be important to women. While this research did not find support for the model, the results indicate the experiences of women differ and that a gender inclusivity continuum exists in construction. A career typology model was developed which explains the career experiences and progression of professional women in construction. The development of the gender inclusivity continuum and the career typology are major theoretical contributions to women in construction research. The finding that interpersonal and organisational factors were not predictors of women's career advancement in construction was significant, as it counters the viewpoint of the majority previous research in the area. Lastly, the discovery that women follow a 'contest'career mobility pattern contributes significantly to both resea ch in construction, as well as research exploring professional women's careers.