Zhang, S; Tang, L M; Chidarikire, S; Sohail, S and Alashwal, A (2026) Identifying factors influencing mental health issues among female practitioners in the construction industry: Systematic literature review. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 152(3): 04025276, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Despite efforts to diversify the workforce, the construction industry remains predominantly male, with women facing low representation, high attrition rates, harassment, discrimination, and limited career advancement opportunities. This research elucidated factors influencing mental health issues among female construction practitioners through a systematic literature review. By analyzing 36 relevant studies from 129 publications from 4 electronic sources, the research identified key factors affecting female practitioners' mental health, including gender, organizational, job, physical, and personal aspects. Content analysis indicated significant barriers and cross-cutting issues. The findings offer insights and implications for industry practices and policies, promoting a sustainable, healthy, and inclusive construction workforce. Future research should aim to further explore mental health challenges and devise specific interventions to support the continuous inclusion of women in the construction industry. Additionally, the methodology introduced in this research has the potential to transform the prevailing male-dominated culture in the construction sector into an environment that is more welcoming and supportive of female professionals.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; mental disorders; mental health; women |
| Index terms: | discrimination, women, construction practitioner, mental health, methodology, construction sector, mental disorder, systematic literature review, construction industry, practitioner, publication, career, content analysis |
| Subjects: | professional development, practitioner, professional ethics, data analysis and analytics, research methods, research evaluation and metrics, research dissemination and communication, industry analysis, health conditions and diseases, sociology |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Health and Safety, Legal Issues, Roles and Professions, Information Management |
| 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