Mitigating gendered career challenges in construction through psychological capital

Construction remains one of the most male-dominated sectors globally, where women face persistent structural, cultural, and role-related barriers that undermine their career sustainability. This study examines how psychological capital (PsyCap), comprising hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism, interacts with gender-specific job demands to shape career outcomes for women professionals in the Sri Lankan construction industry. Survey data were collected from 131 female professionals and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural path modeling to assess associations among gendered challenges, PsyCap, and career outcomes. Gender-based challenges were clustered into three dimensions: safety and support deficits, professional inequity, and career-family conflict. Although the overall prevalence of challenges was moderate, professional inequity and career-family conflict were strongly associated with job stress and job satisfaction, which in turn were related to turnover intention. Participants reported high levels of PsyCap, particularly in hope and optimism. PsyCap demonstrated a protective role by reducing job stress and turnover intention, although its direct association with job satisfaction was not significant. These findings extend job demands-resources (JD-R) and conservation of resources (COR) theories by validating PsyCap as a personal resource that buffers workplace adversity in a nonWestern, male-dominated context. From a practical perspective, the study highlights the need for dual strategies, including systemic reforms to address gender inequities and targeted interventions to cultivate psychological resilience; and to promote more inclusive and sustainable careers for women in construction.