Rotimi, F E; Burfoot, M; Naismith, N; Mohaghegh, M and Brauner, M (2023) A systematic review of the mental health of women in construction: Future research directions. Building Research & Information, 51(4), pp. 459-480. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Globally, the construction industry presents a cause of concern for the wellbeing of its workforce. Mental health issues in the industry are on the rise, and literature trends are beginning to recognize this. However, women have been widely neglected from such literature. Thus, this paper aims to identify future research directions on the mental health of women in construction through a review of current related publications. The mental health review is approached from three lenses: challenges, consequences, and wellbeing outcomes. A total of 27 peer-reviewed English-language articles published from 2010 onwards are analysed and cross-examined. In each mental health study, the 'challenges', 'workplace consequences', and 'wellbeing outcomes' experienced by women in construction are highlighted. Within these three categories, 58 concerns are identified. The review reveals that the proportion of issues faced by on-site professionals is significantly larger than that of other construction occupations. Furthermore, the categories 'workplace consequences' and 'wellbeing outcomes' lack research compared with 'challenges'. Lastly, there is little evidence of cause-and-effect analysis between the challenges, consequences, and wellbeing of women in construction to uncover systems-based connections between these concerns. The paper provides an insight into these issues that will inform future research investigations and quantifications.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | harassment; sexism; stereotype; women in construction |
| Index terms: | systematic literature review, construction industry, occupation, publication, evidence, stereotype, well-being, mental health, investigation, women, quantification |
| Subjects: | research evaluation and metrics, research dissemination and communication, measurement and scaling, industry analysis, mental health and wellbeing, evaluation and assessment methods, health conditions and diseases, data collection methods, sociology |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Information Management, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Roles and Professions |
| 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