Women's experiences of non-traditional employment: Is gender equality in this area a possibility?

Whittock, M (2002) Women's experiences of non-traditional employment: Is gender equality in this area a possibility? Construction Management and Economics, 20(5), pp. 449-456. ISSN 01446193

Abstract

Currently, skills shortages are prompting the UK government to introduce initiatives intended to break down notions of stereotyped employment and attract women to non-traditional, male-dominated industries such as construction. Thus, it seems timely to revisit a study of the lived experience of non-traditionally employed women, conducted in Northern Ireland in the mid-1990s. Data from this study are presented here, specifically contextualized within R.M. Kanter's (American Journal of Sociology, 82, 965-90) framework of tokenism. Utilizing this framework, the paper examines the relationship that exists between the sexes (women as 'tokens' and males as 'dominants') in the non-traditional settings examined, indicating that barriers remain that women must surmount for gender equality to be achieved. The paper concludes by briefly examining one initiative working pro-actively to remove these barriers, providing women with greater opportunities to pursue non-traditional careers.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: lived experience; non-traditional employment; stereotyping; tokenism; women
Index terms: Northern Ireland, gender equality, shortages, sociology, employment, women, journal, career
Subjects: research dissemination and communication, sociology, social theory, physical geography and landforms, management, economic analysis, social justice, professional development
Topics: Geographical Context, Human Resources, Research Practice, Information Management, Ethics
Descriptive scope: 3 PCT

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