Construction industry and women: a review of the barriers

The UK construction industry has a particularly low
participation rate for women. Currently there are over 11 million women
employed in the UK, accounting for almost 50% of the work force.
However, despite increases in the number of women employed in the
construction over the past decade, they still constitute only 9% of the work
force. This means that the construction industry will continue to be male
dominated. It is found that women are confronted by a significant number
of barriers, beginning with difficulties in joining the field of construction
through to capturing the most senior position in the organisation’s
hierarchy. In this context, this paper presents a review of the literature on
the current status of women in the construction; in particular, it discusses
the barriers which prevent women’s entry and retention in the construction
industry.