Contributions of women managers to the UK construction industry

Women managers are highly under-represented in the UK construction industry, which is typically
considered as male-dominated, despite the various initiatives taken by the government and other
organisations to improve the status of women in construction. The vertical and horizontal
segregations in the industry are clearly evident for the less number of women in top managerial level
and in mainstream construction respectively. The industry has been facing many challenges,
including skills, labour shortages and recruitment difficulties, for many years now. Therefore
widening the recruitment pool with potential candidates, targeting at non-traditional entrants, has
become a necessity. This further emphasises to give more consideration on equality and diversity
issues. But in reality little has been changed when looking at the number of women entering,
retaining and progressing in the construction. Number of research studies conducted has focused on
what industry could do for women in order to attract more women. On the other hand, this research
intends to explore what women managers can do to the industry. In doing so, it tries to find out the
ways in which women managers, despite their vulnerability, contribute, using their power, authority
and leadership styles, to make the industry more attractive to women and other disadvantaged groups.
This paper presents the research findings on the contribution of women managers in the context of the
UK construction industry.