Retention over Attraction: A Review of Women’s Experiences in the Australian Construction Industry; Challenges and Solutions

Abstract

Despite substantial investments and efforts by governments, construction organisations, and researchers, the construction industry remains one of the most male-dominated industries in Australia, with women being underrepresented numerically and hierarchically. Efforts to attract and retain women in construction have been implemented inconsistently on an ad hoc basis. As part of a larger research project that focuses on retaining women in the Australian construction industry, this research conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. The objective is to explore the factors that influence women’s careers and their experiences in the Australian construction industry that have been identified in the literature over the past three decades. Additionally, the findings are anticipated to inform future efforts to evaluate the effectiveness of current initiatives to retain women and develop a framework for enhancing women’s experiences and retaining them in this profession. This SLR revealed that excessive and rigid work hours, gendered culture and informal rules, limited career development opportunities, and negative perceptions of women’s abilities are the main factors and issues that cause women to leave the industry. Among these, rigid and long work hours seem to be the foremost factor to be prioritised. Understanding the roles of key variables in driving this cultural change is important to ensure that concrete progress is made. The paper draws three major aspects from the literature in which solutions and policies can be researched, designed and implemented.

Women Professionals in Construction Industry: Barriers and Approaches to Improve Wellbeing, Safety and Health

“…SLR helps to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature and identify gaps. There are limited studies carried in the area of women in construction; this is validated by Ghanbaripour et al (2023) research where they found that though women's participation is stubbornly low in the Australian construction industry only a limited empirical construction management literature is found on women in construction. Analysis performed on identified literature set a good groundwork to understand the construction industry scenario, the gender diversity across countries and helped to identify barriers/challenges and strategies to improve the well-being, safety, and health of women professionals at project sites.…”

“…Promoting an inclusive culture within construction project sites may be accomplished via actions such as targeted recruitment drives, diversity training, and mentoring programmes (Vohra et al, 2015). Ghanbaripour et al (2023) found that women professionals benefit from specialised training programmes that address their particular needs and difficulties faced at construction project sites. Providing clean, hygienic, and exclusive washrooms and appropriate sanitary facilities at project sites contributes to the well-being of women (Griffin, 2013).…”

Analysis of Gender Diversity Initiatives to Empower Women in the Australian Construction Industry

“…In contrast, a weak organizational culture of gender diversity would hinder the successful implementation of policies, as the company would need to depend on rules and regulations to direct employees' behavior, leading to a gap between intentions and actual practices within the organization. As stated in a recent review conducted by Ghanbaripour, Tumpa, Sunindijo, Zhang, Yousefian, Camozzi, Hon, Talebian, Liu and Hemmati [23], women perceived that they were receiving a lack of organizational support and career opportunities in construction. Future studies are recommended to investigate the factors that contribute to a strong organizational culture in gender diversity.…”

“…The findings revealed that there were fewer initiatives focusing on providing adequate support and resources for work-life balance. A previous study highlighted the difficulties in achieving work-life balance as a significant challenge for women in the construction industry, which negatively impacts their career advancement and their willingness to stay in the industry [23]. It was found that flexible working hours were often offered for specific roles and positions, sometimes not available to women.…”

“…It is recommended by Rasheed, et al [22] that allocating additional resources to raise awareness during recruitment can draw women to careers in the construction sector in New Zealand. In a recent systematic review conducted by Ghanbaripour, et al [23], excessive and rigid work hours, gendered culture and informal rules, limited career development opportunities, and negative perceptions of women's abilities were highlighted as the main factors that cause a large number of women to leave the industry, a situation that has been described by Turner, et al [24] as the "leaky pipeline". While previous studies have identified certain influential factors in the organizational aspect that could have a significant impact on gender equality and women's career advancement in the construction industry, there is a scarcity of studies focusing on the actual diversity, inclusivity, and equality policies and initiatives implemented by organizations in the workplace.…”