Gender Equality: Barriers for Women to Work in Construction Industry

Tan, Xi Rou (2022) Gender Equality: Barriers for Women to Work in Construction Industry. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

It is undeniable that one of the primary causes of gender inequality is that people are enslaved by old behaviours. As there have always been more male job applications for a position, these male candidates are more likely to be hired and promoted to managerial positions. Even though times have changed and more women are opting to study and venture into construction field for career development, it remains difficult for them to get into this most male-dominated environment. Almost all construction trades and professions have a low female participation rate. Gender inequality is still a major problem in the construction industry, despite the fact that gaps between men and women are narrowing in many sectors. The main purpose of this study is to establish current women participation level construction industry, to identify the challenges faced by women and the impacts for their participation towards the industry. Two sets of questionnaire survey were distributed to two different targeted groups through purposive sampling and convenience sampling. The results had shown that majority of the respondents are yet to agree that construction industry has achieved gender equality although there is a rising in participation rate of women in this sector. The main challenges that women faced is the nature of construction industry which is harsh and inflexible working hour. Women having family find them tough to cope with this phenomenon and discrimination on gender make women difficult to venture into this industry. However, it was also found that with participation of women, positive attributes brought into workplace and forming a harmonious working environment. These findings bring an important message to help in preserving gender equality in construction sector and raise awareness on challenges that will be faced by women. This study also anticipated for resolving the issues of gender inequality and publicly recognising women’s presence and contribution to the construction field.