Issues confronting women participation in the construction industry. Unpublished Manuscript

This paper raises the issues confronting the minority cohort’s participation in the construction industry. Women in construction are seen as the wrong gender to be around for the construction occupations require not only manual dexterity but physical strength. Currently, the industry is employing less than 10 % of the female in the workforce with even lower participation in crafts and trade. This paper discussed about the current women participation in construction focusing on the European Union (EU) 27 member countries. Additionally, issues and barriers preventing women entering and retaining in the industry was also debated. A strong finding from the paper is that it is not the technical skills that need proving but rather comprising their identity as women to meet the demands of the workplace and having the ability to fit into the accepted behaviour of the workplace. There is also concern among the women workers of having to balance between successful career and family lives. Lastly, the paper highlights suggestions to create a better path for women’s participation and retention in this male-dominated zone. Among them are bringing more female role models at the lower education level to aspire career in construction, clearer equal opportunities at the workplace and stronger roles of the social partners