High School Student Perceptions of Women in Construction and How Increasing Awareness Changes Perceptions

Diversity is a one of the biggest struggles within the construction industry. Specifically regarding gender, women make up a distinct minority of just over 8% for construction managers according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In comparison, women comprise 47% of the overall U.S. labor force. This shows that the construction industry is behind because of certain barriers including perception of women’s capabilities, socio-cultural issues, male dominance and more.This paper researches high school students’ perceptions of women in construction as well as their prior knowledge and beliefs about construction management. This research also includes a brief presentation on what construction management is and some facts about women in construction.In order to see how student perception changed after they gained knowledge on the career path,this paper researched how their beliefs change. This study is not only to find out about students’ prior knowledge, but also to see how effective a brief presentation is in order to increase awareness for the construction management career path and women in construction