Women in Construction

As I find them, I will post what I consider to be interesting snippets, from pieces of research that I come across relating to non-traditional job roles, the following are from a 1999 study of womens' experiences of working in the UK construction sector:


Women's careers in large construction companies: expectations unfulfilled?
Andrew R.J. Dainty, Richard H. Neale, Barbara M. Bagilhole. Career Development International. Bradford: 1999.Vol.4, Iss. 7; pg. 353

1. 'Rather, they tended to have been the subject of targeted recruitment campaigns or had read literature specifically aimed at attracting them to the industry. Consequently, they had a poor initial understanding of the culture of the industry, and the inherent difficulties of working in such a male dominated environment. Furthermore, construction higher education, which for most formed the interface between career choice and working in the industry, was found to have provided a sheltered environment, and to have presented a sanitised view of the realities of working life in the sector.'

2. 'these managers were invariably male, and were inexperienced in contemporary HRM practice. They had stereotyped expectations of women's career priorities, and preferred to recruit men, whom they saw as being more likely to conform to their own work ethics.'

3. 'Construction work was seen as demanding, time-consuming and as impinging on social and family activities'



Ref; Women's careers in large construction companies: expectations unfulfilled?
Andrew R.J. Dainty, Richard H. Neale, Barbara M. Bagilhole. Career Development International. Bradford: 1999.Vol.4, Iss. 7; pg. 353