Overcoming challenges faced by female construction management graduates: an exploratory study in Australia

Abstract

The construction industry is predominately male-dominated, which can be daunting for female construction management graduates. Several statistics highlight the low female participation rates and lack of females in senior/management positions. To date, abundant research has been completed to understand the challenges women working in construction face. However, it is unclear how these challenges are being addressed and what support frameworks are available to females in construction organisations. The research methodology adopted herein involved a systematic analysis of current literature, followed by a qualitative research approach with data collection through semi-structured interviews and data analysis using content analysis. The interviews provided firsthand experiences and an understanding of the challenges and strategies experienced on individual and organisational levels. The results found a strong stigma around females in construction and how current females consider these challenges as opportunities to succeed in the industry. This study takes a different stance to current research, which mainly focuses on ‘identifying the presence and negative impacts of the challenges faced by females’ and shifts the focus to ‘how these challenges can be overcome and what could be done to promote females in construction.’ Hence, the study offers several recommendations and implications for promoting females and overcoming current challenges.