Introduction
Historically, the construction industry in the UK and abroad has been a symbol of male dominance, with the workforce primarily composed of men and women viewed as outliers. Despite numerous advancements in the UK to achieve gender equality and balance, the industry has lagged in diversity. According to the Office for National Statistics (2021), only a tiny proportion of women make up the total workforce, accounting for only 13% of the industry’s population.
These figures have remained stagnant for several years, indicating that the UK is not progressing toward gender balance in the construction industry (Perrenoud, Bigelow, and Perkins, 2020). Addressing the issues contributing to the underrepresentation of women in the construction industry can expand the talent pool, increase diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and enhance companies’ reputations. This report will explore academic findings on the underrepresentation of women in the UK construction field.
Choosing this topic was motivated by personal factors and professional insights. Personal experience in the construction industry motivated the study to address how discrimination and underrepresentation can be reduced. Professional insights include studies that reveal a persistent gender disparity that extends beyond statistical differences to deep-rooted cultural and social factors. Moreover, professionals in the research field have found that diversity, equity, and inclusivity issues are not being adequately addressed at the research and policy level (Mercer-Mapstone, Islam, and Reid, 2019).
The report will cover various aspects of underrepresentation in the UK, including an overview of the current state of gender representation in the UK construction industry; factors contributing to underrepresentation; initiatives and strategies to promote representation; and available research on the issue. This research will begin by reviewing the industry overview and the academic sources used. The second section will summarize Norberg and Johansson’s (2021) article and outline measures to avoid plagiarism when summarizing the source.
Overview of the Chosen Topic
Industry-related Sources of Information
This report will rely on several industry-related reports addressing the underrepresentation of women in the UK building sector. One of the sources will be industry reports and surveys on various companies, industries, governmental bodies, non-profit organizations, and research institutes. These reports often include statistics, trending issues, threats the topic faces, and the actions being taken to address the problem.
An example of an industry report would be the Construction Skills Network (CNS) Report. This organization assesses the sector’s skill needs and works alongside other companies and the government to ensure current and future skills are maintained (Construction Skills Network, 2023). Other sources include reports from the Department for Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the UK government’s Department for Business.
Another primary source of information for the research will be diversity reports from various construction companies in the UK. It has become the norm, and organizations are now required to publish annual sustainability or diversity reports. These reports typically address issues such as the company’s environmental policies, social welfare, governance structures, approach to diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and its impact on various stakeholders.
Researchers can easily find data on gender balance and equality in these reports, such as the Kier sustainability report, which shows that 75% of employees are male and 25% are female (Kier Sustainability Report, 2024). The company’s sustainability reports will serve as the main source for this research, as they are readily available and open sources, and most are reliable because reputable organizations publish them. Major construction companies such as JRL Group, Information Service Group (ISG), Skanska UK, Morgan Sindall, Galliford Try, Willmott Dixon, and Kier, among others, are to be reviewed before the report, with the most accurate and sufficient data selected.
Numerous industry-led campaigns and initiatives seek to promote the diversity and inclusivity of women in the UK building sector. One popular organization dedicated to this course is the Women into Construction (WIC) project, developed as part of the 2012 Legacy Olympics. It is funded by the Construction Industry Training Board and the London Development Agency (LDA) (Women into Construction, n.d.). This is an essential source for research, as it not only points out that the problem exists but also shows how and the various measures taken to address the issue.
Like the WIC project, the Construction Youth Trust Initiative is a charity organization that enables and inspires young people in the UK to overcome barriers, such as gender stereotypes, and to discover a career in the building sector (Construction Youth Trust, n.d.). Some campaigns provide information on gender equality in construction, but there is no specific organization to spearhead the movement.
Academic Sources Used
Academic sources will complement the industry-specific data sources to provide a holistic understanding of the topic. Academic journals in gender studies, sociology, organizational theory, and contract management practices are used. Norberg and Johansson’s article, titled “Women and Ideal Women,” will be used, as it offers interesting insights into how women entering the industry are treated.
The authors show that, despite efforts to include women in the industry to address labor shortages, they face gender-biased attitudes, discrimination, and unrealistic demands (Norberg and Johansson, 2021). The findings of this article align with those of Zhang et al. (2021), who show that “Despite the increasing number of women studying built environment degrees in higher education, the building sector has not seen an increase in the percentage of female professionals” p. 669. These two articles paint a clear picture of a problem with equality in the industry, and the sources offer possible solutions that could be adopted.
Another critical article that will be utilized to gain a profound understanding of the research topic is ‘Gender in the Construction Industry‘ by Naoum et al. (2020). This paper investigated whether there are significant differences between men and women in the UK construction industry with respect to self-perceptions. The researchers had a statistically significant sample, comprising 60 men and 57 women. The study results showed that women’s self-perceptions in the construction industry were lower than men’s, with women aged 40 and above showing the lowest perceptions across all ages (Naoum et al., 2020). This analysis, presented in this paper as a literature review and survey, helped deepen the research’s understanding and establish its theoretical framework.
Books are used in this research since they provide a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the research topic. Research by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020) highlights the challenges faced by career women in the construction industry and other fields, such as the social sciences, engineering, and medicine. The book shows that there are unique challenges in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) that differ from those faced by men. The biggest problem shown in this source, as well as other academic articles related to gender inclusion in careers traditionally viewed as male-dominated, includes bias, discrimination, and harassment.
This source is also relevant to the research as it reveals that while many institutions try to include women in science careers, there are still numerous cases of underrepresentation. It also shows that the problems should be addressed from the perspective of the field of work instead of explicitly addressing the construction industry. However, this source is limited, as it addresses the problem from a global perspective rather than the UK-specific challenge.
Norberg and Johansson (2021) Summary
Summary of the Source
The article titled “Women and Ideal Women” by Norberg and Johansson (2021) addresses the pressing issue of gender representation and the treatment of women in construction. The authors admit that enough effort is being made to include women in the UK construction industry to fill the labor gaps. Despite efforts, there is still a significant gender disparity in the field.
The National Association of Women in Construction (2018, as cited in Norberg and Johansson, 2021, p. 2) reports that the number of females in the industry is extremely low, at 9-13%, and this disparity has persisted for several years. The article also reveals that the majority of the women hired in the industry do administrative work, which indicates the biases and stereotypes that society has placed towards women in the role. This paper addresses a gap in the literature: most prior research has focused on the obstacles facing females, while research on women’s underrepresentation is scarce.
To answer the research problem, the paper utilized data from the World Wide Web. This source can have both advantages and disadvantages, with the advantages being the ease of collecting the data, while the disadvantages include some online sources not being credible. The rationale for this research methodology was that the web hosts billions of articles, which can provide comprehensive and diverse perspectives.
Norberg and Johansson (2021) generated texts from WebCorp covering 2006 to 2017 that discussed issues related to women in the building sector. Some sources used in this article included online newspapers, construction-related journals, sources from construction unions and governments, blogs discussing women’s career topics, and building companies’ official publications, such as sustainability reports. The search method included using two or three phrases in WebCorp, such as women in construction, woman builder, and gender bias in construction, among others.
The analysis showed that numerous opportunities are available for women in construction and that the industry needs to find ways to attract skilled female workers. The study also finds a recurring theme: women must be integrated into the building sector, as they can help the UK industry and economy grow (Norberg and Johansson, 2021). This is backed by the observations that in industries with gender diversity, there is likely to be a more efficient and beneficial workforce.
However, despite the apparent benefits and opportunities for women to grow the industry, the material communications about the expectations of women in the sector are usually low. To address this problem, the study finds that themes advocate for women to speak with authority, remain calm, state their positions with authority, avoid emotion, and talk less and listen more (Norberg and Johansson, 2021). Moreover, it is recommended that women avoid using first-person pronouns in the workplace, such as I and me, and instead use we and us. Other recommendations include challenging their male counterparts when they know they are correct, working harder, showing compassion and understanding, and being pioneers of innovation.
The study concludes that various stereotypes contribute to women being underrepresented and being perceived as not belonging to the construction industry. It divided women into two categories: women in general and women as role models, showing what women in general should do to be successful in the profession. Themes indicate that women often exhibit passive, emotional, and less assertive traits, making them less visible to organizations seeking talent.
The study comprehensively presents the message and the traits that women in the industry should exhibit to succeed. Moreover, it is expected that women already in the industry will work to change the work culture in the building sector to be more accommodating of new entrants, rather than just working hard to show their worth in the role. The study recommends further studies on how women are discursively underrepresented in other roles and countries, rather than in the UK.
How Academic Misconduct was Avoided in Summarizing the Source
Several steps were taken to ensure that the paper would not be subjected to academic misconduct for summarizing another source. First, the author carefully read the article to understand its main points, the authors’ objectives and goals, the methodology used in the research, and its key findings. While writing the summary, the author rephrased the study’s sentences rather than copying them verbatim from the research paper. This aspect helped demonstrate their understanding and prevented plagiarism, which is punishable by academic misconduct. Additionally, since the authors had read the entire paper, they could summarize the study’s topics from the abstract, introduction, methodology, thematic analysis, and conclusion.
In addition to paraphrasing and summarizing the paper, the author ensured that they appropriately cited all the materials used in the study. Serenko et al. (2021) show that citations are essential to business research and can help authors avoid plagiarism and ensure their research is academically appropriate. The researchers also tried to avoid quoting verbatim passages by taking the author’s information and presenting it from a personal perspective. They also mentioned another source in the article using the as-cited phrase. This ensured that the presentation could not be identified as plagiarism. By combining these strategies, this study could present an academically appropriate paper summary.
Conclusion
This report has discussed the underrepresentation of women in the UK construction industry. The topic’s background is the massive underrepresentation of women in the building and science fields in the UK and abroad. The authors selected this topic because they were motivated to ensure diversity, equality, and inclusivity in society. The study aimed further to expand the literature and knowledge on the issue.
Moreover, statistics from reputable organizations such as the Office for National Statistics show that women are significantly underrepresented in the UK construction industry compared to men. The study set out several measures to identify reputable sources from academic journals, industrial publications, and books, such as publications by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020). All these sources confirmed the hypothesis that underrepresentation is prevalent in the building and construction sector.
The study specifically examined Norberg and Johansson’s (2021) article on gender representation in the UK, using a thematic analysis of online sources. This study also examined reports by the National Association of Women in Construction, which revealed that gender is met with attitudes and discrimination when seeking to enter the industry. Presenting a summary of the source helped the researcher gain a deeper understanding of the prevailing problem and the best strategies the literature offers to address it.
When preparing the summary, several measures were used, including paraphrasing, summarizing, citing, avoiding verbatim text, and ensuring that the analysis was well understood before the research was conducted. These measures ensured that the report avoided academic misconduct and presented a clear summary. The report provides a basis for more comprehensive empirical research into the underrepresentation of women in the UK and how this issue can be addressed.
Reference List
Construction Youth Trust (n.d.) News & comments.
Construction Skills Network (2023) The skills construction needs.
Kier Sustainability Report (2024) Diversity and inclusion.
Mercer-Mapstone, L., Islam, M. and Reid, T., (2019) ‘Are we just engaging ‘the usual suspects’? Challenges in and practical strategies for supporting equity and diversity in student–staff partnership initiatives’, Teaching in Higher Education, 26(2), pp.227-245.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2020) Strengthening sustainability programs and curricula at the undergraduate and graduate Levels. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Naoum, S.G., Harris, J., Rizzuto, J. and Egbu, C., (2020) ‘Gender in the construction industry: literature review and comparative survey of men’s and women’s perceptions in UK construction consultancies’, Journal of Management in Engineering, 36(2), pp.1-12.
Norberg, C. and Johansson, M., (2021) ‘”Women and “ideal” women”: the representation of women in the construction industry’, Gender Issues, 38(1), pp.1-24.
Office for National Statistics (2021) Construction statistics, Great Britain: 2020.
Perrenoud, A.J., Bigelow, B.F. and Perkins, E.M., (2020) ‘Advancing women in construction: gender differences in attraction and retention factors with managers in the electrical construction industry’, Journal of Management in Engineering, 36(5), pp. 1-25.
Women into Construction (no date). History and vision: our beginnings.
Zhang, R.P., Holdsworth, S., Turner, M. and Andamon, M.M., (2021) ‘Does gender really matter? a closer look at early career women in construction’, Construction Management and Economics, 39(8), pp.669-686.