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Abstract

A traditionally male dominated industry, construction always struggled to attract and retain women, and despite efforts and legislation encouraging equality and inclusion, women continue to be a minority in this space. Challenges women have faced have been documented; it is, nevertheless, unclear whether the same problems continue to occur in ways they did in the past, how the challenges have evolved over time, and how these have potentially brought a changed experience for women, while research investigating those issues diachronically is sparse. This paper adopts a retrospective approach on women in construction; it explores how the industry landscape has been shaped throughout the last three decades with regards to inclusivity of women. Key challenges faced by women in the industry in the last 30 years are identified in order to explore and unpack whether and how women’s experiences in the industry have changed over these decades. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of construction professionals with experience in this timeframe to gain their insights and perspectives. Through thematic analysis the findings reveal how key issues continue to affect women’s careers, whereas other challenges have evolved whilst resistance to include women persists. Research on women in construction is mainly synchronic examining the issues occurring at the time the research is conducted. This paper contributes to the collective discourse a diachronic exploration, and offers a valuable retrospective investigation into key issues over the last 30 years, and women’s changed experiences, thus helping to address diachronic barriers and shedding light on potential paths forward.

Keywords

Women in Construction, Inclusion, Barriers, Equality in Construction, Diachronic Challenges

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