Women in the Construction Professions: Achieving Critical Mass

This article addresses the question of whether an increased number of women entering the construction professions is resulting in the build‐up of critical mass, with associated changes in the culture of the construction industry, and thus in its organization and conditions of employment. It was found, from recent research, that little such change has occurred so far. Indeed the construction industry seemed to be so self‐contained and separate from wider social changes, that it was helpful to visualize it as constituting ‘Planet Construction’ upon which live a series of male‐dominated professional tribes, each with its own culture and world view. This article discusses the factors and forces limiting change, and then identifies likely change agents. These comprise top‐down agents such as governmental regulatory bodies, and bottom‐up agents such as minority groups and community organizations. The most effective bottom‐up groups are likely to be those that have a foothold within the professional bodies such as the women‐led Equal Opportunities in Construction Taskforce, which has produced and is promoting guidelines for equal opportunities in the industry. But there is still a long way to go before major changes are likely to occur in the employment status, pay and conditions, as women in construction have hardly reached ‘first base’ in terms of being accepted within the industry. This is reflected in high job turnover among women in construction, occupational isolation, and limited promotion prospects, all factors which work against the build‐up of critical mass and culture change.