Investigation of the Barriers and Their Overcoming Solutions to Women's Involvement in the US Construction Industry

The construction industry suffers from a gender gap that ultimately leads to a workforce shortage in the industry. Since the year 2000, less than ten percent of construction personnel have been females, in spite of multiple researchers and practitioners searching for the reasons and solutions to the barriers that lead to this disproportion. Thus, the aims of this study are to determine why women aren't attracted to the construction industry, and to find effective and efficient ways to address this issue. To achieve these objectives, a structured survey was developed and distributed to both female and male qualified experts involved in construction projects. Thirty-four (34) completed surveys were collected, and the data was analyzed. The results identified the 10 most significant barriers, of which gender bias, job site culture, and recruitment were the top 3, and recommended 11 ways to address the issue. It was shown that mentoring, outreach activities for high school students, and diversity standards and benchmark metrics could be useful in addressing the challenges associated with the gender gap. The findings of this study will help decision-makers adopt effective strategies that will lead to an increase in women's involvement in the construction industry.