Table 1 Summary of the identified...

Table 1

Summary of the identified barriers to the career choices and progression of women in the construction industry [new Table 1 includes all concepts from Tables 1–3]

Code	Barrier	References
A1	Male domination in construction industry careers. Underrepresentation of women in the industry. Few female peers, supervisors and managers	Fulford (2019), Afolabi et al. (2019), Kodagoda and Jayawardhana (2022)
A2	Highly competitive environment, being unwelcoming and lacking support, such as mentorships and professional development programs tailored for women	Osei et al. (2023), Naoum et al. (2020) (Seidu et al., 2022)
A3	Queen bee syndrome in the workplace: women competing and hindering other women	Kark et. al. (2024)
A4	Difficulty in finding work–life balance. Lack of flexible work conditions and arrangements (career breaks or access to part-time duties)	Shen and Luen (2022), Naoum et al. (2020)
A5	Qualification gap between women and men	Alves and English (2018)
A6	Career insecurity (short-term contracts, grant-dependent positions)
A7	Lack of supportive facilities in the working environment (e.g. creche, single-sex toilets)	Stromquist et al. (2013)
A8	Slow career progression and limited access to leadership opportunities	Akinlolu and Haupt (2021), Naoum et al. (2020)
A9	Difficulty in returning to construction industry careers after a pause or leave	Kolegraff (2024)
A10	Difficulty in securing positions in the same geographical area as their partners or children	Fielden et al. (2000)
B1	Explicit and implicit gender bias favouring men. Institutional discrimination Construction industry education is directed at boys. Lack of girls’ exposure to construction-related experiences	Fulford (2019), Alves and English (2018), Naoum et al. (2020), Owolabi et al. (2023)
B2	Income inequality/gender pay gap	Oo et al. (2020), Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)
B3	Passive-aggressive attitude, intimidation towards women and unwelcoming or hostile workplace culture towards them	Osei et al. (2023)
B4	Women are discouraged or dismissed from managerial and leadership positions	Naoum et al. (2020), Akinlolu and Haupt (2021)
B5	Prejudice against women’s resilience, performance and intelligence	Alves and English (2018), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
B6	Bullying or sexual harassment against women	Osei et al. (2023)
C1	Traditional stereotypes about women, who are perceived with lower physical and mental abilities, and construction-related courses are viewed as difficult	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020), Afolabi et al. (2019)
C2	Women are perceived as less rational and more emotional	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C3	The perception that the construction industry is not an appropriate workplace for women	Hasan et al. (2021), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C4	Fear of not conforming to traditional societal views, lack of respect for women in construction industry careers	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C5	Preferential treatment for men	Fulford (2019) [institutional bias], Alves and English (2018)
C6	The perception that women's common role in society is being a primary carer for children or other family members	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020), Phillips and Blustein (1994)
D1	Lack of self-confidence about own skills and abilities	Fulford (2019)
D2	Self-imposed fear of construction-related activities	Shen and Luen (2022)
D3	Lack of confidence to apply for positions and promotions	Fulford (2019) [self-efficacy], Seidu et al., 2022, Akinlolu and Haupt (2021)
D4	Lack of personal interest in construction-related fields	Nwokolo and Chukwuma (2021)
D5	Lack of awareness of educational opportunities in construction fields	Agyekum et al. (2024)
D6	Lack of awareness of career opportunities in construction-related fields	Seidu et al. (2022) [as part of lack of support/mentoring]
D7	Personal circumstances (female role in family, pregnancy, maternity)	Phillips and Blustein (1994), Shen and Luen (2022)
D8	Effect of life stage and family expectations	Shen and Luen (2022), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
D9	Girls have less curiosity, desire, appetite and motivation towards information or knowledge about construction	Afolabi et al. (2019)
E1	Lack of professional mentorship, career counselling and supervision opportunities for females	Seidu et al. (2022)
E2	Lack of support networks, including career sponsors and professional groups, contributes to women feeling out of place in construction-related fields	Seidu et al. (2022)
E3	Lack of female mentors/role models	Seidu et al. (2022), Fulford (2019)
E4	Lack of encouragement from men	Seidu et al. (2022)
E5	Lack of encouragement from women	Seidu et al. (2022)
E6	Lack of encouragement and support from family members and friends/peers	Phillips and Blustein (1994)
E7	Lack of access to vocational construction-related training and development opportunities	Seidu et al. (2022), Agyekum et al. (2024)
E8	Ineffective programs to attract women to challenging and competitive jobs and positions	Osei et al. (2023), Seidu et al. (2022), Afolabi et al. (2019)
E9	Lack of strategies and policies for gender balance in construction-related fields	Naoum et al. (2020), Kodagoda and Jayawardhana (2022)
F1	Educational expenses and costs	Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)
F2	Time required to acquire construction related qualification	Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018) [wider education costs], Seidu et al. (2022)
F3	Construction industry education directed at boys. Lack of girls’ exposure to construction-related experiences	Owolabi et al. (2023)
F4	Construction-related courses are difficult	Afolabi et al. (2019)
F5	Difficult to balance work, education and family/other life commitments	Shen and Luen (2022), Phillips and Blustein (1994), Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)

Code	Barrier	References
A1	Male domination in construction industry careers. Underrepresentation of women in the industry. Few female peers, supervisors and managers	Fulford (2019), Afolabi et al. (2019), Kodagoda and Jayawardhana (2022)
A2	Highly competitive environment, being unwelcoming and lacking support, such as mentorships and professional development programs tailored for women	Osei et al. (2023), Naoum et al. (2020) (Seidu et al., 2022)
A3	Queen bee syndrome in the workplace: women competing and hindering other women	Kark et. al. (2024)
A4	Difficulty in finding work–life balance. Lack of flexible work conditions and arrangements (career breaks or access to part-time duties)	Shen and Luen (2022), Naoum et al. (2020)
A5	Qualification gap between women and men	Alves and English (2018)
A6	Career insecurity (short-term contracts, grant-dependent positions)
A7	Lack of supportive facilities in the working environment (e.g. creche, single-sex toilets)	Stromquist et al. (2013)
A8	Slow career progression and limited access to leadership opportunities	Akinlolu and Haupt (2021), Naoum et al. (2020)
A9	Difficulty in returning to construction industry careers after a pause or leave	Kolegraff (2024)
A10	Difficulty in securing positions in the same geographical area as their partners or children	Fielden et al. (2000)
B1	Explicit and implicit gender bias favouring men. Institutional discriminationConstruction industry education is directed at boys. Lack of girls’ exposure to construction-related experiences	Fulford (2019), Alves and English (2018), Naoum et al. (2020), Owolabi et al. (2023)
B2	Income inequality/gender pay gap	Oo et al. (2020), Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)
B3	Passive-aggressive attitude, intimidation towards women and unwelcoming or hostile workplace culture towards them	Osei et al. (2023)
B4	Women are discouraged or dismissed from managerial and leadership positions	Naoum et al. (2020), Akinlolu and Haupt (2021)
B5	Prejudice against women’s resilience, performance and intelligence	Alves and English (2018), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
B6	Bullying or sexual harassment against women	Osei et al. (2023)
C1	Traditional stereotypes about women, who are perceived with lower physical and mental abilities, and construction-related courses are viewed as difficult	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020), Afolabi et al. (2019)
C2	Women are perceived as less rational and more emotional	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C3	The perception that the construction industry is not an appropriate workplace for women	Hasan et al. (2021), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C4	Fear of not conforming to traditional societal views, lack of respect for women in construction industry careers	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
C5	Preferential treatment for men	Fulford (2019) [institutional bias], Alves and English (2018)
C6	The perception that women's common role in society is being a primary carer for children or other family members	Lekchiri and Kamm (2020), Phillips and Blustein (1994)
D1	Lack of self-confidence about own skills and abilities	Fulford (2019)
D2	Self-imposed fear of construction-related activities	Shen and Luen (2022)
D3	Lack of confidence to apply for positions and promotions	Fulford (2019) [self-efficacy], Seidu et al., 2022, Akinlolu and Haupt (2021)
D4	Lack of personal interest in construction-related fields	Nwokolo and Chukwuma (2021)
D5	Lack of awareness of educational opportunities in construction fields	Agyekum et al. (2024)
D6	Lack of awareness of career opportunities in construction-related fields	Seidu et al. (2022) [as part of lack of support/mentoring]
D7	Personal circumstances (female role in family, pregnancy, maternity)	Phillips and Blustein (1994), Shen and Luen (2022)
D8	Effect of life stage and family expectations	Shen and Luen (2022), Lekchiri and Kamm (2020)
D9	Girls have less curiosity, desire, appetite and motivation towards information or knowledge about construction	Afolabi et al. (2019)
E1	Lack of professional mentorship, career counselling and supervision opportunities for females	Seidu et al. (2022)
E2	Lack of support networks, including career sponsors and professional groups, contributes to women feeling out of place in construction-related fields	Seidu et al. (2022)
E3	Lack of female mentors/role models	Seidu et al. (2022), Fulford (2019)
E4	Lack of encouragement from men	Seidu et al. (2022)
E5	Lack of encouragement from women	Seidu et al. (2022)
E6	Lack of encouragement and support from family members and friends/peers	Phillips and Blustein (1994)
E7	Lack of access to vocational construction-related training and development opportunities	Seidu et al. (2022), Agyekum et al. (2024)
E8	Ineffective programs to attract women to challenging and competitive jobs and positions	Osei et al. (2023), Seidu et al. (2022), Afolabi et al. (2019)
E9	Lack of strategies and policies for gender balance in construction-related fields	Naoum et al. (2020), Kodagoda and Jayawardhana (2022)
F1	Educational expenses and costs	Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)
F2	Time required to acquire construction related qualification	Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018) [wider education costs], Seidu et al. (2022)
F3	Construction industry education directed at boys. Lack of girls’ exposure to construction-related experiences	Owolabi et al. (2023)
F4	Construction-related courses are difficult	Afolabi et al. (2019)
F5	Difficult to balance work, education and family/other life commitments	Shen and Luen (2022), Phillips and Blustein (1994), Akosah-Twumasi et al. (2018)

Source(s): Table by authors

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