The construction industry is widely considered to be one of the world’s largest industrial employers of labour, and is linked to all other sectors of countries’ economies. It presents a path to empower women economically but it tends to be dominated by men.
In spite of past initiatives in many parts of the world to increase their participation in the construction industry at all levels, women remain a minority.
This is not only an issue of equitable gender representation but one of meeting the industry’s needs.
Researchers have identified skills shortages as a problem in construction. Attracting more women to careers in the industry could help bridge these gaps.
In Nigeria, women make up only 16.3% of the construction profession. Research on this is scarce but one 2006 study of the informal housing delivery sector found that women’s participation was extremely low.
This was presumed to be due to certain cultural ethics and values in Nigeria.
In our study, we investigated the current level of women’s participation, challenges faced by professional women and the factors that influence them in the course of developing careers in construction.
We found that gender discrimination and dominance of male culture were among the top constraints. The top strategy suggested for changing this was to make young women aware of opportunities that exist for them in the industry.
