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The objective of this study was to determine and analyse the perceived trends of women in construction with regards to recruitment practices and placement within firms on the basis of gender. Data and literature on construction industry recruitment strategies, differences in gender, and representation of women in the trades has been studied in order to understand the perceived status of women in the construction industry as a whole. Major findings of the study included correlations between the size and type of construction firms and the proportions of women employed. The analysis determined that there are greater opportunities for women in home office positions in smaller firms. It was also determined that the greater the amount of work that is subcontracted, the greater the proportion of women home office personnel and salaried employees.

Other findings from the study included patterns of how the industry ranked women's performance of tasks. Construction industry professionals rated women higher in tasks involving computer literacy skills than did student respondents. Both industry professionals and student respondents thought women perform slightly better at tasks involving communication skills and sensitivity to the emotions of others, and that women performed worse than men in tasks involving physical strength. In regards to observations of personality traits, industry professionals and student respondents thought that women were slightly more tender-minded and organised as compared to men, while men were slightly more aggressive than women.

The results helped to conclude that while companies are not necessarily discriminating against women, they are also not looking to them as a potential skilled labor source. Additionally, gender differences observed in construction work, are not reflected when assigning work. In times when gender is considered, physical strength is typically the only gender difference that the industry is recognising.

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The participation of women in the active labour force has been increasing steadily in both industrialised and developing countries. However, the evidence also shows that this participation tends to be concentrated in a few specific branches of economic activity, typically in community work, commerce and services. This renders women especially vulnerable to austerity drives, adjustment measures and recessions. To alleviate this situation one should aim at an equitable participation of women in all sectors of the economy. This requires equal opportunities in access to jobs as well as equality on the job.

The present book explores the way employment opportunities for women could be enhanced through vocational and technical education and training. It examines some of the factors that influence this process, with special reference to Africa and discusses the barriers to women's participation in technical education, training and employment. It goes on to develop a set of recommendations in this regard which will be of major interest to policy-makers and administrators of educational and training institutions. Show less

Many studies into the mining sector have described how masculine the industry is. However, this special report highlights the significant, yet chronically underreported major role African women play in the sector, more so in artisanal and small scale mining (ASM). In Africa, the ASM workforce comprises no less than 40-50 per cent women; this report highlights a selection of them in Ghana, Guinea and Tanzania, and reveals the key challenges that women face in the sector and what can be done to make it more gender responsive.

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This paper notes that skill shortages in trades and technology fields would benefit from the significant movement of women into the trades and technology workforce. The Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology (CCWESTT) has a mandate to advance the recruitment and retention of women in these fields. This paper describes the checklist produced by CCWESTT's Women in Science, Engineering, Trades and Technology (WinSETT) initiative, how it has been used, and plans for future revision of the resource. This practical resource is for use in workshops for employers and sector associations to identify the broad issues, examine current conditions, and take action to create work environments welcoming to women in the skilled trades and other SETT fields.

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Even though women all over the world work as miners, and have done for centuries, mining continues to be viewed as a typically masculine occupation. This volume presents a selection of papers that were presented at an international workshop on ‘Mining, gender and sustainable livelihoods’, organised to disseminate the results of an ‘action research’ project. The chapters in this volume highlight the key issues and implications of integrating gender to foster sustainable livelihoods in both large-scale and informal, artisanal and small-scale mining in different parts of the world. The contents are as follows: Introduction: Gendering the masculine field of mining for sustainable community livelihoods / Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt; Modernity, gender and mining: experiences from Papua New Guinea / Martha Macintyre; Bordering on equality: women miners in North America; Laurie Mercier; Sex work and livelihoods: beyond the ‘negative impacts on women’ in Indonesian mining / Petra Mahy; Experiences of Indigenous women in the Australian mining industry / Joni Parmenter; Indigenous women and mining agreement negotiations: Australia and Canada / Ciaran O’Faircheallaigh; Gender-based evaluation of development projects: the LAST method / Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt; Women-owned SMEs in supply chains of the corporate resources sector / Ana Maria Esteves; On the radar?: gendered considerations in Australia-based mining companies’ sustainability reporting, 2004–2007 / Sara Bice; Towards a post-conflict transition: women and artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo / Rachel Perks; Artisanal and small-scale mining: gender and sustainable livelihoods in Mongolia / Bolormaa Purevjav; Gender mainstreaming in Asian mining: a development perspective / Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Gill Burke. Show less

Recruitment for diversity is part of a range of proactive strategies for overcoming occupational stereotyping in a number of professions, as well as addressing a history of discrimination against women and minority groups. One such campaign launched by the Swedish police involves 'inclusive recruitment'. By analysing the discourse of inclusive recruitment and its subject positions in police student talk, this article shows how borders between people who are assigned different social categories are constructed, challenged and reinforced. Positive intentions in agendas towards diversity are problematised when minorities are ascribed as admitted on quotation, which places them in a subordinate and 'risky position' within an occupation and on less legitimate premises. A dilemma emerges between a call to represent minority groups and the risk of categorising them as 'others'. In particular, voices of resistance from ethnic minority police women show how practices of exclusion could jeopardise efforts to achieve inclusion.

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The visibility of female role models in science is vital for engaging and retaining women in scientific fields. In this study, we analyse four senior secondary science courses delivered across the states and territories in Australia: Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Physics. We compared male and female representation within the science courses by examining the mentions of male and female scientists along with the context of their inclusions in the syllabuses.

We find a clear gender bias with only one unique mention of a female scientist. We also find a clear Eurocentric focus and narrow representation of scientists. This bias will contribute to the continuing low engagement of women in scientific fields. We outline possible solutions to address this issue, including the accreditation of scientific discoveries to include female scientists and explicit discussion of structural barriers preventing the participation and progression of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Published abstract.

Forthcoming article first published online 28 August 2023 by Sage Journals. Show less

In June 2003, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) began an investigation into gender segregation, focusing on Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) and concentrating on five occupational sectors where there are skill shortages: construction, plumbing, engineering, information and communication technology (ICT) and childcare. This study was commissioned in December 2003 and reports on the perspectives of women in the UK who have succeeded in entering training or employment in the non-traditional sectors of plumbing, construction, engineering and ICT. The Women’s Training Network worked in partnership with the EOC on the research. The study aims to: understand the obstacles women have encountered in entering non-traditional training/employment; explore how they negotiated and managed those experiences; identify the factors that enabled them to succeed and what else would have helped; identify how more women can be enabled to enter non-traditional occupations and succeed; highlight good practice for women in non-traditional skills training/employment; and provide recommendations, which can be fed into the EOC investigation into occupational segregation. The focus group method was used to interview women who were either training in mainstream environments, training in women-only environments, or employed and self-employed in the construction sector. Participants aged between 20 and 50 years old were chosen from venues in London, the South East, Yorkshire and Wales. The research demonstrates that those women who have succeeded in non-traditional skill areas are particularly resilient and determined. It is unrealistic to expect that numbers will significantly increase unless changes are instituted. It is recommended that particular attention and positive action is required to meet the needs of women entering training and employment and that a national policy is developed in collaboration between major organisations and stakeholders. Show less

This paper investigates whether social identity considerations - through beliefs and norms - drive women's occupational choices. We implement two field experiments with potential applicants to a five-month software-coding program offered to women from low-income backgrounds in Peru and Mexico. When we correct the perception that women cannot succeed in technology by providing role models, information on returns and access to a female network, application rates double and the self-selection patterns change. Analysis of those patterns suggests that identity considerations act as barriers to entering the technology sector and that some high-cognitive skill women do not apply because of their high identity costs.

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This background paper argues that women are under-represented in the Australian manufacturing industry, making up just 27 per cent of the manufacturing workforce as of February 2015. Not only are women not employed in traditional manufacturing roles, they are also not employed in the higher paid, higher skilled occupations that are needed in a modern Australian manufacturing industry. The majority of female employees are employed as clerical and administrative workers (27 per cent) or labourers (20 per cent). The paper notes that Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) considers women to be an under-utilised resource in the manufacturing industry. It begins with a snapshot of women in the manufacturing industry and then reviews Australian statistics on employment of women by industry, barriers to employment of women in manufacturing, Australian and international research, and government policies and funding programs, and industry programs aimed at encouraging women to enter non-traditional occupations.

The paper concludes that the successful attraction and retention of women into the manufacturing industry and also into the engineering trades is vital for the sustainability of Australian manufacturing and the future of engineering. However, the majority of initiatives in Australia continue to focus on the construction and resources industries. It is argued that there continues to be a real lack of research around women working in the manufacturing industry in Australia and in particular the 'traditional trades' within manufacturing. Areas where research continues to be needed are recommended.

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