Job Satisfaction of Women in Construction Trades

Abstract

Existing research on women in construction focuses on engineers and entrepreneurs, yet little to no attention has been given to women in trades. Thus, the aim of this research is to review the literature on tradeswomen and to conduct a localized study to determine if demographic variables affect satisfaction with work, pay, opportunities, supervision, and people on the job for tradeswomen. These variables include age, education, number of dependents, number of trade years, duration of work, and frequency of work outside of the local area. Thirty-nine tradeswomen from the Cincinnati area were surveyed to assess their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with construction work. Currently, the literature review indicates that research on tradeswomen is limited and largely restricted to identifying measures that can attract and retain women in construction trades. Studies on motivation and job satisfaction of construction workers neither identify nor compare perceptions of tradeswomen about their work. Results of this exploratory study showed that pay, benefits, and job security are most important to women in their occupation. Although tradeswomen appear to be satisfied with the nature of work in construction trades, this is not the case in terms of pay, benefits, and job security. Demographic variables did not affect the level of job satisfaction for women in construction trades. Research on tradeswomen is essential and important as the industry tries to change its image and encourage diversity in order to mitigate labor shortage.