Occupational Health and Safety Barriers for Gender Diversity in the Australian Construction Industry

Abstract

The construction industry in many countries is faced with skill shortages. Attracting more female workers in the male-dominated construction industry can help alleviate this issue. However, perceived concerns of increased or specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks for females could be a significant deterrent. Due to their marginal representation in various trade roles, the overall analyses of OHS incident data fail to capture the specific OHS concerns that apply to female construction workers. This study presents an empirical analyses of workers’ compensation data obtained from Safe Work Australia for 12 years (2008–2019) to investigate specific OHS risks for female construction workers. The annual average incident trend does not present a steady increase or decrease in permanent and temporary incapacities among female construction workers. Moreover, the incident number, severity, and employment data together reveal that female workers in both professional and manual or trade occupations have lower incident rates than their male counterparts. However, the findings also reveal that: (1) building and plumbing women laborers and earthmoving plant operators are more prone to injuries that result in permanent incapacities; (2) fractures, soft tissue injuries, deafness, anxiety, stress, and depression lead to permanent incapacities among female workers; and (3) falls on the same level, muscular stress while handling objects, long-term exposure to sounds, work pressure, workplace harassment, and bullying result in permanently incapacitating injuries. The study also noted the differences in the occupations, mechanisms of incidents, and injury types that contribute to most incidents among male and female construction workers. The findings of this study can help training providers, construction organizations, and practitioners identify specific OHS concerns for developing more comprehensive OHS management plans, training, and awareness programs for female construction workers. The existing OHS management and training programs should be remodeled accordingly to incorporate gender-specific OHS risks and injury mechanisms rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Clients, specifically in public projects, may stipulate that the contractor provides gender-specific OHS management plans to ensure the OHS of workers of different genders. It is vital to educate female construction workers from various occupations about specific OHS risks, incident mechanisms, and preventive actions. The higher occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders due to handling objects demands redesigning work processes to reduce female construction workers’ manual handling of objects. The present study also shows that work pressure, anxiety, and depression are prevalent among female construction workers, taxing their mental health and causing permanent incapacities. The psychosocial conditions and work pressure resulting from these health conditions must be managed at both the project and organizational levels to attract and retain more female workers in the construction industry. Such efforts are expected to improve female representation and their OHS, well-being, and job satisfaction and reduce skill shortages in the long run.