Framework to Enhance Gender Inclusion of Workers in Construction Sites

Abstract

Worker shortages and poor performance are perennial problems in the construction industry. The literature suggests that increasing workforce diversity and inclusion is one of the solutions to counter such problems. Because the construction industry is a labor-intensive industry dominated by one particular gender, enhancing workforce diversity and inclusion is imperative. Therefore, this study explores various strategies for fostering gender inclusion in the construction industry. Initially, 29 gender-inclusion attributes were identified for construction workers through a literature review. The opinions on the impact of these attributes on the gender inclusion of female and transgender workers were collected from 76 and 30 respondents, respectively, through a questionnaire survey. Using inferential statistics, the essential, desirable, and context-dependent attributes were established from the identified attributes for female and transgender workers. The essential attributes included workplace safety and career progression for female workers; diversity training and antidiscrimination policies for transgender workers; and inclusion at the top management level and commitment from top management for both groups of workers. The findings will provide practitioners and human resource professionals with a framework to formulate strategies to enhance the inclusion of workers in construction sites. Although the study presented a framework of gender inclusion of workers, it does not differentiate between various levels of workers (unskilled, semiskilled, and skilled), nor does it present the relative weight of the attributes contributing to inclusion. Diversity and inclusion practices are gaining traction in the current scenario. This is substantiated globally by socially driven sustainable development goals formulated by the United Nations. Practitioners understand diversity and inclusion benefits in the form of higher performance output of the organization. However, the various strategies and actions required for enhancing workforce inclusion are dispersed across the literature. In other words, there is an absence of a framework that labor-intensive industries like the construction industry can follow and enhance diversity and inclusion. This study provides a framework in the form of a list of essential, desirable, and context-dependent attributes for enhancing diversity and inclusion of women and transgender workers in the industry. Such a classification will provide an aid to practitioners in adopting the most suitable strategies depending on their status quo, goals, and resources. Moreover, the findings of this study will have future implications for the development of an index to quantitatively measure the level of inclusion in the industry.