Determining the Extent of Attributes Contributing to Gender Inclusion of Workers in the Construction Industry

Abstract

An inclusive workforce leads to higher productivity and creativity, increased job satisfaction, and decreased turnover. Though few studies have identified factors affecting inclusion in construction, there is a need for a measurement index to enable organizations to assess their progress in inclusion. Therefore, this study aimed to compute the share percentage of each attribute contributing to inclusion in the construction industry, specifically for women and transgender individuals. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used as the multiattribute decision-making tool to transform the judgments of five experts, three practitioners and two academicians, into a list of weighted attributes. Fourteen attributes emerged from AHP, which were grouped into eight unique gender inclusion factors: endorsement of inclusion, external collaboration, quality of work–life, career development, equitable work environment, effective communication, worker health and welfare, and safe work environment. The results underscored the predominance of endorsement-related attributes such as commitment from top management and inclusion at the top management level for enhancing gender inclusion on sites. External collaboration emerged as a prominent factor, whereas communication with management was the least weighted attribute. The findings have threefold implications. The hierarchy structure will enable practitioners to map the various attributes in their organization and suggest actions based on the requirements of the workforce. Second, the ranked list will enable practitioners to focus on the limited resources available to enhance the inclusion of the attributes with higher weightage. Third, the attribute weight will help researchers develop a quantitative index for computing the level of gender inclusion on construction sites. Apart from the general limitations of an AHP-based evaluation, the findings of this paper cannot be used to assess the presence of an attribute onsite; instead, they can indicate the extent to which an attribute contributes to inclusion in the construction industry. Existing studies have made it abundantly clear that diversity and inclusion are essential practices for the sustenance and progress of the global economy. However, there is limited practical evidence to back up these studies. For example, research that suggests an increase in inclusion in construction sites increases worker productivity cannot be proven quantitatively. This is because although productivity data can be measured, the level of inclusion at a site or that a person feels cannot be measured. To facilitate such research directions about inclusion, especially in construction, it is of the utmost importance to come up with an index that will enable practitioners to assess the inclusion at a site. Developing such an index is a complex task involving many stages. This study endeavored to address one of the stages—weighting of attributes—in detail and explore the results and applications therein.