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Fig. 1

EU27 women participation in construction, 2008.Source: Adopted from Aulin and Jingmond (2011).
EU27 women participation in construction, 2008.Source: Adopted from Aulin and Jingmond (2011).

Barriers/constraints to women's participation in the built environment profession.

Barriers/constraintsMean scoreStandard deviationFactor ranking
Low level of females’ self-confidence at the career level when compared to males3.540.8025th
Inflexible and harsh working conditions4.580.7993rd
Limited number of women attaining senior position in the firm1.470.6838th
Smaller proportion of women training in construction-related fields2.340.7469th
Unequal job opportunities for women3.540.8025th
Dominance of male culture in the construction industry4.820.6831st
Lack of support, networking and mentoring opportunities2.470.7467th
Attitudes, perceptions and behaviours of the society4.820.9601st
Limited influence of women in construction3.640.8024th

Reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha for each construct of the questionnaire.

ConstructCronbach's alphaNumber of items
Level of influence that some factors have on professional women participation in the construction industry0.8839
Barriers or constraints that prevent women's entry into construction industry0.8919
Level of agreement with some strategies to improve women participation in the construction industry0.87216
Factors affecting the participation of women professionals in the construction industry0.81211

Factors that affect participation of professional women in the built environment profession.

FactorsMean scoreStandard deviationFactor ranking
Family obligation4.580.7993th
Fear of competition with men2.340.7469th
Female preference for other jobs relative to construction jobs4.620.6831st
Gender discrimination4.620.6831st
Lack of mentoring3.540.8025th
Lack of career progression2.880.7467th
Nature of the construction industry orientation3.540.8025th
Recruitment policies and procedures3.640.8024th
Sociocultural perceptions2.470.7468th

Industrial classification of workers in Nigeria as of 2008.

IndustryFemalePercentageMalePercentageTotal
Agriculture7,029,23736.512,207,07563.519,236,348
Fishing188,8311.0293,9011.5482,732
Mining40,3010.2152,8600.8193,161
Manufacturing industry1,197,5386.21, 084,3905.62,281,928
Electricity, gas and water68,5820.4233,0721.2301,654
Construction industry37,4450.2620,7493.2658,194
Retail trade5,796,54330.13,037,55015.88,834,093
Hotel restaurant business163,5610.953,5570.3217,118
Transportation and communication business96,3000.51,308,2506.81,404,550
Finance business52,0880.374,3370.4126,425
Real estate business187,9841.0226,2631.2414,247
Administration and defence477,0612.51,352,5627.01,909,149
Education915,0404.8994,1095.2475,328
Health and social welfare292,1431.5183,1851.0475,328
Social services727,5883.81,112,0145.81,839,602
House helper98,3200.599,6160.5197,936
Others16,1130.150,3250.366,438
Total17,484,16343.123.053,81556.940,567,978

Strategies to improve women participation in the built environment profession.

StrategiesWomen professionals Mean scoreRankEmployers Mean ScoreRankOverall Mean ScoreRank
Incentives, such as childcare facilities4.497th3.7410th4.1211th
Support educational and career pathways4.526th4.67th4.526th
Better job security3.839th4.823rd4.3310th
Better benefits3.5413th3.928th3.7312th
More opportunities for promotion3.6411th3.7311th3.6914th
More flexible working hours4.477th4.686th4.565th
Better representation of women4.921st3.909th4.418th
Education and training opportunities3.8010th4.961st4.389th
Equal opportunities, policies and procedures4.913rd4.823rd4.873rd
Extending the influence of women in construction4.921st2.4814th3.7013th
Networking and mentoring schemes3.988th4.961st4.477th
Making young women aware of opportunities in construction4.921st4.961st4.941st
Creating scholarship opportunities4.625th4.686th4.654th
Organizing excursions1.6514th3.7212th2.6915th
Favourable selection criteria and recruitment methods4.913rd4.961st4.941st
Develop links with educational establishment2.8212th2.2115th2.2516th
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