An Investigation of Barriers to Females’ Involvement in the Nigeria Construction Industry

Abstract

The continuous domination of the Nigeria construction industry by men remains an issue of concern to construction stakeholders as females in the Nigerian construction industry continue to be largely underrepresented. The objective of this study was to investigate the barriers to females' involvement in the Nigerian construction industry with a view to suggesting strategies that will assist to bridge this barrier. The survey reviewed literature on the level of female participation, the perceptions about women, the opportunities available to females and strategies of increasing the number of female participation in the industry. The instrument for data collection was obtained by the use of a survey questionnaire as well as the reviews of extant literature. The sampling method employed is stratified random sampling. The questionnaires were administered to built environment practitioners in consulting and contracting establishment in Lagos metropolis, Nigeria. The findings revealed that the barriers which influence female under-representation in the Nigerian construction industry include; the male-dominated structure of the construction industry, family commitments such as marriage and childbirth, masculine nature of the job, long working hours. The strategies recommended to bridge this barrier include the formulation of employment policies which prevent sexism, educating young women about the industry, providing better working conditions and flexible working policies for women, provision of incentives in order to attract more women into the Nigerian construction industry.