Challenges and strategies for the retention of female construction professionals: an empirical study in Australia

The construction industry is perceived as an industry that is not viable for females to progress their careers in. Existing research studies focused on retaining senior female construction professionals are lacking. Particularly, the existing challenges and strategies found through a critical literature review were scattered and not specific to the retention of senior construction professionals. Identifying this gap, this study led to an empirical research phase to gather the firsthand experiences of 14 senior female professionals in Australia through semi-structured interviews. Subsequently, the gathered data was analysed through content analysis using NVivo software (2020). This study revealed several barriers, which were categorised into three clusters: culture in construction, disrupted career progression, and difficult working conditions. The results revealed that some barriers were consistent with the broader literature findings, while some were interesting context-specific barriers such as a lack of recognition and respect, a lack of confidence in decision-making, misalignment of childcare and construction hours, and lack of on-site feeding facilities. Similarly, the strategies were also discussed under three categories: to support females to adapt in construction, support them in their return to work from leave, and increase flexible work. Finally, recommendations were provided for individuals, organisations, and the industry to retain female employees in construction. Theoretically, this study advances understanding by identifying barriers and retention strategies specific to senior female construction professionals, framing retention as a multi-level challenge, while practically, the findings inform targeted policies to address gaps in the Australian context and improve gender equity.