Comparison of barriers faced by women in theAustralianand Indian constructionindustry.

Abstract

Today’s constructionindustry has extreme gender stratification that is still traditional in the employmentofwomen.Eventhoughtheparticipationofwomenintheconstructionindustryhasgrown,womenarestillconsidered as a minority in this field. The industry is considered as male-dominated with low participation of women.The aim of this study is to compare the challenges faced by women construction workers in two different countries:Australia and India. Inthis context, the study also investigated the level of participation of women in the constructionindustryandthecommonchallengesfacedbywomenthathindertheirparticipationaroundtheglobe.Thesignificant barriers that are faced by women construction workers around the globe are the male-dominated natureand masculine culture of the industry, work-family balance, lack of career progression, longer working hours and thecomplex workplace culture. When comparing the barriers faced by women in the Indian and Australian constructionindustry, some of them similar, whereas some are different. The barriers faced by women in Australia are genderstereotyping, lack of awareness, the rigidity of work roles, flexibility issues and changing the family structure. On theother hand, In India, women face barriers such as unequal wages, caste, cultural and religion restrictions, poorsanitary facilities, seasonal work irregularity and health hazards. The research proves that there are many barriersthat counteract the participation of women in the industry and thus recommends some measures to improve theirinvolvement.