IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i7p5646-d1105452.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Racial Disparities in the Construction Domain: A Systematic Literature Review of the U.S. Educational and Workforce Domain

Author

Listed:
  • Josiane Isingizwe

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA)

  • Ricardo Eiris

    (Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, USA)

  • Masoud Gheisari

    (Rinker School of Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

Abstract

Trends in the construction domain, educational enrollment, student graduation, student industry employment, and workforce retention demonstrate that minorities—Hispanics, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans—are often excluded, segregated, or ignored in this domain. A systematic literature review (N = 68) was conducted to investigate the causes and effects of racial disparities produced by systemic racism in the educational and workforce domains of construction. Particularly, this paper focuses on exploring how racial disparities in construction impact minorities, the current state of the racial divide, the practices that perpetuate racial inequities, and the strategies currently used to prevent, in a sustainable manner, such practices. The results of this systematic literature search revealed that exclusionary practices and ideologies cause an underrepresentation of minorities in construction that directly affects employment and industry representation in the United States. Previous studies show that systemic racism in construction has been supported by meritocracy and colorblindness ideologies, creating an unwelcoming environment where racial minorities have difficulties identifying with the construction domain. Furthermore, systemic racism affects students after graduation from construction programs, as industry trends showcase issues with minorities joining or staying in the field. Although racial disparities caused by systemic racism are an existing issue in the education and workforce domains of construction, there are a rising number of publications that strive to understand how to sustainably increase diversity, equity, and the inclusion of racial minorities. An increasing number of available tools, such as anti-bias and awareness training programs, are being used as a sustainable practice in construction education and in the construction industry to mitigate the effects of systemic racism. Ultimately, this paper’s contribution centers on describing the “who”, “how”, and “what” regarding the effect of racial disparities in the construction domain, which reduce the number of minority professionals coming into and staying in the industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Josiane Isingizwe & Ricardo Eiris & Masoud Gheisari, 2023. "Racial Disparities in the Construction Domain: A Systematic Literature Review of the U.S. Educational and Workforce Domain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5646-:d:1105452
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5646/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5646/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Roger Waldinger & Thomas Bailey, 1991. "The Continuing Significance of Race: Racial Conflict and Racial Discrimination in Construction," Politics & Society, , vol. 19(3), pages 291-323, September.
    2. Timothy Bates & David Howell, 1998. "The Declining Status of Minorities in the New York City Construction Industry," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 12(1), pages 88-100, February.
    3. Chiemela Victor Amaechi & Ebube Charles Amaechi & Abiodun Kolawole Oyetunji & Irish Mpho Kgosiemang, 2022. "Scientific Review and Annotated Bibliography of Teaching in Higher Education Academies on Online Learning: Adapting to the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    4. Julie J. Park & Amy Liu, 2014. "Interest Convergence or Divergence? A Critical Race Analysis of Asian Americans, Meritocracy, and Critical Mass in the Affirmative Action Debate," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 85(1), pages 36-64, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timothy Bates, 2006. "Discrimination in the Chicago-area construction industry handicaps minority-owned firms," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 7-26, March.
    2. Timothy Bates & Lisa Servon, 1998. "Microenterprise As An Exit Route From Poverty:* Recommendations For Programs And Policy Makers," Working Papers 98-17, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    3. Theodore Davis, 2002. "Local labor market structure and the implications for black unemployment in the late 1980s," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 53-73, September.
    4. Burns, Justine & Godlonton, Susan & Keswell, Malcolm, 2010. "Social networks, employment and worker discouragement: Evidence from South Africa," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 336-344, April.
    5. Alicia Robb & Robert Fairlie, 2006. "Determinants of Business Success: An Examination of Asian-Owned Businesses in the United States," Working Papers 06-32, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Nichola Lowe & Jacqueline Hagan & Natasha Iskander, 2010. "Revealing Talent: Informal Skills Intermediation as an Emergent Pathway to Immigrant Labor Market Incorporation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(1), pages 205-222, January.
    7. Bumho Lee & Jinwoo Kim, 2023. "Managing Social Presence in Collaborative Learning with Agent Facilitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Magnus Lofstrom & Timothy Bates, 2013. "African Americans’ pursuit of self-employment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 73-86, January.
    9. Timothy Bates, 2009. "Utilizing Affirmative Action in Public Sector Procurement as a Local Economic Development Strategy," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 23(3), pages 180-192, August.
    10. Manuel Carvajal, 2006. "Economic grounds for affirmative action: The evidence on architects and engineers in South Florida," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(4), pages 515-538.
    11. Polyakova, Evgeniya & Smirnykh, Larisa, 2016. "The earning differential between natives and individuals with immigrant background in Russia: The role of ethnicity," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 43, pages 52-72.
    12. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2007. "Why Are Black-Owned Businesses Less Successful than White-Owned Businesses? The Role of Families, Inheritances, and Business Human Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 289-323.
    13. Timothy Bates & David Howell, 1998. "The Declining Status of Minorities in the New York City Construction Industry," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 12(1), pages 88-100, February.
    14. David Blanchflower, 2009. "Minority self-employment in the United States and the impact of affirmative action programs," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 361-396, June.
    15. Blanchflower, David G., 2007. "Entrepreneurship in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 3130, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Lawrence D. Bobo, 2000. "Reclaiming a Du Boisian Perspective on Racial Attitudes," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 568(1), pages 186-202, March.
    17. Günseli Berik & Cihan Bilginsoy, 2006. "Still a wedge in the door: women training for the construction trades in the USA," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 27(4), pages 321-341, June.
    18. Paul Frymer & Jacob M. Grumbach, 2021. "Labor Unions and White Racial Politics," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(1), pages 225-240, January.
    19. Ahmad H. Sa'di & Noah Lewin-Epstein, 2001. "Minority Labour Force Participation in the Post-Fordist Era: The Case of the Arabs in Israeli," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 15(4), pages 781-802, December.
    20. Robert W. Fairlie & Alicia M. Robb, 2008. "Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026206281x, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5646-:d:1105452. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.