Women's self-perception: an inter-sector comparison of construction, legal and nursing professionals

The issue of gender in the construction industry has received considerable attention. However, most of the research has been from a male perspective and has considered how male perceptions of females act as an impediment to women's career progression. An understanding of women's self-perception is important because it helps to explain how women make sense of the barriers and challenges they face in a male dominated culture and how they seek to attain positive outcomes for themselves. A comparison of women in the construction industry with women in other male-dominated (legal) and female-dominated (nursing) industries reveals little variation in self perceptions. Indeed, women in the construction industry emerge relatively positively, with the highest overall level of self-esteem. This is encouraging and surprising, given the considerable evidence of significant barriers to entry and career progression for women in the construction industry, compared to other industries. It indicates that the construction industry is not a special case and that support strategies used in other industries are directly transferable, although the culture of the construction industry may make them more difficult to implement.