A Study on Causes of Gender Gap in Construction Management: High School Students’ Knowledge and Perceptions across Genders

This paper addresses three research questions: (1) According to the pertinent literature, what are the main causes of the current gender gap in the construction industry, particularly for management and leadership roles? (2) Is there a significant difference between male and female high-school-age students regarding their level of knowledge of the construction industry? (3) Is there a significant difference between male and female high-school-age students in their perception of the construction industry and factors impacting their career choice? These research questions are addressed by a review of the literature followed by a discussion of precamp survey results from two consecutive years of a two-week high school summer camp, which is focused on construction science and management. The literature review reveals that the issues are deep-routed and complex but can in general be categorized into two groups: the recruitment and retention of women in construction management and related careers. While the literature review summary in this paper addresses both categories, the focus of the paper remains recruitment, particularly through a study of high school students’ level of knowledge and perceptions of construction management. The pre-camp surveys assessed the participants’ baseline knowledge and perceptions of construction management as a career. The results showed that the knowledge of construction management as a career is very low, with no statistically significant difference between genders. It must be noted here that the participants are biased positively toward the construction management and related careers, as they chose to attend the camp for a variety of reasons, from wanting an experience on the campus of this university to parents’ encouragement. Despite this baseline interest, however, the data show that the participants lacked clarity on what this career really entails. It is suggested, therefore that the general knowledge of this career path across larger and more randomized samples across U.S. will be even lower. The perceptions of the construction industry differed slightly between genders, with females perceiving it as more physically challenging and prioritizing family friendliness when considering career options. In conclusion, both the literature review and the survey data analysis show that the lack of knowledge of this career path, exacerbated by the negative perceptions of the construction industry, contribute to the problem of women not choosing to study construction management. The construction industry continues to make significant improvements in their diversity and inclusion efforts, and there are a variety of paths within the industry for graduates of construction science and management degrees. As such, significant work remains for both the industry and academia to overcome the lack of knowledge and negative perceptions of the industry through increased outreach to better inform high school students, parents, and counselors.