Beyond culture: Fragmentation and VET as structural impediments to gender parity for tradeswomen in the ANZ construction sectors

Abstract

The construction sector is a highly gender segregated, with women comprising only 1-3% of trades related work in Western nations. There has been extensive research exploring gender and the construction sector, and women in the skilled trades. Much of this research focuses on the barriers associated with recruitment and employment for women related to the male-dominated culture of the industry. This paper moves beyond the consistently stated masculine culture as the root cause of issues impacting the low numbers of women and their poor experience of working in the construction and building industries in Australia and New Zealand. We look to overarching constraints, particularly industry fragmentation and the traditional vocational education and training (VET) models. We report on an interpretive comparative review of 22 articles from Australia and New Zealand, between 2014-2024, about women in the skilled trades in the construction industry. The research question was “To what extent does the literature interrogate the structural issues of fragmentation and vocational education and training on diversity and inclusion of tradeswomen in the construction industry workforce”. The overarching aim of the research was to understand the persistence of gender segregation in the construction sector. Our previous research identified the structural issues of industry fragmentation and traditional vocational education and training models on women’s employment. The review aimed to identify the extent to which these structural issues are addressed in the literature. In doing so identified how the literature frames structural barriers as salient in gender segregation and poor workplace experiences for women in training and employment. A review of literature across Australia and New Zealand demonstrates that fragmentation is a direct consequence of the tiered hierarchical system of organizational relations in the construction sector. Fragmentation is replicated in the recruitment and training processes ultimately serving to impact on the entry and retention of women in trade training. A noticeable separation between key parties: government, schools, training organizations, and employers disrupts the supply and retention of women for trade training in the sector. The study identifies the need for greater attention to the coordination of the trade training process particularly increased focus on collaboration, relationship building and communication between all key parties involved in the training process. In addition, this paper exposes the need for further research to explore how the sequential segmented development of the trade training workforce and the construction culture in which it is situated impacts on the sectors long-term capacity to capture and retain a diverse and stable workforce. This paper argues that a failure by successive governments and sector leaders to provide consistent financial support and effective structural training design has hindered the clear coordination of women transitioning between school, training and employment and in doing so has reinforced rather than reduced sector fragmentation. The study contributes new insight into understanding gender segregation by looking beyond recruitment constraints, and beyond the usual recommendations of policy implementation and mentoring and networking programs for women.