AN EVALUATION OF THE CAREER EXPERIENCES OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

AN EVALUATION OF THE CAREER EXPERIENCES OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN IN THE NIGERIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In terms of economic growth and job prospects, the construction industry is one of the most significant (Powell, Hassan, Dainty, and Carter, 2007). According to Adeyemi, Ojo, Aina, and Olanipekun (2006), the Nigerian construction sector accounts for around 7% of fixed capital creation and contributes 3% to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Over three million individuals are projected to work in the business as professionals, administrative personnel, operators, and laborers. Thurairajah, Amaratunga, and Haigh (2007) found that the construction industry provides around a tenth of the UK economy's gross domestic product and employs 1.9 million people.

The low level of female participation in the industry has drawn a lot of attention around the world, with the majority of contributions coming from developed economies (Gale, 1994; Gale and Cartwright, 1995; Dainty, Neale, and Bagilhole, 1999; Bennett, Davidson, Gale, and Davey, 2000), and the barriers to their advancement were reviewed and summarized by Amaratunga, Haigh, Lee, Shanmugan, and Elvitigala, 2000). (2007).

According to studies conducted in Nigeria, not all of the factors listed by foreign academics were available here. The majority of what was seen was geographically based on our country's sociocultural norms, which hampered women's participation (Kehinde and Okoli, 2003; Kolawole and Boison, 1999; Adeyemi et al., 2004; Omar and Ogenyi, 2004; Adogbo and Ibrahim, 2010). (Lu, Sexton, Abbot, and Jones, 2008).

Researchers were able to provide recommendations on how the sector may better recruit and retain women. (Kolawole and Boison, 1999; Babalola, 2008), and the government's response to this scenario has been a push for change in the form of an ever-expanding portfolio of equality and diversity legislation designed to enforce issues such as equal pay, equal advancement opportunities, and sex discrimination (Lu et al., 2008). One of Nigeria's Millennium Development Goals is to achieve gender equality, as well as women's empowerment and independence (Sunlati, 2008).

Women's participation in the Nigerian construction industry, including its foreign equivalent, has increased little in recent years (Caven, 2008; Babalola, 2008). Despite the fact that there is no benchmark for their involvement that equates to equal representation, research has shown that certain women have been able to achieve a higher level of satisfaction and optimism in their careers than their male colleagues (Bennet et al., 1999).

According to a research conducted by Kolawole and Boison (1999), women excel in perception and memory accuracy, numerical computation, verbal fluency, and language talents in general. According to Omar and Ogenyi (2004), Nigerian women are becoming more conscious of their own demands and are realizing their full ability to contribute to the country's development. These underutilized skills might be put to good use in the construction business, such as in Quantity Surveying, therefore the need to promote wider involvement, as Sunlati argues (2008).

According to Gale (1994), the few women who have worked in the construction sector have done so by fitting in, promoting the process, and striving to stay within their comfort zones, so carving out particular niches for themselves inside the industry.

The goal of this study is to go further into the lives of these successful career professional women, highlighting their genuine positive experiences along their career path and the ways in which they have been able to overcome obstacles in order to inspire other women to enter the field.

STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

The mental image of the construction business, as well as the determined attitudes and conduct of those who work in it, are formed from a mix of data gathered from the surroundings and relevant prior experience (Ginige, Amaratunga and Haigh, 2007).

Despite the fact that the building sector in Nigeria and other areas of the globe helps monetarily to the prosperity of any nation, it does not have a great image. Site work and physical labor are associated with the industry in general. It is still considered as a strongly gendered activity, as it is laborious, unclean, non-technical, non-professional, dangerous, and cyclical, and it is connected with harsh working circumstances.

Gale (1994) theorized that the industry's image works against women entering it. According to the author's results, image has a vital impact, and more information enhances the chance of both men and women selecting a career in the business.

Throughout the 1990s, a business case was established for luring women to the industry, according to Dainty et al. (1999). According to the report, these are based on two premises: first, the economy underutilizes the range of skills and talents available in the population, and second, it is critical for organizations to increase their efficiency and effectiveness by projecting a more pluralistic self-image and thus broadening their pool of potential participants.

Apart from the basic issues of women's rights and equal standing in society, Gale (1994) emphasized that, given the commonly recognized long-term trend of recruiting challenges in the construction business, luring more women to construction makes economic sense. "It appears that the sector is fishing in just half an ocean by not hiring women," the report stated.

According to Shanmugam, Amaratunga, and Haigh (2006), the under-representation of women in the construction sector has been an issue for many years, but it has become more apparent recently as the existing workforce ages and the business faces a possible talent shortage. As Casey (2005) points out, women are increasingly entering the construction business and are progressively attaining higher degrees of employment and promotions in all sections of the industry. However, professional women's participation and engagement in the construction industry is insufficient (Kolade and Kehinde, 2013), and it's unknown which motivating variables employed by successful career women in the Nigerian construction sector would aid others in their careers.

It is therefore critical to highlight the positive career experiences of the few successful women who have been able to overcome all obstacles to their professional advancement, with the goal of disseminating these stories in order to help attract and retain women in the industry, as well as to reinforce the fact that image is linked to reality.

 

THE NEED FOR THE STUDY

There have been few studies on women's careers in the Nigerian construction sector, and the ones that have been done have focused on their training and organizational commitments. This research looks at the issue of underrepresentation from a professional standpoint while also looking into the women's actual life experiences and career rewarding moments and successes. When these are investigated, they are targeted at improving the industry's image in relation to women. According to a discussion paper commissioned by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC, 2012), more efforts are still needed to attract more women into the industry, and one of the major barriers that appears to still have a major influence on the recruitment and retention of women within it is the perceived and projected image, which is exacerbated by the industry as it continues to foster a male-dominated image and remains entrenched in a culturistic mindset (Fielden et al., 2000).

It is therefore necessary and important to attract and retain women in the construction industry by improving the industry's overall image in order to avoid the "revolving door syndrome," which attracts people only to have them leave soon after, and to keep the supply chain of women as a workforce intact.

According to Ginige et al. (2007), construction requires diversity, and the industry may need to recognize and capitalize on women's strengths and characteristics; this is especially true in Nigeria, given the government's commitment to achieving its Vision 2020 and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) (Ofori, 2010). The study also found that prior attempts at planning and visioning were not sustained, and that over the past 30 years, economic stagnation, falling welfare, and social instability have hampered growth.

As a result, in a growing nation like Nigeria, the industry's capacity should be strengthened to enable it to offer a bigger volume of production in order to satisfy the rising demands and activities to achieve these goals (Ofori, 2007). In order to do so, talents and capacities from all participants within the sector must be utilized, and recruitment of women into the construction field has been suggested as a viable option for increasing the industry's capacity and bringing diversity to Construction (Ginige et al, 2007).

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of the research is to expose the actual lived career experiences of professional women along their career path in the Nigerian construction industry. Through this knowledge, it should be possible to enhance women’s participation and their retention rate within the industry so as to ensure a steady career progression of women in active practice.

The objectives are to:

 

1. Examine the challenges to women’s participation within the industry and how they were overcome,
2. Identify their notable and career satisfying moments along their career path,
3. Assess the Career experiences and expectations of women in the Nigerian Construction Industry and
4. Develop guidelines for enhancing women’s career within the construction industry

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

SCOPE

The research specifically targeted women who are actively involved in the industry from age 35years and above. It considered women who are at the pragmatic endurance stage and proceeding to the reinvent contribution phase of their careers. Women at this stage according to career development model by O’Neil and Bilimoria (2005) and White (1995) must have adjusted and continue to adjust to the world of work and, over time, start to make a more tangible contribution to their organizations. The inclusion criteria is all female professionals drawn from Architectural, Quantity Surveying, Engineering and Building sectors of the industry with minimum of five years working experience who are available and willing to participate. The samples of women interviewed for this work were drawn from women practicing in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna. The exclusion criteria is all those who have not been fully engaged in the profession even though they have the requisite years of practice, those not available such as those who might be on leave and those who might decide not to participate. The result/ findings of the research are limited to the experiences of professional women who are at the top of their careers including those at the mid-level.

LIMITATION

A major limitation of the study is the unwillingness of the respondents to participate fully and to be completely honest due to the interview mode of gathering data. This limitation was reduced by putting the participants at ease by explaining the essence of the interview to them. The face to face interviews were scheduled at times and places convenient for the participants while telephone interview was also carried out on the participants that were willing but could not make themselves available for a face to face interview. The responses of the participants is largely dependent on the aspect of their careers they might have been exposed to which might not give a true reflection of the construction industry as a whole. In selecting the number of respondents, care was taken to ensure the right size was used that will make the results reliable. Furthermore, the study assumed that the men are comfortable with their careers within the industry such that the positive aspect of their careers including other positive areas within the industry as a whole were not considered.

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