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An exploratory study of women's advancement in the construction industry

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An exploratory study of women's advancement in the construction industry

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An Exploratory Study of Women's Advancement in the Construction Industry

Stanley Carmel Pyram

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

December 2023

© Copyright by Stanley Carmel Pyram 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Stanley Carmel Pyram certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Jennifer Phillips
Kathy Stowe
Wayne Combs, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
Abstract
This qualitative study aimed to explore and understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that support women’s advancement in the construction industry. The
study used the conceptual framework of gap analysis developed by Clark and Estes. This study
was important because women represent more than half of the population in the United States yet
make up a small percentage of the industry’s workforce. Understanding the influences
contributing to this phenomenon of the low number of women achieving success in technical
positions in this industry can help create an environment conducive to increasing women’s
leadership. It is estimated that 50% of the current construction workforce will be retiring in the
near future, so the industry must create an environment that recruits, retains, and develops
women as an integral part of the workforce. For the industry, women are an untapped resource
for addressing the upcoming workforce shortage. The study revealed three key findings. First,
the industry has not fully embraced a DE&I work environment. Second, women’s confidence in
their abilities shapes their success, and third, women’s success in the industry requires effective
and intentional mentorship.

v
Acknowledgements
To Sandhya, my daughter, thank you for your patience and encouragement. You never
complained about the time this program did require and the sacrifices we had to make as a
family. To my family, especially my sister Nancy and close friends, thank you for your
unwavering support for everything and your continuous belief in me. Congratulations to all my
friends in Cohort 18. Special thanks to Amber, Daniel, and Trissi. You all were my sounding
board and kept me on this journey. I am forever grateful for your friendship and the bond we
have created. Thank you to my friend/battle buddy David for recommending this outstanding
program from USC. This journey was long and challenging, especially since I started during the
peak of COVID and there was so much uncertainty in the world.
Thank you to my chair, Dr. Combs, for your guidance, wisdom, and patience during this
journey. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Phillips and Dr. Stowe, for your support.
Thank you to all the OCL faculty members who were part of this journey. You all are the role
models of professional educators and mentors. Special thank you to the 10 participants who
volunteered their time and were candid during the interviews. I am forever grateful for your
willingness to share your stories with me.
And most importantly, thank you to God for all the blessings, strengths, and
perseverance!

vi
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................v
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
Introduction of the Problem of Practice ...........................................................................................1
Description of Stakeholder Groups ......................................................................................3
Stakeholder Group for the Study .........................................................................................3
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions ...................................................................4
Importance of the Study .......................................................................................................4
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .....................................................5
Review of the Literature ..................................................................................................................5
Creating an Inclusive Work Environment for Women ........................................................5
United States Construction Industry and Barriers for Women ............................................6
Clark and Estes’s Gap Analysis Framework .......................................................................9
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences ...............................10
Conceptual Framework ......................................................................................................18
Summary ............................................................................................................................19
Methodology ..................................................................................................................................20
Research Setting.................................................................................................................21
The Researcher ...................................................................................................................21
Data Source: Interviews .....................................................................................................22
Participants .........................................................................................................................22
Data Collection and Instrumentation .................................................................................22
Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................23
Credibility and Dependability ............................................................................................23
vii
Findings..........................................................................................................................................24
Participating Stakeholders .................................................................................................25
Knowledge Influences .......................................................................................................25
Motivation Influences ........................................................................................................32
Organizational Influences ..................................................................................................40
Summary ............................................................................................................................44
Discussion and Recommendations ................................................................................................45
Women's Early Exposure to the Construction Industry .....................................................46
Increase Mentorship Training ............................................................................................47
Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................................48
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................................49
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................50
References ......................................................................................................................................51
Appendix: Interview Protocol ........................................................................................................58
Knowledge Influences .......................................................................................................58
Motivation Influences ........................................................................................................59
Organization Influences .....................................................................................................60

viii
List of Tables
Table 1: Knowledge Influences 12
Table 2: Motivation Influences 14
Table 3: Organizational Influences 17
Table 4: Data Sources 21
Table 5: Participant Demographics 24

ix
List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 19

1

Introduction of the Problem of Practice
The United States’ infrastructure is deteriorating, requiring all funding and human capital
resources to tackle this problem. As a nation with a crumbling infrastructure over 60 years old on
average, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE, 2017) gives the U.S. infrastructure a
letter grade of D+. Addressing this problem will require a diverse, agile, and empowered modern
workforce. Women can play a critical role in increasing diversity and profit for the construction
industry. Women bring a different lens and help bring new ideas that can make the project more
successful. According to Yang and Konrad (2010), a diverse workforce that combines ethnic
diversity and gender balance creates an environment where creative thinking and innovation will
thrive, resulting in a more profitable construction industry. Women represent more than half of
the population in the United States; however, they only occupy 10% of the construction
industry’s workforce (Francis, 2017). The evidence further highlights that even with higher
education, qualifications, and experience levels, women occupy less than 4% of the industry’s
leadership positions (Hickey & Cui, 2020). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(2019), women made up only 10% of the construction industry, compared to 57.1% in other
industries.
In addition, it is estimated that 50% of the current construction workforce will retire in
the near future. With an aging retiring workforce compounded by a crumbling infrastructure,
there is a need to create an environment that recruits, retains, and develops women. This study
explored the small percentage of women in technical leadership positions in the construction
industry to understand the tangible and intangible influences that have enabled their success and
with the hope of cultivating an environment that incorporates those contributing influences into
the industry. According to Menches and Abraham (2007), women are an untapped resource for
2

addressing the industry’s future requirements. Inclusive practices such as the corporate social
responsibility approach can improve gender diversity and create a work environment that enables
organizations to tap into women as a resource (Conway et al., 2018).

3

Description of Stakeholder Groups
Multiple stakeholder groups will benefit from solving this problem of practice. The main
stakeholder groups are women, the construction industry, the nation, and the American people.
Women will benefit from adequate representation in the construction industry because it is one
of the better compensating and rewarding industries. The industry is one of the highest-paying.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020, the median annual wage for all
construction occupations was $48,610 compared to the median yearly salary for all occupations
of $41,950. This workforce’s median compensation is 15% more than other industries in the
United States. It is also one of the most rewarding industries in terms of gratification from
building something new, as noted in the common refrain, “I was part of building that.” The
industry itself is a stakeholder that will benefit since it will have an environment welcoming to
all, regardless of gender. It will have the workforce of the future by leveraging an untapped
demographic resource with the full integration of women. Yang and Konrad’s (2010) research
showed increased creative thinking and innovation with a diverse workforce that combines
ethnic diversity, gender balance, and employee empowerment. The nation will have the
workforce of the future to address its crumbling infrastructure. Finally, the American people will
benefit by having one of its primary industries become equitable and fair. Recruiting and
retaining women in highly compensating positions is a step toward equity.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
The stakeholder group for this study consisted of 10 women with science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees who occupy technical leadership positions in the
construction industry. For this study, technical leadership positions include project director,
project manager, project sponsor, quality manager, senior project engineer, procurement
4

manager, design manager, construction manager, construction superintendent, estimating
manager, and project control manager. The study will explore the contributing influences, such
as knowledge, motivation, and organizational settings, that supported women leaders’ success.
Once those contributing influences are analyzed and understood, the goal will be to implement
them into the construction industry to create an environment that will attract more women into
technical leadership positions.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences on women’s success as leaders in the construction industry. Once
identified, these contributing influences may facilitate women’s recruitment, retention, and
development into technical leadership positions. Three research questions guided this study:
1. How do women apply their skills and experience to become leaders in the
construction industry?
2. How do women overcome challenges in their efforts to become leaders in the
construction industry?
3. How do organizations create inclusive environments that support the advancement of
women leaders in the construction industry?
Importance of the Study
It is important to understand the contributing influences that supported the success of the
small percentage of women leaders in the construction industry. Once this phenomenon is
understood and captured, those influences can be implemented in the industry to enable an
environment conducive to increasing women’s leadership. According to Hickey and Cui’s (2020)
research, an estimated 50% reduction in the industry’s current workforce due to the large number
5

of baby boomers retiring in the near future, and with the crumbling infrastructure of the United
States, it is imperative to recruit and retain women since they represent more than half of the
population of the country.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
Clark and Estes’s gap analysis Improvement model (Clark & Estes, 2008) will be the
theoretical framework. The study will determine the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
environment that supported women leaders in achieving such success in a male-dominated
industry. The study analyzed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences (KMO) to
capture why women succeed and how to intentionally create an environment with the influences
to support their increased success in the construction industry. The study included interviews
with women in technical leadership positions to understand from their perspectives the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational environment influences that supported their success.
Review of the Literature
This section provides the literature on barriers to women’s recruitment, retention, and
promotion in technical leadership positions in the construction industry. I analyzed past research
to understand best practices supporting women’s development and career progression in this
industry. The review begins with general research on challenges and barriers, followed by
presenting Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis conceptual framework to understand the
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences of the phenomenon associated with the 4%
of women achieving high success and occupying leadership positions in this field.
Creating an Inclusive Work Environment for Women
Research has shown that one of the key elements to creating an inclusive work
environment where women can thrive is to be intentional. According to Conway et al. (2018), the
6

corporate social responsibility approach can improve gender diversity and empower an
organization’s workforce. Some best practices are childcare policies, parental leave, mentoring
opportunities, flexible work schedules, encouraging women’s groups, and networking. An
inclusive work environment starts with a realistic organizational assessment. Understanding the
organization’s current culture will allow for taking the next step of a commitment to change. The
organization’s leaders must commit to change to improve the organization, and a central aspect
of obtaining an honest commitment is training (Gurchiek, 2018). Leaders must learn about
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), understand the benefits associated with a DEI workforce,
and know how to maximize those benefits. Once the organization’s leaders receive training, it is
easier to have dedicated and appropriate resources to support the commitment to creating an
inclusive work environment where women can succeed. Those commitments must be visible,
clearly communicated, and adequately resourced. Leaders must empower their teams by listening
to and valuing their feedback (Gurchiek, 2018). Employee buy-in is a must, as the workforce
must know that their inputs are valued and part of decision making.
United States Construction Industry and Barriers for Women
The U.S. construction industry is one of the nation’s most critical business sectors. In the
early 20th century, the industry expanded significantly with skyscraper construction across the
United States, especially in major cities such as Chicago and New York. The industry had
another major expansion after World War II, with the housing demand resulting from a booming
economy (Jones, 2022). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2022, the
industry has a workforce of 7,664,000, representing nearly 5% of the total U.S. workforce. The
industry currently has 466,000 job openings, and with the country’s current aging infrastructure
compounded by the baby boomers’ massive retirement, meeting future demands will require
7

substantial growth in the workforce (ASCE, 2017). With a valuation of $1.9 trillion, the
construction industry represents roughly 5% of the U.S. gross domestic product and has an
expected average growth rate of 3% for the next 3 years (Global Data, 2022). The industry is
male-dominated, and women are only 10% of its workforce due to long-standing barriers that
make recruiting, retaining, and developing women difficult (Francis, 2017).
The construction industry is one of the most financially rewarding industries in the
United States and produces great-paying jobs (Albattah et al., 2015; Choi et al., 2018). However,
the industry’s long-standing barriers have made recruiting and retaining women difficult
(Menches & Abraham, 2007; Sewalk & Nietfeld, 2013). Menches and Abraham (2007)
conducted a detailed review of over 20 scholarly articles to analyze the long-standing barriers
and challenges that continue to impact women’s career progression in construction. The review
revealed that the primary barrier women encounter is the field’s culture. Part of that culture is a
work environment filled with conflicts and aggression that is not conducive to a gender-neutral
work environment. The research also revealed that the demanding work environment does not
support a healthy family work-life balance. The next significant barrier is fair career
advancement, regardless of gender, as career progression for women is slow, and there is a pay
gap between men and women in the same positions (Menches & Abraham, 2007).
Culture
The construction industry represents a culture of sexual harassment that is unsupportive
of women’s retention and development (Moir et al., 2011; Servon & Visser, 2011; Sunindijo &
Kamrdeen, 2017). In their research, Moir et al. (2011) highlighted a survey from the Health and
Safety of Women in Construction workgroup that showed that 88% of women respondents
reported experiencing sexual harassment at work. Data from research of over 2,493 survey
8

respondents and 28 focus groups further highlights this problem, revealing that 69% of women in
engineering have experienced sexual harassment (Servon & Visser, 2011). Some companies
have opted for a homogenous workforce instead of getting to the roots of this issue, training their
workforce, and having a zero-tolerance policy to hold violators accountable (Ness, 2012). Based
on three different sources, Ness’s (2012) research revealed that those companies believed a
homogeneous male workforce minimized the chances of sexual harassment claims.
Work-life balance aids in retaining women in the construction industry. According to
Servon and Visser (2011), more than half of women from over 2,493 survey respondents leave
the industry due to an environment that does not support work-life balance. The industry culture
makes it difficult for women to have a successful career and be part of a family with childcare
responsibilities. Their research has shown that when women pause their careers to care for their
children, they face challenges to re-entering and being competitive for leadership positions.
Advancement
Fair advancement in the industry is another barrier to retaining and recruiting women.
Women’s lack of career progression shows up in unfair practices such as unequal pay and
penalizing women for their leadership personalities (Fouad et al., 2017; Servon & Visser, 2011;
Shrestha et al., 2020). Retaining women requires equal pay for the same job regardless of gender
(Fouad et al., 2017; Shrestha et al., 2020). Fouad et al. (2017) collected 669 comments from
1,464 women who left the engineering field in a survey of 5,562 women and found that unequal
pay was part of why they left the industry. Morello et al. (2018) found that women made 77 cents
on the dollar compared to their male counterparts for the same position.
Women are also penalized for having the same assertive behaviors celebrated in their
male counterparts. Prime et al. (2009) found that women often receive negative stereotypes
9

detrimental to their career progression. These are based solely on gender. According to the
authors, leadership behaviors fall into two classifications. Feminine leadership behaviors are
referred to as taking care characteristics, which include supporting, mentoring, rewarding,
consulting, and team building. These contrast with masculine leadership behaviors referred to as
taking charge: problem-solving, influencing upward, and delegating. A survey of 296 managers,
including CEOs and upper managers within two levels of the CEO, revealed that these leaders
embraced a widely held perception that gender can predict leadership effectiveness and
performance. This study revealed how biased the construction industry is because company
leaders in senior-level positions held such perceptions, given the potential negative impact
gender can have on women’s career progression.
From a survey of 163 women in the construction industry, Morello et al. (2018) found
that organizations pass over equally qualified women with assertive personalities for leadership
positions while rewarding their male counterparts for the same characteristics. Women continue
to face prejudicial disadvantages in leadership roles because of their gender. Gallup has
conducted a poll for the past 50 years regarding employees’ preferences on the gender of their
supervisors. The poll found that males have always enjoyed a substantial preference, although
the gap decreased from 6 to 1 in 1975 to 2 to 1 in 2006. The unfounded perception still exists
that men are better leaders than women. However, the “no preference” response to the gender of
the supervisor steadily increased to 43% of the respondents in 2006 (Carroll, 2006; Eagly, 2007).
Clark and Estes’s Gap Analysis Framework
Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis supports exploring the phenomenon associated
with the 4% of women occupying leadership positions in the male-dominated construction
industry. This research utilized the KMO influences (Clark & Estes, 2008) to develop questions
10

for the exploratory study of a purposeful sample of women leaders. The interviews provided data
to understand the knowledge women leaders applied to achieve success, the motivational drivers
they applied to endure adversity, and the environmental support they received from
organizations. These supporting influences contributed to their career development and progress.
Information from the study could help to create an organizational environment with contributing
influences that will support the success of women as leaders in the construction industry. A
significant focus of this analysis is to ensure the accurate documentation of KMO influences
from the perspective of women leaders.
Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
The study explored the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
supported the success of women in technical leadership positions from their perspectives. This
exploratory study sought to capture the influences contributing to the interviewee’s success from
their perspectives. The knowledge influences for the study were procedural, conceptual, and
metacognitive. The motivation influences were self-efficacy theory and the expectancy outcome
theory. Finally, the organizational influences of cultural models and settings were analyzed to
identify environmental influences.
Knowledge Influences
There are four types of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive
(Krathwohl, 2002; Krathwohl & Anderson, 2010). Each knowledge type is a different level of
knowledge that the learner can achieve, with the metacognitive as the most complex. Accurate
Self-knowledge is critical to metacognitive knowledge (Pintrich, 2002). Failure to accurately
reflect on one’s strengths and weaknesses can create inflated, flawed self-knowledge (Pintrich &
11

Schunk, 2002). This study focused primarily on the conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive
knowledge types.
Technical Degrees and Certifications (Procedural Knowledge). Technical expertise
falls under the classification of procedural knowledge. According to Krathwohl (2002),
procedural knowledge means having specific skills. According to Ayre et al. (2013), women who
know they have the competence and capabilities to perform their duties are most likely to enjoy
their work and stay in the industry. Procedural knowledge is the ability to think and utilize the
skills to perform a task (Krathwohl, 2002). Those skills are the knowledge of the principles,
theories, and techniques required for success in the construction industry.
Interpersonal Skills to Support Connecting with Others (Conceptual Knowledge).
Women with the interpersonal skills to navigate their careers have succeeded in achieving their
goals and staying with their organizations. According to Ayre et al. (2013), being a competent
employee requires interpersonal skills. Those skills provide technical employees with the
negotiation and mediation abilities to achieve their goals. Interpersonal skills are a type of
conceptual knowledge. Krathwohl (2002) defined conceptual knowledge as understanding the
big picture, the principle of what needs to be achieved. Interpersonal skills refer to
communicating and interacting with others to achieve desired goals. In the current information
age, employees must collaborate, interact, and integrate with others in the industry as part of
their organization or profession (Huerta et al., 2021). According to Lappalainen (2009),
interpersonal skills such as communication, networking, and collaboration are part of the modern
employee skills indispensable for success.

12

Ability to Reflect and Manage Professional Growth (Metacognitive Knowledge).
Women need to refine and improve their ability to reflect on their performance and the
environment to control their professional careers for advancement (Ayer et al., 2013). Reflection,
defined as thinking about thinking, is fundamental to metacognition (Flavell, 1979; Pintrich,
2002; Tarricone, 2011). Reflection allows women to understand their decision making and
enables them to continuously improve their abilities and skills. According to Edwards (2017),
reflection is a four-dimensional process with reflection-before-action, reflection-in-action,
reflection-on-action, and reflection-beyond-action. Those four-dimensional reflection processes
will support any professional who applies them to improve their performance in the professional
environment and life in general.

Table 1
Knowledge Influences
Assumed knowledge influence Knowledge type
Women in the construction industry need the
technical expertise to succeed in their
profession.
Procedural
Women in the construction industry need the
interpersonal skills (people skills) to
successfully navigate their profession.
Conceptual
Women in the construction industry need the
ability to reflect on their performances and
environment to refine their professional
direction for advancement.
Metacognitive

13

Motivational Influences
Motivation is another key influence that supports performance. Motivation can be defined
as the driver that energizes people to succeed. There are three other categories of drivers:
competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Pintrich, 2003). Competence is the desire to be a
subject matter expert, autonomy is the desire to be independent and self-determining, and
relatedness is the desire to belong to a group. Women who succeed in their careers have a high
level of motivation, whether internally driven or supported by their environment. People exist in
an environment and partly are products of that environment. However, they can transform their
environments to influence the outcomes in their lives (Bandura, 2000). Multiple theories drive
motivation. For this study, the focus will center on Self-Efficacy and Expectancy Outcome
theories.
Confidence in Their Abilities to Succeed (Self-Efficacy Theory). Self-efficacy
determines individuals’ energy and resilience in achieving the goals they set for themselves
(Bandura, 1982; Bolaños-Medina, 2014). Individual accurate assessment of their abilities is
essential. It will determine the effort they will expend to achieve those goals. The bottom line is
that people will give their best if they believe they have the skillsets and will go to the extreme
once they believe (Bandura, 1977). According to Bandura (1982), the intensity and persistence in
the effort individuals will expend to achieve their goals directly correlate to self-efficacy.
According to Ayre et al. (2013), self-efficacy is one of the main influences driving
women to stay in the construction industry. If they enter the industry with self-belief in their
abilities and never lose that confidence, they will succeed despite difficulties during their careers.
Ayre et al. found that women who believed they were qualified possessed the technical expertise
and people skills to succeed were most likely to stay.
14

Expect They Can Achieve Success in their Field (Expectancy Outcome Theory).
According to Atkinson (1957), expectancy is cognitive anticipation that the effort exerted will
directly correlate with a particular outcome. The strength of that expectancy can stem from past
results or purely subjective probability. The basis for expectancy is that success is achievable if
the individual believes in their competence at a particular task and subjective probability
(Wigfield, 1994; Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Fouad and Singh (2011), in research involving 3,700
women, concluded that one of the top reasons women leave the industry is the low expectation of
success in performing the required tasks due to ability, confidence, or organizational support.
The organization will continue to set realistic goals that support a certain level of predictability
for its workforce.

Table 2
Motivation Influences
Assumed motivation influence Motivation type
Women in the construction industry need to
possess confidence in their abilities to
advance into leadership positions.
Self-efficacy theory
Women in the construction industry need to
expect they can achieve success.
Expectancy outcome theory

15

Organizational Influences
An organization plays an integral part in supporting its workforce. According to Bandura
(2000), in the same way the environment influences human life, humans also significantly
contribute to shaping that environment, a co-dependence between the environment and humans.
The categories of organizational influences are cultural settings and cultural models. According
to Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001), cultural models are the values, beliefs, and behaviors
ingrained in the organization’s daily operation. Models are often invisible and automated to the
organization. On the other hand, cultural settings are visible and concrete, often the results of the
cultural models of the organization, and deeply rooted in how the organization operates
(Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001; Schein & Schein, 2017).
Schein and Schein (2017) defined culture as “the accumulated shared learning of that
group as it solves its problem of external adaptation and internal integration” (p. 6). This shared
learning is specific to that particular group, and once new members join that group, it is difficult
to transfer those shared learnings since the new members did not experience them with the
group. Schein categorizes culture into three levels. The first one is the artifacts, visible and
observable behaviors. Those artifacts are what the organization wants the workforce to see, such
as their posters and procedures. The second one is the adopted beliefs and values the
organization aspires to embrace and implement. Sometimes, those beliefs and values do not align
with the organization’s. The last one is the underlying assumptions that can be taken for granted
since this is how the organization operates unconsciously (Schein & Schein, 2017). This research
focused on organizations’ need to demonstrate inclusive practices as a cultural model and
implement work-life balance policies that support developing a family as a cultural setting.

16

An Inclusive Organization that Supports Growth (Culture Model). An inclusive
organization will have a higher retention rate. Once the workforce feels they belong to their
organization, they will have a long-term relationship with that organization. According to
Faulkner (2009), an inclusive organization will have higher retention of women. Faulkner stated
that being simultaneously highly visible and invisible in a male-dominated, non-inclusive
organization has contributed to women’s isolation and their wanting to exit the organization.
There is a direct correlation between isolation, job satisfaction, and retention rate. The more
isolated women are in their organization, the lower their job satisfaction, and the more likely
they will exit their organization (Barger, 2015). An inclusive organization will create a work
environment where women feel accepted for their contributions and the expertise they bring to
the organization (Mills et al., 2007). Women having managers who support their careers and
their need to balance family have contributed to their success and willingness to stay in their
profession (Fernando et al., 2018).
Work-Life Balance Policies that Support Families (Cultural Setting). Organizations
with family-friendly policies that support work-life balance and facilitate their employees to be
parents and care for their families while pursuing their careers have a higher retention rate (Ayre
et al., 2013; Buse et al., 2013). According to Buse et al. (2013), a lack of family-friendly policies
or understanding of family’s importance in supporting career success will make it difficult to
retain women. Buse emphasized training the workforce to be sensitive to employees who utilize
family-friendly benefits to minimize alienation and isolation. According to Cech et al. (2011),
social psychological research showed that family planning is one of the top reasons women exit
the STEM professions. The research shows that organizations must create a work environment
that fully embraces work-life balance by implementing family-friendly policies that support their
17

workforce needs (Cech et al., 2011). The bottom line is that women exit STEM careers once they
perceive these are at odds with their family plans (Fouad & Singh, 2011). Those family-friendly
policies need to be intentional and well-crafted to cover those family requirements from a
holistic perspective.

Table 3
Organizational Influences
Assumed motivation influence
Organizational category
The organization needs to demonstrate
inclusive practices.
Cultural model
The organization needs to implement Work-
Life balance policies that support
developing a family.
Cultural setting

18

Conceptual Framework
The study utilized an exploratory qualitative research approach to understand the
phenomenon of the 4% of women who occupy leadership positions in the construction industry.
Clark and Estes’s (2008) gap analysis improvement model was used to determine the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences that supported women leaders’ success. The gap
analysis used an exploratory study with a psychological approach. According to Merriam and
Tisdell (2016), a psychological approach emphasizes the personal aspects, such as motivation
and knowledge, that have impacted individual outcomes. This qualitative research sought to
support the understanding of women leaders’ lived experiences to determine what influences in
terms of knowledge, motivation, and organization shaped their opinions to achieve success in a
male-dominated industry.
Figure 1 presents this study’s core concepts and three KMO influences. For this analysis,
the environment is the organizations that have supported the development of women leaders to
achieve success. For the knowledge influence, the analysis focused on three influences that
support women’s development in terms of leadership positions in the construction industry. The
three knowledge influences were technical expertise, interpersonal skills, and reflection. The
analysis focused on two theories for the motivation influence: self-efficacy and expectancy
outcome. Finally, for the organizational influence, this study analyzed the implementation of
policies that support workforce development and the welfare of the employees and their families.

19

Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

Summary
The literature review found that the construction industry’s culture and women’s lack of
advancement into leadership positions have hindered women’s recruitment, retention, and
development. The literature revealed that three main influences of knowledge, motivation, and
organization contribute to women’s success in this industry. The literature also noted that
procedural, conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge contributes to women’s success.
Knowledge of one’s technical capabilities supports development and career progression. Also,
the capability to reflect contributes to self-awareness and continuous skill improvement, and self-
confidence in one’s abilities, aptitudes, and behaviors supports success. The expectancy outcome
20

also plays a significant part in success. Target goals and a realistic plan to reach them increase
the probability of success.
Furthermore, the literature revealed that the organization substantially contributes to
women’s success and retention in the industry. Organizations that have empowered women and
integrated them with the team developed and retained women. Organizations with policies that
support work-life balance and benefits that allow employees to simultaneously have a family and
a successful career support women’s career progression.
Methodology
The methodological design for this research was a qualitative method using an
exploratory approach to ensure an open and candid conversation during the interviews. The
qualitative method supported an inductive process with a descriptive product that fully captures
the participants’ perspectives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). One of the main focuses of this
methodological design was to capture all the knowledge, motivation, and organizational
influences that contributed to women leaders’ success from their perspectives. During the
interviews, eight questions captured the knowledge influences, three questions addressed the
motivation influences, and 11 questions pertained to the organizational influences.

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Table 4
Data Sources
Research questions Interview
RQ1: How do women apply their skills and
experience to become leaders in the construction
industry?
X
RQ2: How do women overcome challenges in their
efforts to become leaders in the construction
industry?
X
RQ3: How do organizations create inclusive
environments that support the advancement of
women leaders in the construction industry?
X

Research Setting
This research utilized a purposeful sample of 10 women in technical leadership positions
in the construction industry. One interview was conducted with each woman to explore their
perspectives on the contributing knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
contributed to their success. The study was exploratory, establishing a rapport and trust to
support a candid and open conversation to ensure this study’s success.
The Researcher
I am a Black Caribbean male engineer leader in the construction industry with more than
20 years of experience, 5 in the private sector and 15 in the government. I have a vested interest
in seeing the industry become welcoming to all regardless of gender, sexual orientation, and
religion due to having a 16-year-old daughter who wants to follow in her father’s footsteps by
becoming an engineer and joining the construction industry. As the person conducting data
collection and analysis, an important aspect of the research was minimizing bias by ensuring the
22

interviewees’ voices were adequately captured and analyzed through their lenses (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016).
Data Source: Interviews
Ten women in technical leadership positions in the construction industry provided the
data. I held one interview per participant, and since the data analysis generated no additional
questions, follow-up interviews were unnecessary. The method to collect the participants’
perspectives was a 22-question semi-structured interview for all the participants. Each interview
lasted about 60 to 90 minutes.
Participants
The participants had experience in the private and/or government sectors. I selected a
purposeful sample of 10 participants for this research. Their races and ethnicities were irrelevant
as long as they identified as a woman, held a STEM degree, and held a technical leadership
position. Once I selected the participants, I sent an introductory email to verify that they had
STEM degrees, were willing to participate in the research, and had relevant work experience.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
The study conducted one semi-structured interview with each of the participants. The
interview included questions to explore and support understanding of their stories from their
lenses on how the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences have contributed to their
success. The interviews were approximately 60 to 90 minutes. All the interviewees were virtual
using Zoom. I digitally recorded all the sessions with the participants and took notes to capture
important points. The data collection instrument for this research was a semi-structured interview
protocol with open-ended questions that supported the exploration and understanding of the
participants’ perspectives (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The initial search for participants was
23

through government agencies’ databases for major construction projects for women leaders who
were part of those projects. Other avenues for participant search were through LinkedIn and
professional organization networks such as the Project Management Institute, the U.S. Women in
Nuclear, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the Society of American Military
Engineers. Appendix A presents the interview protocols.
Data Analysis
The data analysis coincided with the data collection as it is the preferred approach for
qualitative research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Open coding was used for the first couple of
interviews to narrow the data analysis. Eventually, analytical coding helped to support an
adequate interpretation of the data. The analytical coding helped categorize the data into the
KMO influences to support findings. I transcribed the interviews’ digital recordings for reliability
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Credibility and Dependability
This study’s design ensured credibility, dependability, confirmability, and confidentiality.
For credibility, I conducted one interview with each participant. The intent was to let the
participants freely discuss the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
contributed to their success. These interviews provided the opportunity to triangulate on common
threads and separate outliers for additional analysis. According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016),
triangulation during interviews occurs by interviewing multiple people with different
perspectives.
For dependability, the study followed established protocols specific to this research and a
semi-structured interview format to ensure consistency. The data were separated and labeled
with the interviewees’ information to ensure traceability. Finally, I safeguarded the data for
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confidentiality, especially as some of the information pertained to what organizations are doing
or not doing that hinders women employees’ progress.
Findings
The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the contributing influences of
knowledge, motivation, and organization that supported the success of women in technical
leadership positions in the construction industry. The following section presents the results from
10 semi-structured interviews. I conducted the interviews using Zoom between January 15, 2023,
and January 28, 2023. To protect the participants’ identity, I refer to them as Participant 1
through Participant 10 (Table 5).

Table 5
Participant Demographics
Interviewee Age STEM degree Graduate
degree
Licenses/
certifications
Additional info
Participant 1 < 50 Civil Eng. Yes Yes Single/no children/Black
Participant 2 > 50 Mechanical Eng. No Yes Married/no children/White
Participant 3 > 50 Chemical Eng. Yes Yes Married/children/White
Participant 4 > 50 Chemical Eng. Yes Yes Married/children/White
Participant 5 > 50 Env science Yes Yes Married/children/White
Participant 6 < 50 Env science Yes Yes Married/children/Black
Participant 7 > 50 Mechanical Eng. No Yes Divorced/children/White
Participant 8 < 50 Civil Eng. Yes Yes Married/children/Black
Participant 9 > 50 Biomedical Eng. No Yes Married/children/Asian
Participant 10 < 50 Architecture No Yes Married/children/Latino

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Participating Stakeholders
All the participants had STEM degrees: seven engineers, one architect, and two
environmental scientists. Four leaders work for the private sector, and six are civil servants for
the Federal government. They had at least 15 years of industry experience, and four had more
than 30 years of experience. They all had worked on multiple projects and occupied roles such as
project engineer, project controls manager, scheduler, waste controls manager, project manager,
and project director. Six of them had master’s degrees, and they all had multiple certifications.
The most popular certification was the Project Management Professional (PMP).
Knowledge Influences
The interview questions framed the knowledge influences based on the first research
question: “How do women apply their skills and experience to become leaders in the
construction industry?” These interview questions focused on procedural, conceptual, and
metacognitive knowledge.
Technical Degrees and Certifications (Procedural Knowledge)
All the interviewees had STEM degrees; seven had engineering degrees, one was an
architect, and two had advanced degrees in environmental science. They all stated that their
STEM degrees have contributed to their success. Their degrees were the technical foundation
that supported their capabilities and abilities to master the technical expertise needed in the
construction industry, such as reading and understanding design and construction drawings,
specifications, and work scope logical sequence. Participant 1 enjoys training her peers and
project teams to interpret construction documents, plans, and specifications. She has become an
expert at looking at plans, specifications and understanding a project without seeing the
construction site. Another skill that has helped her greatly is being tech-savvy because her
26

organization uses multiple software to perform their work. Furthermore, she is excellent at
performing final inspections with the authorities having jurisdiction over the project.
Participant 3 stated, “I started off with a chemical engineering degree, so there is no question that
an engineering degree puts in the right mindset to move into a constructive type of environment.”
She was in design engineering for the first ten years of her career. She gained in-depth
knowledge of the design side of the house. Then, she moved into project management, where she
learned the financial aspect of a construction project. Eventually, she earned her MBA and did a
short rotation in project controls. All those positions gave her a strong foundation and
understanding of how all the different departments on a construction team come together to
execute a project successfully.
Participant 4 stated,
I am a chemical engineer by degree, and what I think an engineering background gives
you the ability to rationalize, the ability to think. … Engineering and technical
backgrounds give you the ability to solve problems, and I think, in most cases, that’s what
you just need to be successful.
Participant 5 stated, “My technical degree supported my active engagement because I could walk
down my construction project and quickly understand the work scope. My technical degree has
allowed me to be physically present and lead by example.” Participant 6 stated, “My technical
degree gave me a technical background in waste management, environmental radiation, and
regulations. … My technical degree made me an essential team member.”
Participant 7 stated, “My dad was the driving force for me to get my technical degree.”
Furthermore, she felt her technical degree was instrumental in her career advancement in the
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construction industry. At an early age, she was exposed to hands-on work by her dad. Growing
up, she was her dad’s little helper in the house, which initiated her love for engineering.
Participant 8 stated,
I have graduated as a civil engineer and also have a master's in construction management.
What is important when you are in this industry is not to stop from what you have learned
during your college time but also to keep moving forward and getting more technical
skills. That is why I got my PMP certification, and since I am very into green
construction, I got my LEED AP and EDGE experts certifications.
Participant 8 said, “Keep learning, never stop learning.” All the participants appeared from their
statements to believe their technical degrees were instrumental in building the technical
foundation they needed to advance their careers.
All participants stated that having the proper certifications contributed to their success.
Eight felt that success in the industry required the PMP certification. Six stated that advanced
degrees were essential for career progression. Seven felt they continuously had to build their
resumes. All felt that additional degrees or certifications would differentiate them in this male-
dominated industry.
All the participants felt their organizations had many technical training opportunities to
improve their technical capabilities to support their advancement. They all stated that the
organizations had the necessary funding as long they were willing to dedicate the time needed to
improve their technical abilities. According to Participant 3, although the organization is willing
to fund any training needed to improve her technical skills, she wishes the organization
documented the specific technical training and skills needed for promotion to the next level. She
felt there was inconsistency when she saw the qualifications and competencies of some leaders in
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her organization. It appeared from Participant 3 that organizations can improve their
communication abilities by laying the steps and training needed for career advancement.
Interpersonal Skills to Support Connecting with Others (Conceptual Knowledge)
All the participants had considerable interpersonal skills such as flexibility, attentiveness,
adaptability, trustworthiness, nurturing, and emotional intelligence. A theme that emerged
regarding interpersonal skills is that they all felt their ability to communicate effectively
contributed to their success. Their ability to understand the big picture allowed them to share and
help small teams visualize and understand their purpose in the big picture. Ensuring everyone is
pulling in the same direction has made them successful. Participant 1 said her flexibility and
adaptability have been critical in her career advancement. In the construction industry, the
employee must be flexible to move from one project to the next, flexible to work with different
teams within a short period, and flexible to the nature of the work's continuous change. She felt
that her ability to adapt to the environment, with her team, and the different types of teammates
is essential as a woman. Furthermore, she brings harmony to her teams. She helps them navigate
difficult situations when the project gets stressful and faces complex challenges.
Participant 3 said, “My nurturing nature supported my ability to be a great listener,
empathize, and ask the right questions. Those skills made me trustworthy to my co-workers.”
Participant 4 felt trust and integrity are the first fundamentals to succeed on a project. If the
employee has integrity, they can lead their team. According to her, those fundamentals transcend
everything, and leading by example is critical to success. She also said accountability is
important to her: “My teams have always known that if I ask you to do something, it is your job
to do it. I am not going to intervene and do it for you. You have to be accountable, and I have to
be accountable.”
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Participant 5 stated, “My clear and effective communication is critical. It has allowed me
to ask for what I wanted and needed to perform my duties successfully.” Participant 6 stated,
“My emotional intelligence is instrumental to my success. It has allowed me to build
relationships and create a strong network that I can lean on when needed.” Participant 10 felt like
Participant 6: “My emotional intelligence has allowed me to relate to my co-workers and made it
easy to establish common goals.” Participant 9 stated, “My people skills and listening ability had
supported me in making informed decisions that my teams could embrace and supported
successful project delivery.” Participant 8 stated, “Good communication skills and being ready to
deal with the different situations you come across is a must for success.” From their statements,
it seemed all participants felt their interpersonal skills, such as flexibility, good communication,
and emotional intelligence, played a central role in their career advancement.

30

Ability to Reflect and Manage Professional Growth (Metacognitive Knowledge)
All the participants stated that their abilities to self-reflect and self-assess supported their
career advancement. Participant 1 gave an example of one of her projects where a detail
omission to their drawings financially cost her project, and she reflected on it to ensure
improvement in future projects. This issue cost the project $35,000, and it was a painful lesson to
learn as the project manager because there were certain things that she could have done better,
even though they were not her responsibility. She felt she could have enforced the procedures. As
a project team, we have procedures, and we must follow them. As a project manager, she could
have communicated better with the team. They could have captured those issues on the model
before installation if they had reviewed it with the owners’ representatives. Finally, she could
have managed her teammates better as a project manager. She trusted them, but she did not
verify enough. Trust is critical in building a high-performing team; however, check and balance
through verification is essential.
According to Participant 2, self-reflection has made her a true professional, and she
advocates continuous improvement. She said, “It is okay to be wrong, vulnerable, and fail as
long you learn from those setbacks and use them to improve.” She felt that, as an employee, an
accurate and realistic assessment of individual skills was necessary. Employees must be aware of
their strengths and weaknesses for continuous success. Participant 3 felt she has been a big
proponent of the continuous improvement arena. She takes things personally, wants to succeed,
and is very competitive. When things go wrong, she tends to go over them in her mind as her
mini-lessons learned to support better decision-making in the future.
Participant 4 felt if something went wrong, the first person accountable for that was her,
and she tried to figure out what went wrong and what we needed to do better. As a leader, it is
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essential to understand the stakeholders' motivations and try to create win-win outcomes for
everyone. She felt backward planning has been critical to her success. It appeared Participant 4
constant self-reflection had supported her abilities to learn and understand different stakeholders’
motivations, which allowed her to generate win-win approaches to ensure all stakeholders were
satisfied. Her self-reflection has allowed her to continuously improve her ability to communicate
the end goals and avoid linear thinking.
Participant 5 stated, “Self-reflection has allowed me to find creative ways to generate
positive results and refine my management skills.” Participant 6 stated, “Self-reflection has
always allowed me to run multiple scenarios and have a strategy for each.” Participant 8 loves to
perform self-assessments. She felt everything that’s come up is different, but even if it is
different, lessons learned from previous experience can be applied.
Participant 9 stated, “Self-reflection is critical to my self-improvement and helps hone my
skills.”
Participant 10 had a similar statement to Participant 9: “Self-reflection creates the
confidence to go outside my comfort zone, and that is a must for growth.” Participant 7 stated,
“Self-reflection is critical for career advancement, but one must be careful not to overanalyze
and overbeat themselves for mistakes.” It appeared from their statements that all participants’ felt
self-reflection has allowed them to continuously improve their communication abilities and find
better ways to improve their leadership competencies.
The three knowledge influences for this study were validated. All the participants had the
technical expertise to succeed in the industry. Their technical expertise started with a technical
degree that allowed them to understand the complexity of industry documents, such as drawings,
specifications, contract requirements, codes, and standards. As their careers progress, all the
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participants continue to grow by expanding their technical expertise using continuous learning by
obtaining advanced degrees and industry certifications such as the PMP. The participants also
had the interpersonal skills required for advancement. They all felt they were great
communicators who could build teams and ensure their teams understood how they fit in with
the big of their organization. The participants used self-reflection as an integral part of their
growth to keep them grounded and ensure they continued to improve their skills. They all self-
reflect daily to learn from their setbacks and successes to replicate and improve on their
achievements.
Motivation Influences
The subsequent KMO influence explored in the following section is motivation. The
second research question guided this portion of the study: “How do women overcome challenges
in their efforts to become leaders in the construction industry?” The two specific influences
explored pertained to self-efficacy theory and expectancy outcome.
Confidence in Their Abilities to Succeed (Self-Efficacy Theory)
All the participants stated that confidence was central to their success. Knowing they had
the skills and experience to succeed ensures their continued success. Seven stated that diverse
experience is more important than in-depth experience in allowing them to understand the big
picture of how everything fits together. Participant 1 stated, “My confidence was built over time.
… The more successful I was, the more confident I got in my abilities to execute construction
projects successfully.” Participant 2 stated, “My confidence allowed me to push my way through.
… Sometimes people would try to overlook me just because I am a woman, and my confidence
gave me the strength to stand my ground.” Participant 3 knows confidence is vital to succeeding
in the construction industry, and that is something that did not come easy for her case. She was
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shy, respectful, and raised to be quiet and polite. While she still promotes being polite, the
courage to speak up is a must to succeed in the industry. And then, once she had a few successes,
she could build on that. Experience matters and makes it easy to stand behind her positions when
she knows she has the experience to back it up. It took her some time to learn to be more
assertive and to take control. However, once she convinced herself she could do anything, she
became less intimidated and more successful. Participant 4 felt confidence and self-esteem were
a must. The project manager must own the project and advance it. That shows the leadership
abilities that are critical for project success. Being confident without being overly confident is
critical.
Participant 5 stated, “My confidence is important, and I continuously perform self-
assessments to identify my strengths and weaknesses.” Participant 6 said, “I continuously build
my confidence. It helps me focus on what is vital for my present and future.” Participant 7 stated,
My confidence is essential, and it took me years to build it. … Being part of a work
environment where I knew my work was reviewed in detail by my peers and my
supervisor provided me the constructive feedback that helped build my confidence.
Participant 8 stated,
You definitely have to be confident, especially when you probably have other people that
probably doubt what you are capable of doing. … If you don’t believe in yourself, if you
are not confident because no one else is going to be confident for you, but that doesn’t
mean you have to be arrogant.
Participant 9 stated, “My confidence plays a critical part in my success.” She said, “Much
confidence is needed to overcome women’s obstacles in the construction industry.” Participant
10 stated, “I must show up and be confident every day.”
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Seven participants stated that an excellent understanding of how the different departments
(design, construction, quality, and project control) work together would make it easy to succeed.
They stated that it takes confidence to work in the different departments, which contributed to
their success because they understood each group’s role and the synergy required to ensure
project delivery. Six participants stated they have the confidence to be loud sometimes to ensure
being heard and that not taking no for an answer is part of the process to reduce the chances of
being marginalized.

35

Expect They Can Achieve Success in their Field (Expectancy Theory)
Nine participants stated that mentorship was instrumental in supporting the expectancy of
their abilities to succeed. A mentor who understands the organization and the industry ensured
they were grounded in realistic expectations. Only half of the participants worked at
organizations with formal mentorship programs. Furthermore, out of those five, only three
believed these programs were effective. Participant 1 had the opportunity to meet people who
helped her understand what was needed to succeed, where she needed to push more, the art of
salary negotiation, and what certifications she needed to go to the next level. She had great
mentors who helped improve her communication skills and master the importance of teamwork.
She felt that having great mentors was one thing that helped her succeed in the construction
industry.
Participant 2 stated, “Formal mentorship was instrumental in my career growth. … I was lucky
to be assigned as a mentee to a great project manager at the beginning of my career.” Participant
3 stated, “Having a number of really good mentors, and being surrounded by really good people,
having the opportunity to work with experienced folks helped my success.” She also talked about
formal mentorship programs in her organization: “There were mentor programs. I cannot say
they contributed to my success. Most of the time, it was a check-the-box kind of thing more so
than an actual committed relationship to pull you aside and advise.”
Participant 5 stated, “Formal mentorship programs have contributed to my success.”
Participant 6 said, “I took the initiative to search for my mentors, and they have played a critical
part in my career growth.” Participant 7 said, “I had a lot of great mentors. I worked for
organizations that had robust mentorship programs. I had a mixture of formal and informal
mentors that was critical to my success.” Participant 8 stated, “Everywhere I have worked, it is
36

either they have a formal mentorship program, or in some cases, especially when I join a
company, I pick a mentor myself by just approaching and asking them.” Participant 9 said, “I
was never part of a formal mentorship program, but I have informal mentors that continuously
play an instrumental part in my success.” Participant 10 said, “Formal mentoring programs are
okay, but informal mentors are the best for success.”
All nine participants stated mentorship was essential to their success and felt informal
mentorship was the form of mentorship that was beneficial. In informal mentorship, they felt the
mentors or mentees only participated if they genuinely had buy-in. Informal mentorships allow
the mentees to choose mentors they see as role models and want to emulate. They felt their
mentors were committed to their success and maintained a long-term relationship over the years
with them. Only Participant 4 felt that mentorship did not play a significant role in her career
success. In her case, she tried to observe the people she respected and learn what she could from
them, but in her career, she never had formal or informal mentoring.
Eight participants stated that support groups for women could help overcome most of the
challenges women face and help establish realistic expectations. They all felt the industry needed
more support groups for women’s success. Participant 1 stated, “Support groups for women to
discuss issues and challenges in the construction industry and share approaches some of them
have used to overcome those challenges.” She said, “Those support groups must intentionally
focus specifically on women’s issues.” Participant 9 stated,
Support groups that only focus on women’s issues and do not need to be formal.”
Participant 10 stated, “Support groups like a single moms’ club so women can learn from
each other at different phases of their careers. … Support groups can also help minimize
37

women’s isolation, so they will not feel alone in the construction industry and will have
each other to lean on.
Furthermore, they felt the support group does not need to be a big organization such as
the Society of Women Engineers. Simple lunch-and-learn groups where women can brainstorm
and hear from successful women in the industry will help them overcome challenges.
Seven participants stated that one way the industry can increase women’s participation is
to support early exposure of women to the industry. They felt early exposure would help
establish expectations and define this career field’s benefits. They stated that exposure should
start as early as middle school so young girls can learn of the many diverse positions and that
most of them are not physically demanding. They saw a need for more outreach programs for
young girls to expose them to the industry’s benefits. Participant 2 stated, “Exposure of women
to the construction industry should start at an early age, and I believe advocate groups are needed
to help women select STEM degrees and get through college.” Participant 4 stated,
Early exposure of women to the construction industry is critical to their success, and
when they join the industry, having a career plan that includes rotation to different
positions is instrumental. … Early exposure would minimize the fear that women have of
not being respected in the construction industry. … The industry should recruit in High
School and show young women the fantastic parts of the industry.
Participant 7 stated,
Early exposure could improve communications so women can better understand the
industry. … Using realistic examples of the positions they can occupy in the construction
industry during those recruiting events. And exposure could be as early as Middle School
for young girls.
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Participant 8 stated, “Some outreach program from elementary school so they could see some
very successful women in the industry and tell them what exactly they are doing and to get them
into the industry.” Participant 9 said, “The industry should reach out early to women and show
them how lucrative and rewarding a career in the construction industry can be.”
All 10 participants stated they are happy they chose this field, knowing what they know
from their years of experience in the industry. They called for improved communication to
ensure women have realistic expectations and know the industry provides rewarding careers.
They stated that the industry is financially advantageous, but more importantly, it is rewarding in
terms of achievement and purpose. They stated that most construction projects benefit the
community and society, whether a school, a commercial building, a bridge, or a nuclear waste
cleaning project. Participant 1 would pick the construction industry again for many reasons. She
always dreamed of working in construction. Working in the construction industry has allowed
her to create an extraordinary life because of the type of salary she is making. Working in the
construction industry is exciting since it is a constantly changing environment, always doing new
things, doing new projects, meeting new people, and developing new skills because every project
is different. Furthermore, she loves the self-worth and self-gratification feelings of working in
the industry because of the beautiful facilities and great living environments she is part of
creating.
Participant 2 stated, “The industry is rewarding in terms of finance and a sense of purpose. …
The feeling of getting things built is gratifying. You can see progress and know you are
positively contributing to society.” Participant 3 stated, “I think I would because I did develop an
interest in engineering at a very young age, and I did always enjoy putting things together,
building things.” Participant 4 stated,
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Yes, I would pick construction again. I would tackle a new construction project any day
because it is the gratification of knowing that, at some point, you are going to deliver an
asset that is going to provide whatever the service is. … Every day, there was that sense
of gratification when you went home and left the job site. … We have made some
progress today. … It is my legacy. It will be there forever, and it will work. … It leaves
you with a sense of pride.
Participant 5 stated, “The industry gives me a sense of accomplishment. I get a chance to see my
project fulfilling its purpose.” Participant 6 stated, “I love the construction industry because
projects are filled with new experiences daily, and things are constantly changing.” Participant 8
stated, “I don’t regret being an engineer and being in the construction industry because it is what
I like to do…. working on a construction site and seeing how it goes from nothing to something
great like a hospital, a school and knowing you were part of the team that put it together is
amazing.” Participant 10 said, “the industry is financially rewarding and gives me a sense of
purpose.” She stated, “part of my mission is to ensure the industry makes room for women and
others such as Hispanics, blacks, and LGBQ.” Their statements showed that all the participants
would choose their careers again because they are financially rewarding. Knowing their projects
benefit society gives them pride and purpose.
The data validated the two motivational influences. From the data, the participants
believed their confidence in their abilities to excel played a central role in their success. The
participants built their confidence over time. The more experience they had and the more
successful they were, the more confident they became. Also, knowing they have technical
experience because of their technical degrees, advanced degrees, and industry certifications was
instrumental in their success. The data also revealed that the participants felt that mentorship was
40

key to their expectations. Having informal or formal mentors who believed in their potential and
guided them along the way was instrumental in their continued success.
Organizational Influences
The last KMO influences explored in this study were organizational. In this research, the
overall organization was the construction industry since most participants worked for different
organizations. The research question guiding this portion of the study asked, “How do
organizations create inclusive environments that support the advancement of women leaders in
the construction industry?” The questions for this influence focus on the participants’ perceptions
of being part of an inclusive organization with work-life balance policies that support their
growth. This section summarizes the findings associated with those two themes.
An Inclusive Organization that Supports Growth (Cultural Model)
All participants stated that the organizations they have worked for during their careers
have a long way to go in creating an inclusive work environment. Eight stated that one of the
significant challenges they faced was being taken seriously as capable team members and
ensuring that decision making included their voices. Most interviewees also mentioned other
challenges: lack of respect and trust for women’s abilities and capabilities, being dismissive of
women’s contributions, and that some men have a hard time with women being in charge.
According to Participant 1, at the beginning of her career, about 10–12 years ago, she felt she
was not trusted. There were limited opportunities, she was assigned small tasks, and everybody
constantly asked her why she chose the construction industry. She felt the industry did not
embrace women and believed in their ability to succeed. Not every woman has the opportunity to
learn because all depend on managers and company culture. She felt the employees must be
41

exposed and included in those conversations to support their knowledge of advancement and the
required skills for success.
Participant 2 stated, “It is difficult sometimes to be taken seriously just because of my gender.”
Participant 3 stated, “Sometimes, it is easy to get out-talked, overlooked.” She remembered that
in one of her leadership positions, a male counterpart supervisor confronted her by stating,
“You better not dare ever tell my engineers that you had expectations again because if my
wife does not talk to me like that,” so there is no way he would allow me to talk to his
engineers like that.
Participant 4 stated, “It can be difficult to be accepted in the construction industry. …
Some men fear competition from women and would rather have a homogenous workforce.”
Participant 6 stated, “Some men in the construction industry could not see past my gender, and
they will not spend the time to focus on my experiences and give me a fair chance to see what I
bring to the table.” Participant 7 stated, “Some men do not like having a woman as their
supervisor.” Participant 8 stated,
The industry is very dominated by men, and they will try to make you feel like you don’t
really know what you are doing because you don’t belong there, so it’s really up to you to
know how to deal with the situation and don’t let them put in a place where you don’t
think you could succeed.
All the participants stated that none of their organizations have DEI training to support
gaining knowledge on how effective a DEI work environment can be. Participant 1 stated, “If it
is not a requirement, it will not happen in the construction industry. … [It] is all about
compliance. DEI must be a requirement to ensure it happens because the construction industry is
all about compliance.”
42

Another aspect the participants stated their organizations could improve is training
managers to understand and embrace the importance of empowering their employees. Eight
participants felt that not having the support of their supervisors was detrimental to the retention
of women in the industry and improving their confidence level. Participant 7 stated, “lack of
support from senior management that was willing to assume easily that I was wrong, and that the
contractor was right was detrimental to my success.” Six participants felt that being undermined
by their supervisors was a betrayal and hindered their performance. Four believed DE&I was a
trend and would not last. Participant 2 stated, “I want to get a position because I am the best
candidate for it and not because I am a woman. Not because the organization needs me to meet a
quota or to show it is trying to be diverse and inclusive.” Participant 7 had the same sentiment as
Participant 2: “One of my biggest fears is for my male counterparts to feel I got the position
because I am the token woman.” From their statements, all the participants felt the construction
industry has a long way to go before it can be truly inclusive. They want to achieve success
based on their competencies and abilities and not just because of their gender.
Work-Life Balance Policies that Supports Families (Cultural Settings)
None of the participants’ organizations informed and trained their workforce on their
work/life benefits entitlements. Although, seven of the 10 participants said COVID had changed
the construction industry. Their current organizations allow them to telework a few days a week.
Some participants’ organizations have alternate work schedules where they must be in the office
during the core hours, such as 0900am to 0200pm, and their start and finish times for the day are
flexible as long they ensure they are in the office during those core hours. Participant 1 felt her
current organization value work-life balance for their employees. The organization is more
flexible for her position and could not validate if all other positions could be afforded the same
43

flexibility. With COVID, the company created some flexibility by heavily investing in
technology. That has allowed the employees to work from home and at different offices. Now
they do not have to leave their project to go to a different office or another project to meet
because they can conduct them virtually. The organization has floating holidays for its
employees to support their lifestyle. Furthermore, finally, the organization has implemented
rotational coverage. When they have long work hours, instead of forcing everybody to work,
they rotate who will stay late on the job and who will work on Saturdays.
Participant 3 stated,
Work-life balance is a serious challenge. Our company has always been good about
supporting us if we needed time off for family reasons. I have always had good managers
that were willing to work with me when I had a crisis in my family. … I know that’s a
manager-specific thing, but my managers were always really good to me.
Participant 4 stated,
The biggest thing of work-life balance is to have a support system, you know, because
the company is not going to give it to you. … One of my biggest stressors was I had to
get out of work in time before the daycare closed. … When cell became reasonably
priced, my ex-husband was like, “We don’t need one of those,” and I was like, “What are
you talking about?” I was like, I wanted one because it gave me peace of mind.
Participant 7 stated,
I had a supervisor that used to make me feel guilty when I had to leave in the afternoon. I
used to get to the office early in the morning, around 0600 am, so I could leave in the
afternoon around 0500pm, while my supervisor, on the other hand, got to the office
around 0830 am and left at 0630pm. Although I worked and was in the office for more
44

hours than him, he still managed to make me feel guilty every day when I left before him
to take care of my kids.
In the case of Participant 8, she felt the employee must create their work-life balance
because the organization cannot provide it since each employee has a unique situation. Two
ways communication between the employees and their supervisors is critical to successfully
establishing a work-life balance environment that is suitable and equitable for that individual
employee. Communication will allow the supervisors to understand their employees’ priorities
and generate ways to ensure employee retention and success within the organization. The
majority of the participants felt the construction has some needed improvement to support work-
life balance. They felt that employees must communicate their priorities to their supervisors and
find ways to create a support system for their families.
The two assumed organizational influences were not validated. The data revealed that all
10 participants believed the construction industry has a long way to go before it can be an
inclusive environment. They felt the industry did not value creating a DE&I work environment
where all its employees, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation, could succeed. The
participants stated that their organizations did not have DE&I training that supported establishing
an inclusive work environment. All the participants stated that their organizations do not have
training that explains their work-life balance entitlements. It also appeared that most participants
felt the industry does not support work-life balance entitlements. A few participants stated that
COVID changed the work environment a little because now teleworking is accepted, and flexible
hours are encouraged. COVID forced organizations to invest in technologies that support virtual
meetings and collaborations, which support teleworking capabilities.
Summary
45

This section presented the findings on women’s advancement in the construction
industry. Ten interviewees provided the qualitative data for this section. I analyzed the data using
the KMO gap analysis framework developed by Clark and Estes (2008). Nine assumed KMO
influences for this research focused on the tangibles and intangibles that have supported the
interviewees’ advancement. The first three influences were on the participants’ procedural,
conceptual, and metacognitive knowledge regarding their technical expertise, interpersonal
skills, and ability to reflect, contributing to their advancement. The second group of influences
focused on their self-efficacy by having confidence in their abilities to succeed, and their
expectations of the industry have allowed them to understand how they can achieve success.
Finally, the last set of influences examined how the participants’ organizations using DE&I
could have created an inclusive work environment and established work-life balance policies that
could have contributed to their employees’ development and success. Out of the nine influences
analyzed, the results validated three knowledge and two motivational influences. Finally, the two
assumed organizational influences were not validated.
Discussion and Recommendations
The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the tangible and intangible
influences, such as knowledge, motivation, and organization, that have contributed to the success
of women who have achieved technical leadership positions in the construction industry. This
study’s findings, discussed in the previous section, yield three recommendations for how the
industry can create an environment that is conducive to women’s recruitment, retention,
development, and advancement.

46

Women's Early Exposure to the Construction Industry
The first research question that guided this study was, “How do women apply their skills
and experience to become leaders in the construction industry?” Before women can advance,
they must decide whether this is the right industry for them and join it. With women only
occupying 10% of this industry’s workforce (Francis, 2017), more women must join. All
participants stated that early outreach programs could increase women’s participation in the
industry. Outreach programs can begin at elementary schools and must include successful
women who can tell their lived experiences and show those young girls that this industry is for
them and that they can succeed in it. Women leaders can positively correlate with women’s
recruitment since identity development is central to self-actualization (Sealy & Singh, 2010).
The exposure to the benefits and rewards of the construction industry should be
continuous. It should start as early as elementary school, and the support should continue
throughout their careers. Support groups that focus only on the challenges and issues of women
in the industry should exist and be available. Those support groups will provide ways to navigate
the industry and minimize isolation. Those early exposure initiatives should be visible with
permanent posters at those schools. Those posters should have a website address to guide those
students to a place where they can find additional information. This website can also highlight
the success of women in the construction industry, an avenue to tell their stories and inspire the
industry's future workforce. According to Bandura (2000), people exist in an environment and
partly are products of that environment; that environment influences the outcomes of their lives.
An environment that provides early exposure and continuous support to women during their
careers will create an industry that is more conducive to women’s recruitment, retention,
development, and advancement.
47

This exposure will help communicate and reinforce the expectancy theory from the
motivational influence that women can succeed in the construction industry. Bridging that gap
and increasing women’s participation in the industry will require the presence of successful
women role models who can discuss their lived experiences.
Increase Mentorship Training
Mentorship training should be one of the initial training provided to employees when
they join the construction industry to teach them the benefits of mentorship and how to select
mentors. Organizations should provide formal mentorship programs and highly encourage
informal mentorship. Those mentorship trainings should be continuous and consistent once a
year. The organization should have a two-hour refresher training course on the importance of
mentorship. And establish some mentorship socials where employees will have the chance to
meet mentors and mentees to develop those relationships. During those events, while those
employees are looking for mentors, they should also find mentees. That way, the organization
can establish a pay-it-forward type of culture. Once an employee enters a leadership role, they
should take additional mentorship training to ensure they fully understand the impact of
management support on employees’ job satisfaction and on enabling the organization to
empower and retain its workforce. Research has shown that employee recognition from their
managers has led to job satisfaction, increased self-efficacy in women engineers, and contributed
to their retention and growth (Bennett & Beehr, 2013; George & Jones, 1996; Hom & Kinicki,
2001).
Mentorship will also play a central role in guiding employees on the skills and technical
capabilities they need to succeed. People will give their best if they believe they have the
skillsets and will go to the extreme once they believe (Bandura, 1977). Good mentors will help
48

their mentees navigate the construction industry and enable them to set realistic expectations.
According to Ayre et al. (2013), women who knew they had the competence and technical
capabilities to work in their organizations efficiently were confident they could succeed and stay
in the industry. The intensity and persistence in the effort individuals expend to achieve their
goals directly correlate to their confidence in their abilities to succeed, and mentors can play an
essential role in building that confidence (Bandura, 1982).
Mentorship will support both motivational influences. First, it will support the building
and sustaining women’s confidence in their abilities to succeed. It will help develop that strong
self-efficacy. Having great mentors who help understand expectations and educate on the
competencies and abilities needed to advance will help women’s retention, development, and
progression.
Recommendations for Future Research
This study’s findings revealed that the participants’ lived experiences could help future
women succeed and help the industry create an environment where women can thrive. The
qualitative research consisted of a purposeful sample of 10 participants. A specific
recommendation is to complete a long-term case with a bigger sample, observations of
participants in their work environments, and focus groups. Observing the participants practicing
their careers will facilitate capturing their subconscious practices that contribute to their success.
Furthermore, the second recommendation is future research on creating a realistic work-
balance environment for the construction industry. The industry requires most of its workforce to
be in person because most of its craft workforce performs hands-on work, and the supporting
staff, such as field engineers, office engineers, and quality and safety personnel, must be on site
to perform their duties. The nature of the work has a specific scope that needs to be built
49

efficiently and safely. According to Servon and Visser (2011), women from over 2,493 survey
respondents leave the industry due to an environment that does not support work-life balance.
The question is how to create an industry that can support a work-life balance environment for
all its employees. Work-life balance policies will be specific to each organization. The intent
should be for organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of their specific work-life policies,
which can be done by surveying the employees and conducting focus groups with them. The
generated data can be used to improve their organizations' specific policies. The employees
should play a crucial part in this process by providing recommendations. An engaged and
committed employee understands their responsibilities to the organization and can contribute to
suggesting ways to improve those work-life policies.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study’s first limitation was the purposeful sample. Having a sample of only 10
participants limited the basis of generalizing on how to improve the industry. As qualitative
research, additional data from a larger sample would have added depth to the study. The second
limitation is that the construction industry is large and has multiple different types of projects,
such as heavy structural construction, nuclear projects, and energy projects, so trying to look at it
as homogeneous limits the understanding of how complex it is and all the different types of
projects that included in the industry. Different projects require different types of complex skill
sets to execute them.
I delimited this study to women with a STEM degree occupying technical leadership
positions. Prior sections defined the established parameters and boundaries (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). The data analysis did not delineate the participants’ race, which could have
50

played a part in their lived experiences. The participant intersectionality was not considered and
could have revealed different results if considered.
Conclusion
This study aimed to explore and understand the contributing influences, such as
knowledge, motivation, and organization, that supported the success of women in technical
leadership positions in the construction industry. The study revealed three key findings. First, the
industry has not fully embraced a DE&I work environment. Second, women’s confidence in
their abilities shapes their success, and third, women’s success in the industry requires effective
and intentional mentorship.
The first key finding showed how organizations can enable women’s advancement in the
construction industry. Their approach must be intentional to create and sustain an environment
where women can be successful. The second key finding showed the self-efficacy theory
associated with the knowledge influence on how women’s confidence can support their success.
An encouraging and nurturing environment enhances that confidence. Finally, the last key
finding showed that a good mentorship program supported by an organizational structure would
create an environment conducive to women’s advancement.
This study was important because women represent more than half of the population in
the United States; however, they only occupy 10% of the construction industry’s workforce
(Francis, 2017). Understanding the influences contributing to the phenomenon of the low number
of women succeeding in technical positions in this industry can create an environment conducive
to increasing their leadership. Future research can engage a larger sample to leverage changes in
the industry.

51

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Appendix: Interview Protocol
Participant population: women in the construction industry with a STEM degree who
occupy or have occupied technical leadership positions.
The interviews are presumed to take approximately 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
Demographic information: Females
Management level: Middle-level manager, senior manager/executive
Management experience: 6–10 years, 10 or more years
Primary management field in the construction industry: project manager, project sponsor,
quality manager, senior project engineer, procurement manager, design manager, construction
manager, construction superintendent, estimating manager, project control manager
Knowledge Influences
Conceptual
1. What are some of the interpersonal skills that have supported your successful
navigation in the construction industry?
Procedural
2. 2. What are some of the technical expertise (skills and capabilities) that have
contributed to your success in the construction industry?
3. Describe how you have utilized your technical expertise to navigate your career
advancement.

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Metacognitive
4. Describe how you have utilized self-assessment after a major event such as contract
negotiation, re-baseline of a project, or contract modifications to improve your
abilities to succeed in a future similar situation in the construction industry?
5. What are some of the significant challenges in the construction industry impacting
women recruitment, retention, and development in the construction industry?
6. What are some of the factors that have contributed to your success in the construction
industry?
7. Knowing what you know now from your lived experiences, would you pick
construction again? And why?
8. In your opinion, what were some of the major challenges faced by women attempting
to advance their careers in the construction industry?
Motivation Influences
Self-Efficacy
9. Describe how your confidence supports your abilities to succeed and achieve your
performance goals.
10. What was your motivation to excel in the construction industry?
Expectancy Outcome
11. Describe the importance of knowing you have the skillsets and competencies to
succeed in your current position is critical to your career development and
advancement.

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Organization Influences
Cultural Model
12. What organizational practices are in place to support and influence the development
and implementation of an inclusive work environment?
13. What kind of corporate DEI training during your career did you find that was relevant
to your career development/progression?
14. Describe the training your organization has in place that supports developing the
skillsets required to improve your abilities and confidence.
15. Describe the organization’s process to ensure clear communication of expectations.
Cultural Setting
16. How have organizational practices influenced the development and implementation
of work-life balance policies that supported your career growth?
17. What training, if any, does the organization offer the employees on the available
work-life entitlements?
18. During your career, were they any formal organizational mentorship programs that
contributed to your success?
19. If you were in charge with unlimited resources, is there anything you would improve
or change within the organization or the construction industry?
20. In your opinion, what are some immediate changes that can result in an automatic
improvement in terms of retention and development of women in the construction
industry?
21. Do you believe one day, the construction industry will be welcoming to all regardless
of gender, race, or sexual orientation? And why?
61

22. Anything else you think can help make the construction industry better?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This qualitative study aimed to explore and understand the knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that support women’s advancement in the construction industry. The study used the conceptual framework of gap analysis developed by Clark and Estes. This study was important because women represent more than half of the population in the United States yet make up a small percentage of the industry’s workforce. Understanding the influences contributing to this phenomenon of the low number of women achieving success in technical positions in this industry can help create an environment conducive to increasing women’s leadership. It is estimated that 50% of the current construction workforce will be retiring in the near future, so the industry must create an environment that recruits, retains, and develops women as an integral part of the workforce. For the industry, women are an untapped resource for addressing the upcoming workforce shortage. The study revealed three key findings. First, the industry has not fully embraced a DE&I work environment. Second, women’s confidence in their abilities shapes their success, and third, women’s success in the industry requires effective and intentional mentorship.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Pyram, Stanley Carmel (author)

Core Title An exploratory study of women's advancement in the construction industry

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-12

Publication Date 08/30/2023

Defense Date 08/14/2023

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag advancement,Construction industry,OAI-PMH Harvest,women

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Combs, Wayne (committee chair), Phillips, Jennifer L. (committee member), Stowe, Kathy (committee member)

Creator Email pyram@usc.edu,spyram31@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113302896

Unique identifier UC113302896

Identifier etd-PyramStanl-12295.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-PyramStanl-12295

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Pyram, Stanley Carmel

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230901-usctheses-batch-1089 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu