Inhalt: "The construction industry is the most male dominated of all industrial sectors in
the United Kingdom. This article reports on a study that explored women's and men's
experiences of working in the industry, focusing on how the cultural aspects of the
workplace environment impinged upon women's career development. We interviewed more
than 80 male and female construction professionals from large construction organizations,
and compared their career accounts in order to establish the aspects of the workplace
culture that had a gender-differentiated impact on progression. We found that construction
organizations formed competitive "power" cultures where women's contributions were
marginalized and their careers impeded through a combination of inflexible work practices
and discriminatory behavior. These barriers to women's careers were maintained in
small project teams by autonomous male operational managers. Their locus of control
embraced recruitment, promotion, and staff development, which allowed them to sustain
a workplace culture intolerant of nontraditional entrants. We conclude that this cultural
environment is likely to remain problematic for women unless it can be changed in
a way that values their contribution. This requires a radical shift in middle management
attitudes, a departure from current organizational human resource management systems,
and a wider acceptance of the need for cultural change within the industry." (author's
abstract)|
Schlagwörter:Großbritannien; Chancengleichheit; Diskriminierung; Beruf
CEWS Kategorie:Industrielle Forschung
Dokumenttyp:Zeitschriftenaufsatz