Survival Tips for Women in the Construction Industry

How To Overcome the Challenges

I have worked in the Construction industry for over 20 years. I entered the Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1993. From memory, I remember that there were only 5% of women throughout the faculty and workplace.

Why there are many challenges for women working in male-dominated industries? Because there are few women, and we are under-represented in Industries.

In other industries, women represent approximately 46% of all employees. In the construction industry, women only represent approximately 12% of all employees. The data is consistent throughout OECD countries.

I will highlight all the challenges that women encounter and how to overcome them, but it excludes sexual harassment. Why? Because I have never experienced it, and I hope not. Ever and forever! I simply could not give tips for something that I have never experienced.

Challenge #1 — Being Lookdown

There are several tips to overcome the prejudice bias that women’s performance is lower than men’s.

1. Talk Like a Man

Women tend to talk around the bush, from the background of the subjects, the issues, and the parties involved before going into the subject matters and the solutions. As an Introverted and task-oriented person, I’m quite good at talking like a man.

Men, in general, are more impatient than women, they are not good at handling emotions and stress. To present the problems, talk concisely and straight into the subject matter.

When we offer the solution, it starts with the preparation and background research. Never go empty-handed when we present the problem, particularly from male leaders. Otherwise, we would be judged as having no brain/incompetence.

We offer the solution with all the facts, statistics, and expert reports from the engineers/specialists. We give more than 1 solution (average 2–3 solutions), so we will have a good discussion and brainstorming.

2. Think Like a Man

During the discussion, we need to think like a man. It involves no emotion, brutal and honest. We need to be ready mentally for every harsh criticism, harsh language, harsh gestures, groaning, yelling or even swearing, it does not target you personally.

Unless it involves throwing objects at you (for example pen), you must leave and not argue. Never enter into an argument with an angry person. Leave him alone and let him come to you. Once he is cooling down and ready for the discussion; you start the conversation by expressing; that behaviour is unacceptable.

3. Act Like a Man

This is not to promote masculinity, but to act like a stereotypical man, therefore women can be perceived as more confident. In my observations, men are quick in responding and making decisions. Men do not use body gestures too much in comparison to women.

The point of ‘acting like a man’ is not to change our identity. According to psychology, the closer we are to certain people, the more we mirror the behaviour of certain people. To apply the above psychology concept, women are more likely to be treated equally if we adopt certain male behaviour.

For example, refrain from apologising too much. Replace the word ‘apologise’ with ‘thank you’. For instance, if we are late, instead of saying “I’m sorry I’m late”, rephrase it with,” Thank you for waiting.” By using less emotional words, women are perceived to be looked more confident.

Challenge #2 — Not Being Listened

Women tend to be treated as second-class citizens, and sometimes our views are disregarded.

1. Make an Ally

To overcome this, try to make an ally with the male cohort. There is a phrase that says, people tend to listen to the opinions of close connections. Often, the relationship bonding happens on Friday night drinking in the pub and watching sports amongst male colleagues.

Women especially those with children, always put family time as their top priority over networking. To be listened to, particularly concerning conflict resolution, the assistance of a male cohort to support us is necessary. Sometimes standing up on our feet, does not always work in a male-dominated industry.

2. Be Exceptional and Not Mediocre

Another way to be listened to is by being exceptional and not mediocre. Women need to prove hard to be competent. You are likely to be heard, if you are exceptional and not mediocre.

Analyse your strengths and focus on improving your strength until you become indispensable. Once you hold a strong position, then they will value your view. Otherwise, try to show your competence by delivering the job on time with good quality.

While women have to work hard to prove competence level, please be extra careful in taking care of our mental health from work burnout. In the end, mental health is the most important factor for us.

Challenge #3 — Lack of Mentoring and Career Development Opportunities

To overcome this challenge, it will be a similar approach to the above challenge. However please be mindful to observe the organisation culture to overcome this challenge. If the organisation applies the ‘boyish culture’, there is no chance you could further in the career enhancement.

My suggestion to you is to prepare an exit strategy. Seek another opportunity from other organisations that do not apply a ‘boyish culture’ or play favouritism. In my observation, you can’t win from an organisation with a fixed mindset and a ‘boyish culture’.

No matter how competent you are, you are always behind the screen. If you want to excel in this type of culture, you need a ‘luck’ factor and hope that one of the managers will support you. Otherwise, you are more likely to be treated with more work and no rewards. However, please do not be discouraged, as there are more organisations, that promote the issue of equality.

Thank you for reading this blog and I hope you enjoy it. I would love to receive feedback (both positive and negative) from you. Thank You

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