Steps taken by organisations and governments to improve gender equality
Government level
Gender Balance guide
A Gender Balance Guide was launched in September 2017 that is organised by the organisations for the economic cooperation. UAE organisations have five key actions which includes improving gender balance in leadership, integrating gender into policies and being able to have communications on the topic. Referring to the women’s right in the middle east it states, “the government should adjust the draft labour law so it reduces all gender based barriers to employment and allows women to access the same professional opportunities and chances as men”. (Gender equality in the workplace: The Official Portal of the UAE government 2022) This recommendation is required to remove gender inequality and allow women to bring in growth to the economy through their skills and work output.
Figure 5
(Achebo, Checking your biases on gender equality – toward a #heforshe 2021)
Figure 4
(Roquero, The war for talent in construction 2021)
Figure 6
(UAE to launch a new gender balance strategy over the coming days ... 2023)
General women’s union
The Arab Women’s organisation brings in an opportunity to shape the future of women and bring in a positive change in the industry. This is emphasized through “The General Women’s Union which is led by Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak held a workshop to bring in change and improve the image of women in the workplace”. This organisation serves as a mechanism for the empowerment of women in the UAE. She has been UAE’s compass ensuring women have the opportunity to achieve their dreams and she tries to break the mould and empower women and girls. This is also evident in “Under the support of the GWU , the Arab Women’s Organization has organised a series of workshops, conferences and initiatives to inspire and motivate women in the field, even though progress has been slow”. (Foundation August 27, 1975) These steps can encourage women to show up for themselves and take up leadership roles by engaging in conferences and seminars.
City level
Dubai has been taking initiatives to reduce the gender barriers in the construction industries. The city brings in women empowerment as it hosts events that bring in social life and networking. Dubai hosts events for ladies either in restaurants, gyms and this can help them build up their platform to interact with like minded individuals and plan a meet up session. There are events hosted in Dubai
such as panel talks in halls that bring in women to speak
about the obstacles faced in the construction industry. For example, the big 5 hosted at the Dubai world trade centre gains insights from the industry leaders on the opportunities and challenges faced in the construction industry.
Office level
Construction companies take in steps in supporting and encouraging such as:
•Raising awareness: This is done through workshops and panel talks from different companies in the construction industry.
•Work and interact with universities and institutes that bring women into the industry.
•Develop a strategy that helps to promote gender equality in the company and build up on it.
•Offer training programmes that could help women grow and take up more leadership roles in construction.
The WEPs workshop aims to design a roadmap and plan to advance gender equality in the organisations. IAB aims to promote this through workshops by bringing up conversations between members and partners.
The Nama women advancement allows women to access resources, knowledge and services through a network that helps them reach their highest potential. They operate by building up programs and initiatives to serve women from all walks of life. It’s a Sharjah based establishment which contributes to the inclusion, and it aims to close the gender gap.
The mission of the general women’s union is to “launch initiatives, set plans and programs and bring the active participation of women in the sustainable development”.
Activities and initiatives are carried in key areas of work such as:
•Bringing in contribution to women’s policy making: This involves sustainable development plans related to the women’s affair for each sector.
•Women’s skills and capacities: this is required to allow them to play a role in sustainable development that will contribute to the integration in all the fields and levels.
•Drawing up national women’s empowerment steps: This involves providing technical advice and knowledge that evaluates achievements and measures progress.
•Building partnerships (Local, Arab, and international): The organisation works to build up networks and partnerships effectively in relation to women’s issues. This plays a role in improving the situation and addressing their concerns and issues.
•Proposing changes to legislations: The organisation reviews the current legislations and other laws in relation to the woman affairs and they make changes or develop necessary legislations.
In Article 14 of the UAE constitution discusses about equality and providing the same opportunities for all the citizens. The article 14 states that “Equal opportunities, safety and equality for all the citizens shall be the pillars of the society”. (The constitution: The Official Portal of the UAE government 2023) This implies that UAE treats everyone equally regardless of the gender and they aim to promote women in the industry and give them the same opportunities.
Women in construction UAE
1.1 Panel talks: seminars and awards
The Big 5 (women leadership)
The importance of women in construction is expressed in the Big 5’s Women in Construction Awards and Seminar. The panel talk sheds light on women who have changed this stereotype to share their contributions.
Figure 8
Figure 9 (Google image 2018)
Figure 7
A woman in the construction seminar states that “Traditionally, women have faced challenges in relation to the pay gap, career development, leadership roles and promotion opportunities. There are policy changes and new practises to close the pay gap, and this allows women to take leadership opportunities and invest time into their career development journey”. Even though, there have been challenges in the industry the change and growth in the industry is there.
Women continue to make a difference in the construction industry and challenge stereotypes to demonstrate their value in integral leadership roles. The Construction manager Krystal Fernandes states “The current image is that construction is more for men than women, but it is already changing more than ever before, and many companies are open to give women more opportunities. A great example is INC, where there is a creative and diverse workforce. Our formula to success is team working, communication and literacy skills, and women are a big part of that!”. She has had a 15 years’ experience in the field, and she encourages women to come forward and fulfil their careers in the construction industry.
Challenges women face in the industry
Being a woman in the industry brings in several opportunities to flourish in the construction sector as the industry is currently prioritizing diversity and inclusions. The benefits of being a woman in the industry includes:
•New opportunities for leadership positions: Training s given and there are more job opportunities. Construction companies that practise being diverse will increase the chances for women in the future.
•Good communication: They are able to understand different perspectives and communicate effectively.
•Supportive community of Colleagues: there can be issues faced by women in construction such as wage gap, lack of the basic amenities and to bring in change there are changes to policies made and events are organised to bring in awareness of women and their rights.
•Inspiring the future generation: Their achievements and participation in the industry can inspire young girls.
•Increased Recognition: This highlights their recognition, skills and performance in the industry.
Figure 11 (Google image vector/building-site-teamwork-concept 2021)
Figure 12
Women are allowed to advance themselves alongside men and helping them receive economic independence is required. Even though, there are more opportunities for women they face pressure and barriers to advance themselves. Women are left with limited opportunities in the industry as most of them are taken away. Examining challenges faced by women in the UAE helps to identify the issues and it suggest improvements that has to be made.
The safety concerns.
This includes the use of safety equipment’s and facilities on the construction site as the equipment have been designed with male workers in mind. Cultural stigmas occur around women working in the construction industry. The lack of sufficient tailored equipment’s for women in the construction industry can bring in discomfort and it could reduce safety for female workers. To bring in change in the construction industry, the support for women in construction needs to be implemented and awareness campaigns can be carried out to foster a safer environment.
Lack of representation
The limited representation of women in leadership roles in the construction companies can strengthen the gender biases. It is essential to increase diversity and representation to achieve a more thriving industry. Companies can establish better policies and encourage women to take in leadership roles in the industry. The talent and skills can be expressed into their work which can contribute to the growth and success of the industry. A diverse workforce can bring in more creative and diverse solutions that contributes and brings in change.
Lack of female mentors
Due to the lack of females working in construction sites, there’s less access to mentorship and support. Many companies do not have a successful track record for hiring and training women employees and this creates a gender gap in the field. However, even though there are some obstacles the number of women entering the industry is increasing. Therefore, there is potential to break down the longterm barriers and build up success in the industry. Having women in the construction industry contributes to a diverse workforce and it cultivates a more inclusive environment. Having female mentors can guide female workers in the workplace and they would be able to take part in projects together.
Case study promoting gender equality
Majid Al Futtaim
Majid al Futtaim promotes an inclusive and work environment where workers contribution matters regardless of the gender, and they should be able to reach their highest potential. They aim to create a positive gender balance in workplaces through their initiatives. This is evident in a statement they made “gender equality is not only a vital human right, but the foundation for a sustainable and peaceful world”. Majid Al Futtaim encourages females to take up leadership roles and they keep data recordings to see if the firm has made improvements.
-Criteria:
Policy and initiatives:
1)Inclusive focused initiatives:
In UAE, the installation of nursing rooms has been made to create space for mothers and this builds up the inclusive working environment. Women are able to balance between work and their personal duties.
2)Training and development in career:
This involves monitoring the promotion rates in the company and offering women with more mentorships and opportunities.
3)Policies in supporting women:
•Inclusion and diversity policy: This ensures that no workers are discriminated through the hiring stage process and employment.
•Code of conduct: Providing equal opportunities and employees shouldn’t face discrimination.
•Health workplace policy: The use of a healthy and comfortable workplace to enhance and nurture the wellbeing of the employees.
• Employment conditions policy: This outlines the wages and benefits, and it refers to the flexible work system being updated recently women are able to have a balance between personal and work life. It covers women’s rights, health and safety, education and etc.
Performance and reputation:
The workforce provides equal opportunities for workers and improvements and changes in policies are made to ensure to gain better performance from female employees. Al Futtaim is successful in their performance of supporting women in the workplace. The firm targets students from university, graduates, and career women to provide them with sufficient training. The firm aims to reach over 5000 women in tech for the next five years, this shows that one of their goals is to achieve gender equality and
Figure 13 (Majid Al Futtaim announces 2022 full year financial results 2022)
increase female leadership and participation.
Investigation tools:
Document analysis: A report has been published by the Majid Al Futtaim group to outline the actions and initiatives they are taking. The policies are being elaborated and steps taken to improve gender equality is outlined. The document consists of statistics that shows the number of women working. The comparison with other countries and UAE is made to understand the position the country is at and how things can be changed or improved for the future.
1-JLL MENA
JLL is a professional services firm that is into real estate, development consultancy and management. The use of advanced technology shapes the future of real estate by creating more rewarding opportunities and sustainable real estate solutions. They launched a “Women in construction Drive 2022” to bring in awareness and increase the female representation in the construction industry. The support for gender equality in JLL is evident as it states “JLL has joined global business leaders in bringing up gender equality by signing up for the UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles.” (JLL supports UN Women in Driving Gender Equality 2018) They were announced as winners in the Middle East Consultant Awards for bringing in sustainability within the built environment and encouraging gender equality in the industry.
JLL prioritizes bringing in and developing diverse talent by pointing out on challenges in the industry. This is exemplified when the Head of project and Development services states “For decades, women have been underrepresented in the construction field. Now it’s crucial tap into the female talent pool.” (JLL supports UN Women in Driving Gender Equality 2018)
According to an article by the head of the project and development services in UAE it states that “the lack of female representation in the construction industry is not unique to Mena but it is in fact a global business challenge. This is
essential to allow construction firms to rise up to the challenge and with the number of projects planned, there is an opportunity for women to develop their careers. JLL brought in companies from the construction industry to visit institutes in Dubai to create an awareness and bring in an increase in the female representation of the construction trade. The programme provides presentations given by speakers and outlining the career opportunities available in the construction industry.
2- Alfahim Avenue Group
The CEO of Alfahim Avenue Group manages and leads a team by coordinating all the problems in relation to the construction and development activities of major projects. As she shares her experience being a woman in the construction industry, she states that “Integrating leadership roles into one’s core identity is challenging for women, who must create credibility in a culture that is conflicted about how they should exercise authority”. Women have a lot of opportunities in the engineering field but the barriers to women in the field includes discrimination, culture and recruitment practises. In order to get rid of the barriers, its essential to change the way a company works in terms of treating everyone equally.
Figure 14
Methodology
Methods:
The method that was carried out to find out more about the barriers that women face in the construction Industry was performed through interviews and surveys. Compared to the existing literature available, the interviews and surveys reflected data that was not evidently seen in existing sources, and these were the issues that women faced in the construction industry that were not addressed. The interviews and surveys show the real case scenarios in firms in the UAE, even though women are given more rights they face issues which have not been given much attention.
Moreover, surveys were sent to employees and managers working in the construction industry. This includes both males and females and their responses were recorded through graphs and text responses. The targeting of employees and managers who had more experience in the industry was taken into consideration when interviewing them as there was more knowledge and input given regarding the subject of gender inequality in the construction industry.
Results:
Figure 15 shows that the participants in the survey were males and females and the lack of female representatives could show that the construction industry lacks female participation.
Figure 16 represents data from different sectors in the construction industry were gathered to identify the percentage of females and males working. In the data collection, there were more quantity surveyors 37.8% and Engineers 17.39%. They were questioned on the participation and challenges women face in the industry.
In figure 17, the question of “Do you believe that there is gender inequality in the construction industry in UAE?” was asked to identify if workers face issues and challenges in the industry. The percentage of responses stating “yes” was 65.22% and this proves that there is gender inequality in the construction industry and the survey collects data on the real-life cases with it. The survey data helps in carrying the investigation further by finding out the issues about gender inequality which has not been addressed or changed in terms of policies.
Figure 17: Percentage of belief that there is gender inequality
Figure16: Percentage of males and females in different sectors
Figure 15: Number of male and female participants
19
20
The figure represents the number of participants who believe that their organisation is taking initiatives to increase gender equality and it also records if it’s about right or less. The percentage of “more actions need to be taken” is 39.13% and most of the participants believe that it’s about right as the percentage is more for it. This data should be used to find ways on how the organizations can bring in change to the policies and come up with methods to improve the equality in the workforce.
Response from males and females through survey:
Response from females:
The responses from 12 female engineers, architects and quantity surveyors were given in the survey. They mentioned that there is gender inequality and the main issues that women face is the involvement in site inspections. The unavailability in equipment and poor facilities such as washrooms in site provided for both males and females is not there. These factors can affect the participation of women in the construction field. Their considerations are taken in lightly and there should be actions taken to bring in change such as policies as they can abide by the rules and regulations in the workforce.
Response from males:
The responses from 20 males were given from the survey along with one construction manager and through their experience and knowledge, they mention that women struggle and face challenges coping with site conditions. Most of the activities and ongoing construction process duties is handed over to the men. One of the participants mentions that there is heavy work and women are portrayed as incapable of handling work in construction that is physically demanding such as heavy work. Therefore, a way of supporting women in the construction industry is by allowing more training opportunities like internships to get hands on work and take part in site related work. They should be able to have more control in projects and take part in the decision-making process as well.
Interviews with engineers, quantity surveys, architects and interior designers were carried out to get their stance on the barriers to gender equality in the construction industry. They shared their experience in the firm they work in and the actions taken to bring in change in the construction industry. Male and females were interviewed during the process to understand their viewpoints and perspective on gender inequality.
Figure
Figure 18
Company A EGIS group
Stephan is an architect working at EGIS in Dubai and he has done his master’s in urban planning in the UK. They are creating a strategy in Dubai working towards master planning and brining in improvement in architecture in this wide spectrum.
Problems faced:
•Lack of women working in construction sites and most of the work is carried by men when it comes to site inspection.
•Due to the culture and traditional roles women played in the past, the women empowerment in Dubai are less compared to the region like Europe where there are more women in the construction industry taking up leadership roles.
•In European countries, there is more women participation in construction industries, and they take up more leadership roles compare to the construction industry in Dubai.
Actions taken by EGIS to reduce gender barriers:
•The use of social media platforms such as LinkedIn and
Instagram helps to spread awareness. Through Instagram, there are advertisements on events that are hosted such as panel talks that helps to bring up the issue faced in the industry.
•Workshops are carried through the company to create more awareness and encourage more participation and leadership from women in the industry.
Company B
ATUS company
Pallav works at the ATUS company, and she works closely with architects and interior designers. She has been to numerous site visits and noticed that there is a lack of participation of women on sites.
Problems faced:
•Even though, the head supervisor was a part of the design process and took leadership, she was not present in site during the construction process therefore there is a lack of participation from women in sites.
•Uncomfortable and messy environments which discourages women to go to sites and be a part of construction
Figure 21: Portrays the interview taken with aan employee from EGIS
23
n process therefore there is a lack of participation from women in sites.
•Uncomfortable and messy environments which discourages women to go to sites and be a part of the construction process.
•Mindset matters
Actions taken by ATUS to reduce gender barriers:
•Hiring more women which would encourage them to visit sites as a group and also take in leadership roles.
•Taking part in the ongoing construction project by visiting sites
•Change in mindsets of female employees in terms of taking up more leadership and pushing themselves to visits sites so there will be more participation.
Analysis
The data collected from the surveys and interviews will lead up to an action plan that will consists of the changes and initiatives that can be taken to bring in improvement to the gaps faced by workers in the construction industry. Through these methods, it’s evident that women face issues in site conditions and it’s a problem that has not been addressed. Through the data, most of the participants mentions that the construction sector does have gender inequality even though it has been improving.
Through the interviews, senior architects mention that the performance of women have increased, and they have been taking up roles. However, in other parts of the construction sector the percentage of women working is less. The responses reflect that women don’t have facilities in sites especially and opportunities. These methods carried should be a call of action for the future as it has not been addressed properly and problems have not been cleared out regarding it.
Figure 22
Cultural difference
Poor site conditions- less facilities and opportunities
Lack of leadership roles
Lack of awareness in the workforce
Lack of performance from women working in other construction sectors
Limited network opportunities
Work-life balance
Lack of female representation
-Awarness programmes carried to create open communication and willingness to work with people from different backgrounds
-Separate washrooms on site for females and males
- Small office
-Provide safety equipments for women
-Training programmes
- Bring in new policies
-Sponsorship and mentorship programmes
-The showcasing of role models can encourage women to stand up.
-Opportunities with networking
-Workshops and training programs
- Inspiration from women role models
-Awareness programmes
-Networking events
-Provide equal opportunities for females
-Improve site conditions
-Utilise online platforms
-Forums and group participation
-Apps for networking
-Flexible work system: Women find it difficult to balance personal life and work
Actions to follow:
-Allow women to work from home
-Temporary career breaks
-Adjusted start and end times
-Provide training to address on gender bias
-Improve and change recruitment process
- Support networks
-Showcase women role models as inspiration
The action plan summarizes the challenges faced in the construction industry and how firms can take actions to bring in change. Some issues faced in sites have not been addressed however, through interviews it was evident that there needs to be a call for action with challenges faced in sites which have not been addressed well. The organizations should take initiatives in creating policies as this will allow firms to stick by its rules and regulations. If this action plan is followed, the participation from women will be more and the construction industry will grow, and gender barriers would be broken. The construction industry is currently lacking opportunities for women as there are beliefs due to cultural norms that women are not being able to do heavy lifting or work under tough conditions. The action plan will help to break these gender stereotypes and create equality in the construction industry.
Conclusion
This study builds up on the case of gender inequality by providing evidence of gender bias in the construction industry. Through quantitative and qualitative data, the main challenges and issues faced in the construction industry were recorded and analysed. A high percentage of participants agreed that there is gender inequality even though there are small changes being made. The result of the methodology implies that there needs to be an action plan taken to improve the performance and participation of women in construction. Issues related to site conditions that have not been addressed in previous research was
investigated and bringing up a policy to ensure women get equal treatment is required to break the barriers and stereotypes created by cultural indifferences. By nurturing a culture of inclusivity and improvements in technology, the industry can provide more chances for female professionals. Even though, there has been advancement in promoting gender equality more work needs to be done. A workplace should allow women to thrive and and reach their full potential. The research supports for constant efforts to reduce barriers.
Identifying the gender gap created can lead to the development of new opportunities and the construction industry can grow in the future with active participation from females and the industry can benefit from diversity where both talents are celebrated from men and women. This would increase their job satisfaction and it would lead to a positive workplace culture.
Due to the fact that UAE is diverse and people from different cultures come in for work, the traditional and cultural mindset is cultivated within. Therefore, in order to bring in equality there needs to be inititiatives and programmes to change how the construction industry works and solve issues as mentioned in the action plan that has not been given much attention from researchers. Bringing in a change will portray the construction industry in a positive light with attention given to women and their rights in a workplace.
Figure 24- The action plan for the construction industry
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