Working in a man’s world – An IPA study of women’s lived experience in the UK construction industry

Background

: The UK construction industry is a gender segregated and masculinised workplace with women representing only around 15% of the workforce. The lived experience of women who work within the UK construction industry remains unexplored from an interpretive phenomenological stance. The current study aimed to address this gap within the literature.

Method

: Four participants took part in semi structured interviews which were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA).

Findings

: Three main themes were identified: ‘The Masculinised Lens’, ‘Seen But Not Heard’, ‘A Man’s World’. All participants experienced benevolent and hostile sexism, with a sense of unbelonging, ‘lack of fit’ and hypervisibility presenting clear challenges for participants. In line with existing research, findings show that well embedded gendered norms underpin a working environment which disfavours women and traits perceived as feminine. Findings may be used to inform organisational training materials and workplace policy, focusing on issues of equality, diversity and inclusion in relation to gender.