Hard Hats and Glass Ceilings: Women’s Experiences in the Construction Industry in Developed Western Nations

Contributing to the growing body of research, this systematic literature review (SLR) aims to investigate barriers faced by women in construction across developed Western nations, including Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the United Kingdom. While numerous studies have identified barriers such as gender discrimination, workplace culture, and career progression issues, these findings are often disconnected, leading to a lack of holistic understanding. This fragmentation results in inefficient policy efforts, wasted resources, missed opportunities to implement best practices, and limited comparative insights, all hindering the development of targeted, evidence-based solutions. To address these challenges, this study bridges a critical gap by conducting an SLR that consolidates and synthesizes existing research on the barriers that women face in construction across these developed nations. A systematic literature search found 63 journal articles that explore the barriers faced by women in Western countries. Four major barriers—workplace environment and culture, career development and opportunities, work–life balance and support, and policies and institutional factors with a number of subbarriers—emerged from the review. The findings of this research lay the foundation for organizations to inform their strategies for mitigating talent deficit and to assist governments in developing effective policies around women inclusion and retention in construction. The findings of this study present a comparative analysis of the barriers faced by women across different Western countries, revealing both common challenges and region-specific differences. This cross-regional comparison is a key contribution of our research, offering valuable insights into the unique and shared obstacles that hinder women’s participation in the construction industry.