Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387

www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

The lower employment of women in Turkish construction sector

G(okhan Arslan∗ , Serkan Kivrak
Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Anadolu University, Iki Eylul Campus, Eskisehir, Turkey
Received 20 February 2004; accepted 10 March 2004

Abstract

More than half of the population of Turkey is women. However, although there is an increase in the number of population, they have
still been under-represented in the labour force. The conceptual and empirical elements related to the understanding of women’s labour
in societies like Turkey that have speci4c and common features as patriarchal ideology, sex segregation, domestic labour, wage labour,
unpaid family labour, subordination, oppression, seclusion, class, reproduction, exploitation, inequality, rights and opportunities, formal
and informal economy and marginal economy. Based on the analysis of data, population of women and their category in construction
industry have been determined. Furthermore, barriers that prevent women and the reasons why women still prefer to enrol in civil
engineering departments have been identi4ed.
? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Women in construction; Segregation in construction; Barriers for women

1. Introduction construction 4eld, it is barely possible to see women. This

This paper aims to scrutinise the current position of
women in Turkish construction industry (CI) and to reveal
the reasons of the lower employment of women in this
industry.
Due to its nature, the CI has a dynamic structure and a
large 4eld of activities. The CI has also an important role in
the development of the economy of the countries. In Turkey,
5–6% of gross national income is shared by this industry
[1], in the UK this rate is 7% [2] and in Germany it is
about 5% [3]. The large 4eld of activities of the CI directly
aBects other services such as metal, cement, wood, ceramic
industries, etc. A movement in CI produces a development in
industries related to it. Consequently, it creates a movement
in the economy of the countries.
Construction is one of the industries where women are
under-represented. Most of the women labour force has
been employed in the service sector of the construction
as the secretarial, clerical or nonprofessional labour. Only
very limited number of women works as designers, struc-
tural engineers or project managers in the industry. In the
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90-222-321-35-50x6612; fax: +90-222-
323-95-01.
E-mail address: gokhana@anadolu.edu.tr (G. Arslan).
is due to the nature of CI such as working hours, vulnera-
ble weather conditions, mobility of work place, short-term
work and awful job-site conditions. As a result, women re-
sist getting involved in construction. They usually prefer to
work in decent environment such as in university campus or
in-house of public establishments. The mode of production
in CI displays a great diBerence from the other industries.
The most important diBerence is the products that are formed
at sites. However, other industries have generally stationary
manufacturing places such as automotive and textile facto-
ries. This condition leads to have an active and variable life
style for the employees working in CI.
In this study, current position of women in CI has been
examined with the use of the data provided by State In-
stitute of Statistic, Higher Education Council, Engineering
Societies and State Establishments as State Water Works,
The Ministry of Public Works and Settlement and General
Directorate of Highway. Woman population of industry has
been determined according to categories.
2. Current status of women in social life
Women have an important role in family as well as in
society. Naturally, there have been sexual and physical

0360-1323/$ - see front matter ? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2004.03.005
1380 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387
Number of Female Students by level of education in Turkey
3500000
3000000
2500000
Number
2000000
1500000
1000000
500000
0 requesting working outside home, so they are in charge to
Primary School Junior High School HighSchool University
Level of Education
Fig. 1. Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 2002.
diBerences between women and men. Pregnancy, mother-
hood including birth and suckle phases aBect their working
life as their whole life. Especially, working in positions
requiring physical strength or working in dangerous and tir-
ing environment might cause inconveniences for women’s
and their child’s health.
Nowadays, even in developed countries where women
participation in working life is very common, the existence
of a child and the increase in child numbers consolidate the
role of women at home and the dependence on their family.
The sex role pattern of many contemporary families still
keeps its traditional characteristics. Dogramaci stated that
caring for young children, taking care of the household and
bringing up children, taking care of older parents or relatives,
are still regarded as women’s responsibilities. In Turkey, be-
fore the establishment of the Republic there was almost no
co-operation between men and women in social life. Only a
very few women occupied important jobs [4]. Atat(urk, the
founder of Turkey, had put very much eBort in order to in-
crease the women employment in the workforce. As a re-
sult, many women entered into the professional life and they
became pilots, doctors, engineers, teachers, instructors, etc.
Moreover, women were given the right in 1930 to vote for
elections and in 1934 the right to participate in the National
Assembly. During the Second World War (SWW), because
of men who had fought in front lines, women had started to
work behind the lines in weapon factories. Women’s partic-
ipation in the work 4eld continued after the end of the SWW
and they entered into the labour market. Since then, women
have even reached to high-level positions such as Margareth
Thatcher (UK), Benazir Butto (Pakistan) and Tansu CLiller
(Turkey) who were all Prime ministers in recent years.
In Turkey, like all around the world, one of the most ev-
ident barriers for women entering and working within in-
dustries is the sexual division of labour. Most women are
not oriented to work outside home due to their primar-
ily de4ned cultural positions as “mother” and “wife”. Due
to this reason, the number of women enrolled in educa-
tion in Turkey decreases as the education level increases
(Fig. 1). Families are restricting their education possibilities
so women have been deprived of the opportunity to obtain
the necessary qualities to enter into the labour market. On
the other hand, most women working outside house leave
their professions due to marriage or after childbirth.
Another barrier for women entering into labour market
in Turkey is the model of some families. These families
either do not need a contribution for their family budget
or due to their conservative approaches; they do not give
work permission. These women have even not the chance of
accept the domination of husband at house. Tsuchigane et
al. [5] argued that should men come to accept responsibility
for bringing up children, caring for the sick and elderly and
looking after the home, the participation of women in the
labour force would be essentially equal to that of men.
3. Current status of women in the workforce
Women’s employment in the labour market is steadily
increasing. There is also a growing convergence between
the participation of women and men in paid work. However,
this convergence masks deep diBerences in the nature of
their contribution to the labour market [6].
While women are entering into labour market, they have
been left to a condition such as choosing among occupations
de4ned previously for them instead of their desired occupa-
tions in work 4elds where positions are discriminated among
sex. Sectors and occupations appropriate to women in the
labour market were not de4ned legally. However, careers
are labelled as traditional female and masculine or nontradi-
tional 4elds [7]. This segregation in the industry sector leads
to an unequal distribution among sectors and a concentration
in some industries such as mining, energy and construction.
The women workforce ratio in Turkey including all in-
dustries was 16% in the year 2000 and increased to 27% in
2002 [8,9]. Industrial distribution of male and female em-
ployment in Turkey is given in Table 1 and employees by
industry in the UK are given in Table 2. Women participa-
tion rates in industries show similarities in both countries.
Women tend to be concentrated in health and textile sector
in Turkey and in health and social work and education sec-
tor in the UK [8–10]. The CI is demonstrably male [11]. As
shown in both tables, women are under-represented in the
CI in both countries. In the UK, 67% of women and 79%
of men 16–64 aged are in employment. Only 9% of male
employees work part-time, compared with 43% of female
employees [12]. Women were employed in CI’s part-time
positions with only 5% [13]. Women workers’ unionisation
rate in Turkey is less than that of men (Table 3). The unioni-
sation rate in the CI among 109 establishments could be seen
in Table 4. In private sectors the percentages of unionised
female and male workers are almost equal 44% [14].
Hakim [15] said that women are concentrated in the
secondary market and work patterns are related to family
roles and relationships and personal characteristics. Only
few women (generally those in managerial positions and
nontraditional career 4elds) have the bene4t of equal oppor-
tunity policies. Most women are concentrated in unskilled
and lower paid positions in the labour market. Due to
 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387 1381

Table 1
Workers by sex and economic activity in Turkey (thousands)

Industry Women Men Total % Women

Agriculture and forestry 30 104 134 22

Mining 4 120 124 3
Petroleum, chemicals and rubber 30 173 203 15
Food industry 71 257 328 22
Sugar 1 37 38 3
Textile 169 332 501 34
Leather 12 50 62 19
Wood 8 72 80 10
Paper 4 26 30 13
Printing and publishing 6 30 36 17
Banking and insurance 11 101 112 10
Cement, clay and glass 14 121 135 10
Metal 63 463 526 12
Ship building 0.6 10 10.6 6
Construction 47 649 696 7
Energy 6 131 137 4
Comm.oOce, education and f.arts 113 318 431 26
Highway transport 10 82 92 11
Railway transport 1 40 41 3
Sea transport 3 34 37 8
Air transport 5 16 21 24
Storage and warehousing 2 15 17 13
Communication 3 37 40 8
Health 18 33 51 35
Accommodation and entertainment 32 179 211 15
National defence 2 37 39 5
Journalism 2 7 9 22
General services 32 334 366 9
Total 700 3808 4508 16

Source: State Institute of Statistics, January 2000.

Table 2
Employees and self-employed by industry in the UK, 2001 (thousands)

Industry Women Men Total % Women

Agriculture and 4shing 75 275 350 21

Energy and water supply 62 244 306 20
Manufacturing 1139 3346 4485 25
Construction 182 1767 1949 9
Wholesale, retail and motor trade 2039 2050 4089 50
Hotels and restaurants 659 484 1143 58
Transport, storage and communication 481 1471 1952 25
Banking, 4nance and pension funding 619 579 1198 52
Real estate, renting and business 1287 1831 3118 41
Public administration and defence 825 922 1747 47
Education 1576 605 2181 72
Health and social works 2407 604 3011 80
Other services 750 690 1440 52
Totala 12 190 14 934 27 124 44

Source: EOC analysis of Labour Force Survey Spring 2001, OOce for National Statistics.
a Including sectors not shown separately and those not stating sector.

insuOcient education and lack of experience, they work by
lower salaries in contrast to men and they are the potential
candidates of temporary works.
Women mostly work in low status and in general, they are
not employed in positions requiring responsibilities. In the
research carried out among male civil engineers, working
as a manager, this condition has been answered by them as
relating to their roles and duties in the family. It is said that
women are not reliable as men due to their responsibilities
at home. They base this assertion on two facts: 1. Women’s
1382 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387

Table 3 Table 5
Workers and unionisation by sex in Turkey, January 2001 (thousands) Number of undergraduate students in 2001–2002 academic year in Turkey

Women Men Total Female Male % Women

Number of workers 761 3776 4537 New admission 75 891 96 453 44

Number of unionised workers 385 2195 2580 Enrolment 330 576 452 247 42
Unionisation rate (% ) 51 58 57 Graduated 53 855 74 757 42

Source: State Institute of Statistics, January 2001. Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 2002.

Table 4
Number of workers and unionisation in Turkish CI, January 2000 (thou- Table 6
sands) Number of graduate students (M.S., Ph.D) in 2001–2002 academic year
in Turkey
Number of Number of Number of Unionisation
establishments workers unionised rate (%) Female Male % Women

CI 109 696 221 32 New admission 12 621 20 856 38

Enrolment 34 520 61 578 36
Source: State Institute of Statistics, January 2000. Graduated 4 523 7018 39

Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 2002.

discontinuity rates are higher than that of men. 2. Leave

from professions and career breaks possibilities are higher
than that of men. When women get married in Turkey, it is
frequently seen that they change their working locations by
appointment or leave from jobs if their husband resides in
another region. In contrast, it is rarely seen that men leave
professions and change locations after marriage. Manley et
al. said that because women tend to have “career breaks”
associated with child rearing this condition can be related to
their place in the labour market [16].
Furthermore, when asked to employers why women are
not employed at high-level position they answered as fol-
lows: “They have family responsibilities, they can leave af-
ter marriage so it is not worth to educate them”. In addition,
the same reason has been used to give lower salaries and to
deprive of positions requiring responsibilities.
4. Current status of women in education
There is a rapid population growth rate about 1.6%/year in
Turkey [17]. The literacy rates for both women and men have
been increasing each year. While the rate of literacy among
women is 80%, it is 95% among men [18]. Dogramaci [4]
stated that the gap between male and female literacy rates
has widened in the last 20 years because the rise in the
rates of male literacy is much faster than that of its female
counterpart.
Besides literacy and workforce employment rates, there
is also a rise in female participation rates in academic 4eld
(Table 5). Total female students’ rate was 34% in the period
1990–1991 and only 27% in the period 1980–1981. Male
students are still dominated in technical science institutions.
Female students are only 24% [19] in this 4eld. Compared
with the previous 20 years, there was almost no change in
the rate of female students in this area. In the period 1990–
1991 it was 23% and only 19% in 1980–1981 [19].
Table 7
Number of undergraduate students in civil engineering faculties in
1998–1999 academic year in Turkey
Female Male % Women
New admission 148 662 18
Enrolment 789 3821 17
Graduated 178 890 17
Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 1999.
Female students tend to be concentrated in language and
literature, 61%, health sciences, 62%, and art, 52% [19].
However, men tend to be concentrated in technical sciences,
76%, agriculture and forestry, 71%, and mathematics and
natural sciences, 58% [19].
The graduate students studying in Turkish universities
are given in Table 6. There had been little change in the
female rates during the last 10 years in these programmes.
In 1990–1991 total female students rate was 36% in master
programmes and 35% in doctorate programmes [20].
The lower participation rate of women in technical sci-
ence 4elds brings about a male domination in the workforce
in these areas. The lower employment of women in the CI
is strongly related to women participation in civil engineer-
ing departments in higher education (Table 7). In the UK,
female students in civil engineering departments were about
15% in 1990–1991 [21]. The rate of female undergradu-
ate students in engineering and technology sciences in the
UK was 15% in the period 2000–2001 and in architecture,
building and planning about 26% [22]. Similar rates could
be seen in graduate students in civil engineering faculties in
Turkey (Table 8).
Women take an active role in academic 4eld by par-
ticipating with high rates in universities as teaching staB
 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387 1383

Table 8 engineering faculties. Among all assistant professors 42%

Number of graduate students in civil engineering faculties in 1998–1999 of them were female, this rate declines to 23% in asso-
academic year in Turkey
ciated professors and to 8% in professors [24]. The de-
Female Male % Women cline in women participation as academic title increases
shows an existence of sex discrimination also in academic
Masters programs 201 1281 14
Ph.D. programs 79 392 17 life.
Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 1999.

5. Women’s current position in the CI

Table 9
Number of academic staB in Turkish universities in 2001–2002
Female Male
Prof. 2350 7179
Assoc. Prof. 1754 3822
Asst. Prof. 3368 8052
Instructor 3958 7018
Other 14 724 19 065
Total 26 154 45 136
Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 2002.
(Table 9). Dogramaci [4] said that this condition may be
explained in terms of prestige and “teaching is a woman’s
job”. When compared with the 20 years period, there has
been a regular increase in the number of female instructors.
In 1990–1991 among all instructors 31% of them were fe-
male and in 1980–1981 it was 26% [23]. But as seen in
Table 9, as the academic title increases the distribution of
women employment rates decreases.
The lower participation rates of women at high levels
of academic title leads to an under-representation of them
in academic boards of the universities. The distribution of
deans and associated-deans in engineering faculties, chair-
men and vice-chairmen in civil engineering departments
in state and private universities in Turkey is shown in
Table 10. Men are also highly dominated at president
positions in these universities.
The rate of female academic staB teaching in civil en-
gineering faculties in Turkey (Table 11) shows similarities
with female students rates in these departments. As in all
science institutions, as the academic title increases female
instructors’ participation rates decreases also in civil
Since 1990, there have been a number of studies detail-
ing the position of women within the CI. Wilkinson [25] has
% Women
carried out a survey among contractors, consultants and lo-
25 cal authorities to investigate attitudes to the employment of
31 women, child care and women’s career paths in the CI. In
29
the results, 20% of them thought that women are a distrac-
36
44 tion on site and that supervision was a man’s job. Pearson
37 [26] carried out a research considering the position taken
by the Construction Training Board (CITB), trade unions,
employers, school leavers, parents and teachers. She found
that there is no physical reason why women should not do
manual work in the CI. In addition, she stated that female
students 4nd the CI heavy and unfeminine, and do not 4nd
it attractive.
The opportunities for women in the CI seem to be in-
creasing. However, they are still extremely limited [27]. The
lower employment of women in Turkish CI could be clearly
understood from the female participation rates taken from
engineering societies in Turkey (Table 12).
Also the lower employment of women in the CI
could be seen in four public establishments of Turkey
(Table 13) where civil engineers were highly concentrated.
Although female civil engineers in Turkey prefer to work in
public establishments rather than private sector, they have
still been under-represented in the public sector relating to
the CI.
An investigation in 16 583 establishments, which are
all related to construction works in Turkey, is shown in
Table 14. As seen in Table 14, regular, temporary and
part-time employees are highly male dominated.
Women are under-represented in the CI. In addition, their
distribution throughout the industry is highly skewed [27].
The distribution within CI in Turkey is shown in Table 15.

Table 10
Distribution of administration by sex in Turkish universities, 2003

Faculty of engineering Civil engineering department

President Dean Vice Dean Chairman Vice Chairman

M F %F M F %F M F %F M F %F M F %F

State Unv. 50 3 6 50 3 6 99 7 7 46 2 4 85 7 8
Private Unv. 19 1 5 16 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 0

Source: Higher Education Council, 2003. M: Male F: Female.

1384 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387

Table 11 in public establishments. The aim was to analyse managers’

Number of academic staB in civil engineering faculties in 1998–1999 point of view towards women in CI.
academic year in Turkey
In the survey, age intervals were divided into 5 categories
Female Male % Women starting from the age 17 up to 55. From each category 10
women were selected and the survey was made face to face,
Academic staB 165 758 18
instead of sending a questionnaire, to obtain more accurate
Source: Student Selection and Placement Centre, 1999. response. The contents of the survey were related to the
status of women in construction. The survey asked how the
participants viewed their and other women’s career choices
Table 12 in construction, the reasons why women under-represented
Memberships of engineering societies in Turkey, 2002 are in the CI and whether they agree that the CI is male dom-
inated or not. They are asked the reasons why they chose
Organisations Female Male % Women
a career in construction, their point of view towards the CI
Chamber of Civil Engineers (CCE) 2539 54 951 5 and which criteria are important for them in their profes-
Chamber of Survey and Cadastre sions. Finally, the survey asked them how wishful they are
Engineers (CSCE) 790 6947 10 for the CI. They scored out of 100 for their wishes (Fig. 2).
Chamber of Mechanical Engineers (CME) 6626 48 593 12
Chamber of Architects (CA) 9571 19 454 33

Source: CCE, CSCE, CME, CA, 2002. 7. Results of the survey

According to the results obtained from the survey;

As seen in Table 15, women are principally engaged in
administration and oOce services.
More detailed analysis of the top category (presidents
and members of board) is carried out by a survey of which
data are derived from the biggest 95 Turkish construction
contracting companies which are all members of Contractors
Association of Turkey. Out of 95 presidents from the biggest
construction companies only one of which is female and she
is the member of the family owning the company. Out of 62
members of board from the 6 top construction companies
only two of which are female.
6. The survey among women civil engineers
A survey was conducted among female students study-
ing in civil engineering faculties in universities and women
working as a civil engineer in Public Establishments. The
aim of the survey was to 4nd out women’s thoughts about
the CI, its current characteristics and to examine the current
position of them in this industry. In addition, a research was
carried out among male civil engineers working as managers
women’s priorities in the profession are determined as job
satisfaction, working as permanent staB, high payment and
prestige of work position, respectively. However, women
in construction are not happy because of the conRicts and
barriers that are described in the following lines. The results
of the research carried out by Hopkins et al. [7] in USA, in
contrast to this survey, showed that women civil engineers
in USA were satis4ed to choose a career in construction.
This fact is due to the better work conditions in the CI of
USA in comparison to that of Turkey.
The survey showed that women are wishful to enter the
CI at the beginning of their education in civil engineering
faculties and while studying. However, after they entered
into this industry and met with diOculties caused by the
industry culture, they are no longer keen on working in this
industry (Fig. 2).
7.1. Barriers to women entering and working within
construction
Barriers to women entering and working within construc-
tion have been examined. Factors including responsibilities

Table 13
Numbers of engineers in Turkish Public Establishments, 2002

Female Male % Women

Engineer Civil Engineer Engineer Civil Engineer Engineer Civil Engineer

General Directorate of Highway 253 164 1515 841 14 16

State Water Works 604 215 3432 1271 15 14
General Directorate of Cities Bank 377 169 854 479 31 26
Ministry of Public Works and Settlement 311 107 1868 770 14 12

Sources: General Directorate of Highway, State Water Works, Cities Bank, Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, 2002.
 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387 1385

Table 14
Employment status of employees in Turkish CI

Number of establishments 16 583

Total Male Female % Women

Total employment 246 532 231 536 14 816 6

Regular employees 161 354 147 115 14 239 9
Temporary employees 84 827 84 252 575 0.7
Part-time employees 171 169 2 1

Source: SIS, Construction and Installation Establishments Statistics, 2001.

Table 15
Characteristic of employees in Turkish CI

Total Male Female % Women

In construction and installation employee Technical personnel-high level 11 960 10 301 1659 14
Technical personnel-medium level 11 070 9092 1978 17
Foreman, supervisor, skilled workers 16 850 16 850 0 0
Unskilled workers 137 585 137 585 0 0
Equipment operator 22 822 22 822 0 0
Others 7222 7146 76 1

In administration and other employee Administrative personnel 6986 5186 1800 25

OOce personnel 22 644 14 342 8302 36
Others 9200 8197 1003 10

General total 246 339 231 521 14 818 6

Source: SIS, Construction and Installation Establishments Statistics, 2001.

Desire of Women in CI Employees are forced to make sacri4ces from their fam-
120
100 ily life due to the properties of the CI. Evetts [28] found
Desire (%)

80 that due to the conRict between family and work commit-

60
ments, most women in construction feel that management
40
20 was an inappropriate career for them. Women working in
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
this industry are in such a condition that they should delay
Number of participants childbirth. Those who do have children either take positions
17-19 20-25 26-29 30-35 35-55 with lower responsibilities or leave the profession to gain
more time for raising the young.
Fig. 2. Desire of women in Cl. In the survey, it was found that, the diOculties (accom-
modation, transport, long working hours) in the CI and the
in family life, men’s attitudes towards women, lack of possibility of pregnancy were the main reasons for the lower
knowledge, male-dominated culture and environment and employment of women in this industry. Female civil en-
sex discrimination have been discussed. gineers said that instead of working in the private sector,
working in universities and public sectors would be more
appropriate to women who are married or have children.
7.2. Responsibilities in family life

Long working hours and working in vulnerable weather
conditions are the nature of the CI. Especially, towards the
end of a contract, hours of work tend to increase. For ev-
ery project, sites are established in the project area. Thus,
working locations show variableness for site-based employ-
ees. Moreover, workers are employed generally on project
basis. Permanent staBs are rarely available. So, workers can
face long periods of unemployment between contracts.
7.3. Men’s attitudes towards women
Cleaveland [29] stated that women are the target of more
subtle forms of sexual harassment in masculine occupations
such as the CI. Women surveyors stated that women in con-
struction had been singled out by their male colleagues and
clients for duties intended to “test” their capability to work
in a male-dominated 4eld [27].
1386 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387
Fielden et al. [27] said that the cost of poor performance
for women in construction could be much greater than that of
men. They said that gender stereotypes could be reinforced
by poor performance.
Since top positions are male dominated in this industry,
women could not get enough support in this subject. This
may cause to an obstacle for promotion in their professional
career.
7.4. Lack of knowledge
The industry has a poor public image. Baker et al. [30]
stated that teachers, parents, career advisors and school stu-
dents have, only a vague, super4cial knowledge of the in-
dustry. Career opportunities in this industry and what qual-
i4cations are required are not clearly informed.
Rodgers [31] has carried out an investigation among
A-level students, female undergraduate civil engineer-
ing students and female civil engineering graduates in
Northern Ireland. She found that both sexes have a good
basic knowledge of engineering. However, they do not
have the speci4c knowledge required for a civil engi-
neering career. She stated that the reason for lack of
speci4c knowledge was the inadequate career advice in
schools.
Lack of knowledge could well be a discouraging factor
for women entering into CI. Rodgers argued that women are
not encouraged to enter the CI due to lack of knowledge in
schools and because of the poor image of the industry held
by the public [31].
7.5. Male-dominated culture and environment
The CI has a male-dominated culture. Gale [32] uses the
following key words to describe the CI’s culture: crisis, con-
Rict and masculine. Consequently, women working in this
industry are faced up to several diOculties within this cul-
ture. Women consider themselves very much in a minor-
ity. Women surveyors reported that women in construction
identi4ed it diOcult to 4t in with male colleagues’ work and
social activities [27]. Greed [33] stated that most men do
not know how to treat women in construction and they were
frequently embarrassed.
In this survey, the participants agreed in that the CI has
a male-dominated nature. It was found that female students
mostly chose a career in construction because of their parents
or relatives who are related to the CI. Either the parents or
relatives are the owners of a construction company or the
members of a construction organisation.
Furthermore, male civil engineers working in public es-
tablishments as managers stated that women were not ap-
propriate for the CI. They said that women did not want to
work at construction sites, which are far away from their lo-
cations. Women do not want to stay overnight at sites and
do not work nightshifts and weekends.
Female civil engineers stated that they prefer to work in
technical oOce rather than construction sites. In this survey,
no female employees were found at Cities Bank sites and
State Water Works sites, which were both far away from
cities. Female civil engineers were all employed in estimat-
ing, purchase order, design and tendering departments. This
leads to externalise women from this industry.
7.6. Sex discrimination
Women are subjected to sex discrimination while entering
to male-dominated work 4elds such as the CI. Fielden et al.
[27] reported that women are deterred from applying for job
positions within the CI by informal recruitment procedures
and advertisements.
In Turkey, an example for this condition is the advertise-
ment given by the State Water Works [34]. In the advertise-
ment, it had been announced that 65 civil engineers would
be employed for the establishment. But they brought a con-
dition that only male civil engineers could apply for the
positions. The Directorate of State Water Works made the
explanation for this reason as follows: “The engineers will
work in dam constructions. CI are far away from cities and
towns and working conditions are diOcult. All contractor
4rms’ staBs are men. Only male civil engineers can over-
come with these diOculties. Women are unable to resist for
these works”. After reactions given by the public opinion
and civil society organisations it was arranged again [34] and
the right to women to apply for these positions were given.
Finally, the Prime Minister’s OOce gave a notice about this
subject. They have stated the Article 11 of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women [35]. The Article 11.1 says: “State Parties shall take
all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against
women in the 4eld of employment in order to ensure, on a
basis of equality of men and women, the same rights, in par-
ticular: Article11.1 (b) The right to the same employment
opportunities, including the application of the same criteria
for selection in matters of employment”. Although the ad-
vertisement was unlawful, it clearly showed the mentality
of the CI.
8. Conclusion
Women are still under-represented in the CI. They have
been employed mostly in technical oOces in this industry.
Barriers to women entering and working within construction
still keep their characteristics.
In this study, 4rst, the status of women in social life,
workforce and education have been presented. It was shown
that although women’s employment has an increase in the
labour market, they have still been concentrated in tradi-
tional female 4elds such as health and education. Women’s
participation in academic 4eld is steadily increasing but they
are still under-represented at high levels of academic staB
 G. Arslan, S. Kivrak / Building and Environment 39 (2004) 1379 – 1387
in universities. Then, the current status of women in CI has
been examined. Male domination of this industry has been
presented with the data provided by public establishments
and engineering societies. Women’s distribution within CI
has been revealed. It was found that women are highly con-
centrated in administration and oOce works.
Next, women’s thoughts about the CI have been deter-
mined by a survey carried out among female students, fe-
male civil engineers and male civil engineers working as
managers. The survey showed that women suBer from the
characteristics of the CI. Male managers stated that con-
struction is not an appropriate career for women. Finally,
barriers to women entering and working within the CI in-
cluding several factors have been discussed.
The CI culture still carries its characteristics of crisis,
conRict and masculinity. Whether this will continue in the
future is not clear but it will be diOcult to change. It seems
that unless no moves are made to change the image and the
culture of this industry and if barriers to women entering
will keep their properties, male domination will be continue
in this industry in the future.
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