Exploring Challenges Faced by Women in Their Professional Development in the Construction Industry: The Case of Chile

[EN] In the context of the construction industry in Chile, the presence of women has historically been limited-i.e., approximately 12% of participation. Despite efforts to increase female participation in recent years, various barriers persist that hinder their development in construction. To levera...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Araya, F., Olave, Camila, Olivari, Katherine, Olivari, Valeria, Salazar, Luis Arturo, Sierra-Varela, Leonardo Andres, Chanqueo-Cariqueo, Juan, Pellicer, Eugenio|||0000-0001-9100-0644
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)
Repositorio:RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riunet.upv.es:10251/226658
Acceso en línea:https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/226658
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Construction
Women
Professional development
Challenges
Qualitative analysis
Descripción
Sumario:[EN] In the context of the construction industry in Chile, the presence of women has historically been limited-i.e., approximately 12% of participation. Despite efforts to increase female participation in recent years, various barriers persist that hinder their development in construction. To leverage the existing challenges faced by women in the Chilean construction industry, interviews were conducted with industry professionals, and a qualitative analysis was performed to identify existing challenges in Chile and recommendations to deal with such challenges. We found that existing challenges can be classified into three professional development stages: entering the sector, retention, and advancement in women's professional careers. The results reveal that women working in the construction industry face biases and stereotypes that negatively impact their recognition and professional advancement. Furthermore, women were much more aware of challenges compared to men, for instance, entrenched machismo in the workplace, the social burden associated with motherhood, and their effects on women within this industry. Ultimately, this is a construction sector problem and not a problem with the women in the industry; thus, we all need to participate in the solution to this problem, men and women alike.