Investigating the major causes of gender in-balance in the construction industry in Uganda.

Abstract

Increased female participation has been highlighted as necessary not only to fill a labour shortage in the construction industry but also to promote equality and efficiency. Despite initiative to recruit women, the construction industry remains one of the most gender- segregated industries in the world. The government of Uganda has taken an initiative to promote gender equality and empower women as one of the key objectives adopted from the millennium development goals. Through this goal, different ministries and organizations such as the Ministry of Gender and Labour, Gender Mainstreaming Directorate at Makerere University among others are advocating for gender equality through advocating for a gender desk in all Ministries and academic fields respectively. Despite strategies to increase promotion of gender equality and women empowerment in Uganda’s economy, a key objective in attaining the MDG’s, the number of female managers in the construction businesses is still low compared to their male counterparts. The major question is why is this so? The main purpose of this study therefore was to investigate the major causes of gender imbalance and measures to improve gender balance in the construction industry in Uganda. A number of structured interviews were conducted with workers and top managers of construction companies and sites with ongoing projects. This exercise enabled the researcher to explore the industry’s level of gender imbalance, identify the major causes of gender imbalance, establish measures to improve gender balance and suggest future recommendations for an implementation strategy.