Applying the social cognitive career theory to the influence of sociocultural factors on women’s career choices in construction.

Abstract

Despite its significant contribution regarding employment in South Africa, women remain severely underrepresented in the construction industry. Men have become the primary beneficiaries of these job opportunities and the determinants of the construction industry’s culture. The construction industry continues to be a highly male-dominated sector, with a significant overrepresentation of men. Consequently, women have been perceived to be inferior to men and therefore, occupy minor employment positions in the industry. Limited research has been undertaken regarding the meaning men, and women make of various career choice behaviours and activities. Consequently, very little is known about why women make certain career choices. This study examines the influence of sociocultural factors on women’s underrepresentation in construction and then develops a model to improve women’s career choices in the construction industry. The Socio-Cognitive Career Theory was applied to determine the factors that predict career choices in construction, in the South African context. The study further explores the possible differential validity of SCCT variables and person and contextual factors such as self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goal representations, social supports, interests, learning experiences, perceived barriers, gender stereotypes and access to opportunity structures for men and women, as well as among women from different socio- economic backgrounds. Therefore, a mixed-method approach, consisting of a Delphi and survey method, was adopted to model career choice in construction within the South African context.Results of this study were consistent with some of the propositions of the SCCT (1994), except the direct influence of learning experiences on career choices, which was not supported for the sample in this study. The findings revealed that career choice in the construction profession is a nine-factor model. The final model revealed that self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goal representations, social supports, interests, perceived discriminatory barriers, perceived barriers to career success and progression, gender stereotypes and access to opportunity structures are significant with career choice. Learning experiences was found to be insignificant. Therefore, the identified constructs have a significant direct influence on career choice and are predictors and determinants of career choice in the South African construction industry. Also, the goodness of fit and statistical significance of the parameter estimates met the cut-off criteria for the hypothesized model. A practical implication of the research is that results from the study suggest clear pathways to making a career choice in construction, for women who want to enter and remain in the construction work. This study is unique, as samples from diverse groups are usually not included in career choice and development research. Therefore, the study recommends that further cross-cultural studies should be conducted in thisarea of research.