Causes for failure of women owned construction companies in kwazulu-natal, south africa.

Abstract

The South African government has instituted numerous programs to advance the role of women in the construction sector. While there has been an increase in the overall number of women-owned contractors suggesting a gender-positive environment in post-apartheid, there is also a high failure rate of women-owned contractors. In the current study the main contributory factors were analysed in order to establish the root causes that lead to business failure regarding the performance of women owned businesses in construction. The objectives of the study were to identify the roots and causes for failure of women owned construction companies and also the capability to manage finances; to examine the strategies adopted by women-owned construction companies to overcome some of the challenges that they encountered including the possibilities for training and mentorship; to confirm whether women were given the same possibilities and opportunities to compete with men; and to verify if policies were effective enough to empower women or whether there was need for more effective policy implementation. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of women-owned and men-owned contractors drawn from the KZN province. These contractors were extracted from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Register of Contractors. The questionnaire aimed to gain insight into the causes of failure of women owned construction businesses. Data was analysed using a statistics tool known as IBM (SPSS) Statistics version 25. The following were the key findings, namely: • • technical skills, support and networking opportunities, stock control, secure and appropriate storage facilities, proper tools and equipment were the most significant causes that influenced the failure of women owned construction business; • • Tendering, Project management, Target market and Sales and selling were also the most significant business strategy components that influenced the success of women owned construction business.

Based on the findings, the present study has recommended that women have to be afforded more opportunities to update their skills in financial management, business skills management and business marketing. This will empower and equip them with necessary tools to be able to tackle challenges that are current in the construction industry. Also in terms of policies, there are many of them protecting women in business, including the construction industry. However, it is important to review the policies that are not relevant and to implement those that very important in order to make them effective for the success of women in the construction industry more specifically the gender equality aspect.