{"id":73363,"date":"2020-03-17T08:55:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T08:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=73363"},"modified":"2020-03-17T08:55:00","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T08:55:00","slug":"lgbt-sexuality-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/hr-skills-news\/lgbt-sexuality-construction\/73363\/","title":{"rendered":"Gender a bigger barrier than sexuality in construction, report reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"

LGBT women say gender is a bigger barrier than sexuality when it comes to a career in construction, according to a new report by Loughborough University<\/h2>\n

Dr Sarah Barnard<\/a>, of the\u00a0School of Business and Economics<\/a>, and\u00a0Professor Andrew Dainty<\/a>, of the\u00a0School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering<\/a>, have published the findings of their interdisciplinary study and recommendations for improving diversity and inclusivity<\/a> in the construction industry.<\/p>\n

The pair, in collaboration with Dr Sian Lewis, of the University of Roehampton<\/a>\u00a0and Dr Andreas Culora, of RAND Europe, decided to combine their areas of expertise and explore the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) construction workers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An annual industry survey, conducted by New Civil Engineer, Architect\u2019s Journal and Construction News, revealed that homophobia is commonplace in construction and only a small minority of gay employees reported that they could be open about their sexuality.<\/p>\n

The Loughborough University study, funded by the Bowen Jenkins Legacy Research Fund of the\u00a0Chartered Institute of Building<\/a>, looks to strengthen the voices of LGBT people and promote positive change.<\/p>\n

To achieve this goal, the academics hosted workshops and conducted in-depth interviews with LGBT workers \u2013 who were predominantly based in offices, rather than site locations \u2013 asking them about their work experiences and career, LGBT identity and perceptions of industry practices.<\/p>\n

Study findings<\/h3>\n

Dr Barnard and Professor Dainty divided their findings and conclusions into three key areas.<\/p>\n

The arguably most surprising revelation is that LGBT cis-women \u2013 those who identify as women and were assigned female at birth \u2013 find gender to be a bigger obstacle than sexuality for their career.<\/p>\n

The academics found the term \u201cold boys club\u201d came up repeatedly in the interviews to describe gender-related issues within the industry and many flagged that construction is dominated by white heterosexual males, particularly at the very top of companies.<\/p>\n

The interviewees told Dr Barnard and Professor Dainty that the view \u201cwomen don\u2019t stick it out\u201d is commonplace and only the \u201ctough old boots\u201d stay \u2013 but even then, these women are seen as \u201caggressive, a pain, or b*tchy\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Loughborough University study also discovered LGBT women feel there is an assumption that as a woman working in the industry, you are either \u201coggled\u201d or you are \u201cgay, and taking part in the sexual objectification of women\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gender a greater issue than sexuality<\/h3>\n

Dr Barnard and Professor Dainty commented: \u201cThere was agreement expressed in the workshop around the idea that gender is a greater issue than sexuality in the workplace for lesbians and bisexual women.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was discussed how lesbian, bisexual or trans women face discrimination because they are women, whereas gay men face discrimination because of their sexuality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe intersections of gender and sexuality are influential \u2013 if you are female and gay, both mark you out as different, but you can\u2019t hide you\u2019re a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe assumption is that as a woman in construction you are either being sexually objectified or gay and join into the sexual objectification of women.<\/p>\n

\u201cReasons include societal norms regarding who does what kind of work and stereotypical perceptions of men and women regarding masculinity.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cSome women participants outlined how they had progressed within construction firms by entering in administrative roles and transitioning to technical roles. This pathway does represent a positive example of career progression for women within the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other two key conclusions of the LGBT in construction research include:<\/h3>\n

Site and office differences, exemplified by the drift from site to office<\/h4>\n