Navigating Gender Inclusion Dynamics: A Review of Women’s Representation and Workplace Experiences in the Built Environment Professions

Gender inclusion in built environment guides equitable participation in planning, design,
and implementation of project outcomes, prompting development organizations and donors to adopt
this framework in project delivery. This study presents a review of gender dynamics in built environment
professions, focusing on representation and workplace experiences. It synthesizes existing literature to
assess the representation of men and women across various disciplines in the built environment and
examines gender-specific workplace experiences, including barriers to entry and retention. The findings
reveal that women are underrepresented, constituting approximately 20% of the workforce due to socio
cultural barriers such as traditional gender roles and stereotypes that suggest technical roles are more
suitable for men who are likely to be inclined to STEM training. Furthermore, organisational culture often
makes it difficult for many women to balance their family responsibilities with their careers. Additionally,
the results indicate that women experience less favourable workplace conditions than their male
colleagues, with a prevailing macho culture leading to bias and discrimination that negatively impacts their
career advancement. Given the changing climate of workplace and training processes for professionals, we
recommend that stakeholders (in both training and practice) of the built environment should promote
gender inclusion. Gender-related concepts should be mainstreamed into our training, designing and
practices of the built environment especially in the African context where there is limited empirical
evidences.
Keywords: Career advancement, gender inequality, participation rates, organisational culture, Built
Environment.