1. INTRODUCTION
⌅In
modern democratic societies, since the second half of the XX century, a
due account has been taken of equal working opportunities (1(1)
Block, K., Croft, A., De Souza, L., & Schmader, T. (2019). Do
people care if men don’t care about caring? The asymmetry in support for
changing gender roles. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 83, 112-131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2019.03.013
), (2(2) Arroyo Barrio, L. (2017). Percepción
de los hombres ante la igualdad de género en el ámbito laboral:
relación entre la IGUALDAD legal y la igualdad efectiva. Universidad de Salamanca.
), (3(3) Communauté Économique Européenne. (1957). Traité instituant la Communauté Économique Européenne. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:11957E/TXT&from=EN
). Nowadays, the economy and the labor market are
considered as the second area where there is greater global inequality.
There are only 36% of the positions of power in private and public
sectors that are held by women. Furthermore, around 55% of women
throughout the world are in the labor market, whereas the percentage
related to men reaches 78% on a global level. This percentage disparity
shows inequality in access to the labor market (4(4) World Economic Forum. (2019). Global Gender Gap Report 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf
), (5(5) Pew Research Center. (2019). A Changing World: Global Views on Diversity, Gender Equality, Family Life and the Importance of Religion. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/04/pew-research-center_global-views-of-cultural-change_2019-04-22.pdf
). In the European Union-27 countries from 2020,
the employment rate presented by the EUROSTAT institute displays that
74% of men have a job, as opposed to 63% of women (6(6) EUROSTAT. (2021). Employment rates by sex, age and educational attainment level. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/lfsa_ergaed$DV_318/default/table?lang=en
). These figures show part of the existing gender inequalities in the labor sphere.
Therefore,
knowing the attitude towards gender equality becomes vital for the
success of policies leading to a reduction of inequality. Results
presented by Ipsos for the Spanish case reveal that Spanish men have a
more negative attitude (or an attitude of rejection) than women towards
gender equality. Furthermore, the attitude of Spanish men towards gender
equality analyzed by Ipsos is in coherence with the findings obtained
by the research conducted by Arroyo Barrio in 2017 (2(2) Arroyo Barrio, L. (2017). Percepción
de los hombres ante la igualdad de género en el ámbito laboral:
relación entre la IGUALDAD legal y la igualdad efectiva. Universidad de Salamanca.
), (7(7) Ipsos. (2019). International Women’s Day 2019. Global attitudes towards gender equality. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/giwl/assets/iwd-giwl-main.pdf
). These are the same results expected to be found
in the Engineering Building sector. This study contributes to raising
awareness about gender inequality in the Spanish labor area, more
specifically in the Building Engineering field. In Spain, research
conducted about the attitude towards gender equality in the Building
Engineering sector is scarce, and although Infante et al. established an
approach to be followed (8)-(11)(8)
Román Onsalo, M., Ríos Paniagua, A., & Traverso Cortés, J. (2013).
Gender barriers in the profesional development of building techniques
women. Revista de La Construcción, 12(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2013000100009
(9) Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E.
(2018). Expected career barriers in building engineering: does gender
matter? Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 24(1), 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2017018301
(10) Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor,
E. (2015). An early view of the barriers to entry and career development
in Building Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
(11) Infante, M., Román, M., & Traverso, J. (2012). The
Spanish construction sector under gender perspective. Analysis of
working conditions. Revista de La Construcción, 11(1), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2012000100004
, there is still much to investigate. Moreover, the dynamism of the current society (12(12) Bauman, Z. (2000). Liquid Modernity. Polity Press.
),
requires an updating of the social research data in view of the speed
of social changes. The main goal of this study is to know the attitude
of building engineers towards gender equality and to ascertain whether
or not their attitude and perception towards equality vary by sex. To
this end, a web questionnaire has been developed and was subsequently
responded by 1353 participants, the biggest sample obtained to date in
Spain. This made it possible to have the biggest and most accurate
vision about the opinion of building engineers in Spanish society to an
extent never achieved before. This way, it is intended to provide the
scientific and business community with an analysis of the attitude of
engineers towards gender equality. Results help to raise awareness about
the need to work more on the democratic values already mentioned and on
elaborating policies allowing a substantial improvement of the women’s
situation in the construction sector. In order to achieve these goals,
firstly, and through a review of scientific literature, the problem of
gender inequality in the work sphere and its importance as a democratic
principle is highlighted. Secondly, attention will be focused on gender
inequality in the construction sector. Thereupon, methodology,
discussion of results, and conclusions will be presented.
1.1. Gender equality in the construction sector
⌅The low rate of women employed in the construction sector in Spain is not a phenomenon exclusive to this country (13(13) Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (2020). Encuesta de Población Activa. https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=4885&L=0
), the construction industry is the most male-dominated sector in all countries of the world (14(14) French, E., & Strachan, G. (2015). Women at work! Evaluating equal employment policies and outcomes in construction. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, 34(3), 227-243. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-11-2013-0098
), (15(15) Gómez, A., Arrizabala, B. & Sánchez, B. (2010). The role of women in construction research. Materiales de Construcción,60, 143-150. https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.2010.56909
). Percentages regarding the labor market access
are similar in different countries. These figures have only slightly
changed in relation to the last years (16)-(18)(16)
Clarke, L., Pedersen, E. F., Michielsens, E., & Susman, B. (2005).
The european construction social partners: gender equality in theory and
practice. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 11(2), 151-177. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959680105053961
(17) Powell, A., & Sang, K. J. (2013). Equality, diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 31(8), 795-801. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.837263
(18) Bridges, D., Wulff, E., Bamberry, L., Krivokapic-Skoko, B.,
& Jenkins, S. (2020). Negotiating gender in the male-dominated
skilled trades: a systematic literature review. Construction Management and Economics, 38(10), 894-916. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2020.1762906
. According to the International Labor
Organization (ILO), in 2018, the percentage of women employed in the
construction sector reached 10% in the case of the United States; in
India, for that same year, the percentage was 8%, and Argentina did not
reach 4% (19(19) International Labour Organization. (2020). Employment by sex, economic activity and marital status - Annual. https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer7/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=EMP_TEMP_SEX_ECO_MTS_NB_A
).
Women’s unequal access to the labor
market in the construction sector is increasingly under study in
scientific literature in different countries (8(8)
Román Onsalo, M., Ríos Paniagua, A., & Traverso Cortés, J. (2013).
Gender barriers in the profesional development of building techniques
women. Revista de La Construcción, 12(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2013000100009
), (10(10)
Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E. (2015). An
early view of the barriers to entry and career development in Building
Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
), (11(11)
Infante, M., Román, M., & Traverso, J. (2012). The Spanish
construction sector under gender perspective. Analysis of working
conditions. Revista de La Construcción, 11(1), 32-43. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2012000100004
), (17(17) Powell, A., & Sang, K. J. (2013). Equality, diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 31(8), 795-801. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.837263
), (20-30(20)
Sang, K. J. C., Dainty, A. R. J., & Ison, S. G. (2014). Gender in
the UK architectural profession: (re) producing and challenging
hegemonic masculinity. Work, Employment and Society, 28(2), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013491306
(21) Watts, J. (2007). Porn, pride and pessimism: experiences of women working in professional construction roles. Work, Employment and Society, 21(2), 299-316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017007076641
(22) Powell, A., Bagilhole, B. M., & Dainty, A. (2009). How
Women Engineers Do and Undo Gender: Consequences for Gender Equality. Gender, Work & Organization, 16(4), 411-428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2008.00406.x
(23) Briscoe, G. (2005). Women and minority groups in UK construction: recent trends. Construction Management and Economics, 23(10), 1001-1005. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190500204739
(24) Wright, T. (2013). Uncovering sexuality and gender: an
intersectional examination of women’s experience in UK construction. Construction Management and Economics, 31(8), 832-844. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2013.794297
(25) Wright, T., & Conley, H. (2020). Advancing gender
equality in the construction sector through public procurement: Making
effective use of responsive regulation. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 41(4), 975-996. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X17745979
(26) Çinar, S. (2020). Construction labour, subcontracting and masculinity: “construction is a man’s job.” Construction Management and Economics, 38(3), 275-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2019.1690155
(27) Bryce, T., Far, H., & Gardner, A. (2019). Barriers to
career advancement for female engineers in Australia’s civil
construction industry and recommended solutions. Australian Journal of Civil Engineering, 17(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/14488353.2019.1578055
(28) Román-Onsalo, M., Navarro--Astor, E. & Infante Perea,
M. (2015). Barreras de carrera en la industria de la construcción. V Congreso Universitario Internacional “Investigación y Género”. ISBN: 9788494312038. 305-323. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/43132/Pages%20from%20Investigacion_Genero_14-1-2-1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
(29) Recalde-Esnoz, I., Ferrández, D., Morón, C., & Dorado,
G. (2021). Inequalities in the Exercise and Continuity in Building
Engineering in Spain. Factor Analysis Including Gender Perspective. Sustainability, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105514
(30) Afolabi, A., Oyeyipo, O., Ojelabi, R., & Patience, T.
O. (2019). Balancing the Female Identity in the Construction Industry. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 24(2), 83-104. https://doi.org/10.21315/jcdc2019.24.2.4
). These investigations share the vision of the
construction sector as one of the labor markets being more associated
with gender stereotypes. The construction sector is believed to be a
rough and dirty sector, an inappropriate place for femininity (10(10)
Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E. (2015). An
early view of the barriers to entry and career development in Building
Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
), (18(18)
Bridges, D., Wulff, E., Bamberry, L., Krivokapic-Skoko, B., &
Jenkins, S. (2020). Negotiating gender in the male-dominated skilled
trades: a systematic literature review. Construction Management and Economics, 38(10), 894-916. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2020.1762906
), (31)-(33)(31)
Naoum, S. G., Harris, J., Rizzutp, J., & Egbu, C. (2020). Gender in
the construction industry: literature review and comparative survey of
men’s and women’s perceptions in UK construction consultancies. Journal of Management in Engineering, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000731
(32) Reinking, A., & Martin, B. (2018). The Gender Gap in
STEM Fields: Theories, Movements and Ideas to Engage Girls in STEM. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 7(2), 148-153. https://doi.org/10.7821/naer.2018.7.27
(33) Saewyc, E. (2017). A global perspective on gender roles and identity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.07.010
. In a highly male-dominated working environment,
women are often left out. This hinders their entrance and participation
in the building labor market (10(10)
Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E. (2015). An
early view of the barriers to entry and career development in Building
Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
), (20(20)
Sang, K. J. C., Dainty, A. R. J., & Ison, S. G. (2014). Gender in
the UK architectural profession: (re) producing and challenging
hegemonic masculinity. Work, Employment and Society, 28(2), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013491306
), (21(21) Watts, J. (2007). Porn, pride and pessimism: experiences of women working in professional construction roles. Work, Employment and Society, 21(2), 299-316. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017007076641
), (34)-(36)(34) Watts, J. (2009). Leaders of men: Women “managing” in construction. Work, Employment and Society, 23(3), 512-530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017009337074
(35) Ness, K. (2012). Constructing Masculinity in the Building
Trades: ‘Most Jobs in the Construction Industry Can Be Done by Women.’ Gender, Work & Organization, 19(6), 654-676. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0432.2010.00551.x
(36) Enshassi, A., Ihsen, S., & Al Hallaq, K. (2008). Female
Engineers’ Happiness and productivity in Organizations with
paternalistic culture. Journal of Engineering Education, 33(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701745944
. The limited opportunities to enter the world of
work entail low labor market participation. As a consequence, there is a
lack of work experience, and less accumulated experience implies
difficulties in finding a job (37(37) UN Women. (2020). Are you ready for change? Gender equality attitudes study 2019. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Research-paper-Are-you-ready-for-change-Gender-equality-attitudes-study-2019-en.pdf
). Therefore, promoting women’s access to the construction sector is a critical issue.
Apart
from the obstacles faced by women that hamper their entrance to the
construction industry, there are other barriers met by female employees
in this field throughout their professional careers (36(36)
Enshassi, A., Ihsen, S., & Al Hallaq, K. (2008). Female Engineers’
Happiness and productivity in Organizations with paternalistic culture. Journal of Engineering Education, 33(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701745944
), (38(38)
English, J., & Le Jeune, K. (2012). Do professional women and
tradeswomen in the South African construction industry share common
employment barriers despite progressive government legislation? Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice2, 138(2), 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000095
). These barriers hinder the exercise of their
work, the fact of obtaining positions of power, and finally, their
continuity in the sector (8(8)
Román Onsalo, M., Ríos Paniagua, A., & Traverso Cortés, J. (2013).
Gender barriers in the profesional development of building techniques
women. Revista de La Construcción, 12(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2013000100009
), (28(28)
Román-Onsalo, M., Navarro--Astor, E. & Infante Perea, M. (2015).
Barreras de carrera en la industria de la construcción. V Congreso Universitario Internacional “Investigación y Género”. ISBN: 9788494312038. 305-323. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/43132/Pages%20from%20Investigacion_Genero_14-1-2-1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
), (29(29)
Recalde-Esnoz, I., Ferrández, D., Morón, C., & Dorado, G. (2021).
Inequalities in the Exercise and Continuity in Building Engineering in
Spain. Factor Analysis Including Gender Perspective. Sustainability, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105514
). Among the most studied barriers, we could
mention the incompatibility of the particular features of the sector
(such as the lack of flexible working hours), the nomadic nature of site
works, presenteeism, or long working hours together with domestic, and
family responsibilities (8(8)
Román Onsalo, M., Ríos Paniagua, A., & Traverso Cortés, J. (2013).
Gender barriers in the profesional development of building techniques
women. Revista de La Construcción, 12(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2013000100009
), (10(10)
Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E. (2015). An
early view of the barriers to entry and career development in Building
Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
), (20(20)
Sang, K. J. C., Dainty, A. R. J., & Ison, S. G. (2014). Gender in
the UK architectural profession: (re) producing and challenging
hegemonic masculinity. Work, Employment and Society, 28(2), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013491306
), (28(28)
Román-Onsalo, M., Navarro--Astor, E. & Infante Perea, M. (2015).
Barreras de carrera en la industria de la construcción. V Congreso Universitario Internacional “Investigación y Género”. ISBN: 9788494312038. 305-323. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/43132/Pages%20from%20Investigacion_Genero_14-1-2-1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
), (36(36)
Enshassi, A., Ihsen, S., & Al Hallaq, K. (2008). Female Engineers’
Happiness and productivity in Organizations with paternalistic culture. Journal of Engineering Education, 33(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701745944
). Another reported obstacle is the discrimination
suffered by women in the recruitment or promotion procedures in the
construction sector. On the one hand, it is due to the existence of
stereotypes, as still today, men are expected to be better in project
management than women. On the other hand, there are informal male
exclusive contact networks, where contracts and promotions are
negotiated, among other issues. This is known as a homosocial behavior
phenomenon (8(8)
Román Onsalo, M., Ríos Paniagua, A., & Traverso Cortés, J. (2013).
Gender barriers in the profesional development of building techniques
women. Revista de La Construcción, 12(1), 87-99. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-915X2013000100009
), (10(10)
Infante-Perea, M., Román-Onsalo, M., & Navarro-Astor, E. (2015). An
early view of the barriers to entry and career development in Building
Engineering. DYNA, 82(194), 247-253. https://doi.org/10.15446/dyna.v82n194.49985
), (18(18)
Bridges, D., Wulff, E., Bamberry, L., Krivokapic-Skoko, B., &
Jenkins, S. (2020). Negotiating gender in the male-dominated skilled
trades: a systematic literature review. Construction Management and Economics, 38(10), 894-916. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2020.1762906
), (20(20)
Sang, K. J. C., Dainty, A. R. J., & Ison, S. G. (2014). Gender in
the UK architectural profession: (re) producing and challenging
hegemonic masculinity. Work, Employment and Society, 28(2), 247-264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017013491306
), (28(28)
Román-Onsalo, M., Navarro--Astor, E. & Infante Perea, M. (2015).
Barreras de carrera en la industria de la construcción. V Congreso Universitario Internacional “Investigación y Género”. ISBN: 9788494312038. 305-323. https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/43132/Pages%20from%20Investigacion_Genero_14-1-2-1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
), (34(34) Watts, J. (2009). Leaders of men: Women “managing” in construction. Work, Employment and Society, 23(3), 512-530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017009337074
), (36)-(42)(36)
Enshassi, A., Ihsen, S., & Al Hallaq, K. (2008). Female Engineers’
Happiness and productivity in Organizations with paternalistic culture. Journal of Engineering Education, 33(1), 13-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/03043790701745944
(37) UN Women. (2020). Are you ready for change? Gender equality attitudes study 2019. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2020/Research-paper-Are-you-ready-for-change-Gender-equality-attitudes-study-2019-en.pdf
(38) English, J., & Le Jeune, K. (2012). Do professional
women and tradeswomen in the South African construction industry share
common employment barriers despite progressive government legislation? Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice2, 138(2), 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000095
(39) Dainty, A., & Lingard, H. (2006). Indirect
discrimination in construction organisations and the impact on women’s
careers. Journal of Management in Engineering, 22(3), 129-134. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2006)22:3(108)
(40) Hunte, R. (2016). Black women and race and gender tensions in the trades. Pace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 28, 436-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402659.2016.1237087
(41) Solís, R., González, J. A., & Pacheco, J. (2006).
Estudio de egresados de Ingeniería Civil en una Universidad de México. Revista Ingeniería e Investigación, 26(3), 129-134. http://www.scielo.org.co/pdf/iei/v26n3/v26n3a15.pdf
(42) Byrne, J., Clarke, L., & Meer, M. V. D. (2005). Gender
and ethnic minority exclusion from skilled occupations in construction: a
western European comparison. Construction Management and Economics, 23(10), 1025-1034. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190500310759
.
In the light of the foregoing, and for
the commitment with gender equality and achievement of the Sustainable
Development Goals (43(43) General Assembly of the United Nations. (2015). Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826190123.ap02
), the Spanish General Council of Technical
Arquitecture (CGATE, in Spanish) has conducted a survey among
professionals working in the sector. The survey covered the situation of
women in the construction industry (44(44)
Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2019). Encuesta
sobre igualdad de género. Todavía existen diferencias. CERCHA, 139, 40-42. https://www.cgate.es/cercha/pdf/139.pdf
), (45(45) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018a). Distribución número de colegiados por sexo - Anual.
)
and the goal of this project is to analyze the findings revealed in
that survey. Thus, we could know the attitude of Spanish building
engineers towards gender equality, and determine if their attitude and
perception towards equality differs according to the gender of
professionals in this sector. This way, we could draw conclusions
supported by a bivariate analysis that will enable us to know the real
situation on equality faced by building engineers in Spain in the
exercise of their profession.
2. METHOD
⌅2.1. Procedure and sample characterization
⌅Participants
of this study are a representative sample of the professionals
belonging to associations of Official Colleges of Building Engineers in
Spain in 2018. At that time, there was a total of 49821 members, 79.2%
were men (39302 professionals), and 20.8% female (10341 professionals) (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
). Among the 1353 interviews that were conducted, 659 respondents were male (48.7%), and 694 were female (51.3%), see Table 1. Assuming simple random sampling, and in the most unfavorable hypothesis being p=q=0.5,
the sampling error for the total sampling is ±2.7%. For men, the
sampling error is ±3.9, and for women it is ±3.8%. The questionnaire was
administered by Computer Assisted Web Interviews (CAWI), using Google Forms.
The fieldwork was done between September and December 2018, and the
Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture was in charge of this
task. Once the data are collected, the Spanish General Council of
Technical Arquitecture gave the right of dataset exploitation to the
current research team for analysis.
To ensure the ethics of
scientific research, the design of the questionnaire and its
implementation was supervised by the Data Protection Officer of the
Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. The link to the
online survey was provided through a banner in the same webpage of the
Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. In order to gain
access to the questions, participants had to previously read a document
where the goals and objectives of the study were presented. There were
also issues such as the approximate duration of the questionnaire and
the willingness and anonymity guaranteed by the Data Protection Law
existing in Spain (47(47) Ley Orgánica 3/2018, de 5 de diciembre, de Protección de Datos Personales y garantía de los derechos digitales., (2018).
).
The questionnaire was designed by the Spanish General Council of Technical Arquitecture. It is composed of 39 close questions, being four of them sociodemographic questions which will allow us to characterize the sample (see Table 1). The rest of questions measure the opinion of workers towards different issues related to gender equality, reconciliation of family life, equal pay or equal treatment in the Building Engineering sector.
TOTAL | Total Sample | Men | Women | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N | % | N | % | N | % | |
1353 | 659 | 694 | ||||
Age | ||||||
< 30 years | 130 | 9.6 | 39 | 5.9 | 91 | 13.1 |
30-40 years | 413 | 30.5 | 180 | 27.3 | 233 | 33.6 |
41-50 years | 523 | 38.7 | 223 | 33.8 | 300 | 43.2 |
51-60 years | 201 | 14.9 | 139 | 21.1 | 62 | 8.9 |
>60 years | 86 | 6.4 | 78 | 11.8 | 8 | 1.2 |
Exercise of the profession | ||||||
Salaried employee | 382 | 28.2 | 143 | 21.7 | 239 | 34.4 |
Official or similar | 166 | 12.3 | 73 | 11.1 | 93 | 13.4 |
Self-employed | 805 | 59.5 | 443 | 55.0 | 362 | 45.0 |
Monthly income | ||||||
< 500 € | 70 | 5.2 | 30 | 4.6 | 40 | 5.8 |
500-1000 € | 209 | 15.4 | 82 | 12.5 | 127 | 18.3 |
1001-1500 € | 397 | 29.3 | 173 | 26.3 | 224 | 32.3 |
1501-2000 € | 345 | 25.5 | 165 | 25.1 | 180 | 26.0 |
2001-3000 € | 248 | 18.3 | 145 | 22.0 | 103 | 14.9 |
> 3000 € | 82 | 6.1 | 63 | 9.6 | 19 | 2.7 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
The bulk of the sample (more than 60%) was aged between 30 and 50 years old, 9.6% being under 30 years of age, and 6.4% over 60 years of age. As regards how the profession is done, 59.5% carry on their profession on a self-employed basis, followed by 28.9% who work as an employee for others. As far as monthly revenues are concerned, more than 50% of the sample earn between 1000 and 2000 €, although it should be noted that, over a quarter of the sample (20.6%) are paid less than 1000 € per month. When disaggregating data according to gender and age, for ages above 51, there is a greater presence of men (32.9%) than women (10.1%). Furthermore, there are more women than men working as an employee for others, or in the public sector. In relation to the income, the results indicate a higher presence of women in the lowest areas. 18.3% of women earn between 500 and 1000 €, as opposed to 12.5% of men who are in the same salary level. On the contrary, those receiving a larger salary are mainly men.
2.2. Data analysis
⌅The questions raised in the analysis are linked to the respondents’ perception of gender equality. Firstly, they were asked about their perception towards gender equality in general terms; secondly, about equality in the personal working environment, and thirdly, about a future readiness to promote equality in the sector (Table 2).
Perception towards gender equality in the field |
Who encounters more difficulties in entering the profession? Who would a client or developer choose when hiring a technical service? Having the same experience and training, who has more chances to be hired by a company in the field? Having the same experience and training, are women equitably remunerated compared to men? |
Perception towards gender equality in the field in the personal working environment |
Your colleagues with technical training are mainly male |
In your working environment, men’s and women’s opinions are equally valued |
Future readiness to promote equality |
You
believe in the possibility to take actions that improve the
reconciliation of family life and the work in the non-regulated
profession Actions should be taken by the professional organization in order to study the real situation of women in the construction sector |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
In
order to know the respondents’ answers and the sociodemographic
characteristics associated to the answers, a bivariate analysis has been
conducted using the Chi-square test. Furthermore, the strength
association is determined with Cramer’s V or φ (Phi), according to nxm or 2x2 contingency tables (48(48) Pardo, A., Ruiz, M. A., & San Martín, R. (2015). Análisis de datos en ciencias sociales y de la salud I. Editorial Síntesis.
).
Both statistics (Cramer’s V and φ) indicate the strength of association
with a value between 0 and 1; the closer it is to 1, the greater the
strength of association of the variables analysed. When dealing with
variables of a social nature, a high strength of association is
considered from values at 0.3 (48(48) Pardo, A., Ruiz, M. A., & San Martín, R. (2015). Análisis de datos en ciencias sociales y de la salud I. Editorial Síntesis.
).
Apart from that, we thoroughly studied the categories where a greater
association between the sociodemographic and the content variables is
displayed; that is, going beyond the variable analysis to go into much
more detail with the study of the corrected typified wastes (48(48) Pardo, A., Ruiz, M. A., & San Martín, R. (2015). Análisis de datos en ciencias sociales y de la salud I. Editorial Síntesis.
).
In the contingency tables rendered in the next section, it will be
indicated with arrows, those cells whose corrected typified wastes (the
typified difference between the observed and expected frequency) are
higher than 1.96. This means that the association between categories has
a reliability level higher than 95.5%. The following is the notational
system used to represent this: up arrows (↑) representing a positive
association, that is, when there are more cases than expected in a
random distribution; and down arrows (↓) when there are fewer cases than
expected in a random distribution, and therefore, that entails a
negative association.
3. RESULTS
⌅The results hereunder will be presented following the order exposed in Table 2. Firstly, we analyze the content variables related to the perception of equality in the building engineering field. Secondly, the results of the analysis of those variables linked to the perception of equality in the respondent’s immediate working environment are revealed. Finally, the content variables implying a willingness to introduce new measures to achieve increased equality in the field will be examined.
3.1. Equality in the field
⌅One of the first questions addressed to the sample was the perception of the gender who encounters more difficulties in entering the building engineering profession, men, women, or both genders equally. As is evident from Table 3, 59.1% of the sample (800 cases) believes that it is more difficult for women to enter the profession. 40.1% (542 cases) considers both genders, men, and women equally, and 0.8% (11 cases) admits that men will be affected the most when entering the profession.
Men | Women | Both | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 11 | 0.8 | 800 | 59.1 | 542 | 40.1 |
Sex (V: 0.330) | ||||||
Men | 7 | 1.1 | 280 | ↓42.5 | 372 | ↑56.6 |
Women | 4 | 0.6 | 520 | ↑74.9 | 170 | ↓24.5 |
Age (V: 0.108) | ||||||
< 30 years | 0 | 0.0 | 96 | ↑73.8 | 34 | ↓26.2 |
30-40 years | 5 | 1.2 | 260 | 63.0 | 148 | ↓35.8 |
41-50 years | 4 | 0.8 | 306 | 58.5 | 213 | 40.7 |
51-60 years | 1 | 0.5 | 100 | ↓49.8 | 100 | ↑49.8 |
> 60 years | 1 | 1.2 | 38 | ↓44.2 | 47 | ↑54.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.108) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 2 | 0.5 | 266 | ↑69.6 | 114 | ↓29.8 |
Official or similar | 1 | 0.6 | 107 | 64.5 | 58 | 34.9 |
Self-employed | 8 | 1.0 | 427 | ↓53.0 | 370 | ↑46.0 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
In judging these results according to those sociodemographic characteristics presenting a statistical association, the gender of the respondent shows a stronger association (one of the highest in the study, Cramer’s V = 0.330). In fact, there are wide percentage differences in the replies given by men and women. Women consider, to a greater extent, that women encounter more difficulties in entering the profession. 74.9% of women certainly think that, as opposed to 42.5% of men who hold the same vision. There are large statistically meaningful percentage differences in regards to the opinion of both genders as having problems when entering the profession. 56.6% of men take this view, as opposed to 24.5% of women. Accordingly, whereas most women claim that women are the worst affected gender when entering the profession, the vast majority of men do not see any differences. Men believe that both genders are likewise affected.
Another statistically significant association of this content variable with the variable ‘age’ (Cramer’s V = 0.108) and the variable ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.108) is also present. When analyzing the corrected typified wastes, younger age groups (below the age of 30) consider to a greater extent that the gender who encounters more difficulties when entering the profession is the female gender. They account for 73.8% (96 cases). The older respondents (those that are 51-60 and above) believe, to a greater extent, that no differences between genders are found when entering the profession.
Finally, with regards to the ‘exercise of the profession’, the most critical individuals with the situation of women are the salaried employees (69.6%, 266 cases). However, the self-employed individuals consider, to a lesser degree, that no differences are seen regarding gender when entering the profession (46.0%, 370 cases).
In the survey, another question addressed to the respondents made them reflect on the gender that a client or developer would choose when hiring a technical service. In Table 4, we can observe how 54.7% (740 cases) of the sample considers that the client or developer would hire equally, and regardless of gender. 43.6% (590) indicates that the client or developer would hire a man. Finally, 1.6% (22 cases) declares that the client or developer would prefer a woman for this technical service.
Men | Women | Either | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 590 | 43.6 | 22 | 1.6 | 740 | 54.7 |
Sex (V: 0.285) | ||||||
Men | 192 | ↓29.1 | 13 | 2.0 | 454 | ↑68.9 |
Women | 398 | ↑57.4 | 9 | 1.3 | 286 | ↓41.3 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.094) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 195 | ↑51.0 | 9 | 2.4 | 178 | ↓46.6 |
Official or similar | 84 | ↑50.9 | 3 | 1.8 | 78 | ↓47.3 |
Self-employed | 311 | ↓38.6 | 10 | 1.2 | 484 | ↑60.1 |
Monthly income (V: 0.098) | ||||||
< 500 € | 35 | 50.0 | 2 | 2.9 | 33 | 47.1 |
500-1000 € | 104 | 49.8 | 5 | 2.4 | 100 | ↓47.8 |
1001-1500 € | 189 | 47.6 | 4 | 1.0 | 204 | 51.4 |
1501 -2000 € | 139 | 40.3 | 4 | 1.2 | 202 | 58.6 |
2001-3000 € | 103 | 41.5 | 4 | 1.6 | 141 | 56.9 |
> 3000 € | 20 | ↓24.4 | 3 | 3.7 | 59 | ↑72.0 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
Once more, the variable ‘sex’ of the respondent discloses a high statistical association (Cramer’s V = 0.285). If attention is paid to the corrected typified wastes, men believe, to a great extent (68.9% - 454 cases), that the developer or client would hire either gender. Nonetheless, women who have participated in the survey think differently. Most women (57.4%, 398 cases) admit that the developer or client would rather hire a man for the technical service.
Although the strength of association is not that high, the variables ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V =0.094) and ‘monthly income’ (Cramer’s V = 0.098) also present a significant statistical association with this question. Regarding the ‘exercise of the profession’, salaried employees (51.0%, 195 cases), followed by officials or similar (50.9%, 84 cases) perceive a higher inequality. They consider that men would be the preferred choice of the developer or client. Meanwhile, self-employed individuals (60.1% of this specific group, 484 cases) consider to a great extent, that the client or developer will not take into account the technician’s sex. Finally, those having the highest salary (more than 3000 € per month) believe to a much greater extent that the developer or client would hire a person for the technical service, without regard to the gender (72.0%, 59 cases).
In another question of the survey, respondents were asked about the ease to be hired in a company of the sector. On this occasion, as displayed in Table 5, 61.9% of the sample (837 cases) claims that it is easier for men to be hired. 35.4% (479 cases) does not find any differences in relation to gender when being hired by a company. 2.7% (36 cases) consider that it is easier for women to be hired.
Men | Women | Either | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 837 | 61.9 | 36 | 2.7 | 479 | 35.4 |
Sex (V: 0.370) | ||||||
Men | 288 | ↓43.7 | 32 | ↑4.9 | 339 | ↑51.4 |
Women | 549 | ↑79.2 | 4 | ↓0.6 | 140 | ↓20.2 |
Age (V: 0.117) | ||||||
< 30 years | 89 | 69.0 | 3 | 2.3 | 37 | 28.7 |
30-40 years | 267 | 64.6 | 8 | 1.9 | 138 | 33.4 |
41-50 years | 334 | 63.9 | 10 | 1.9 | 179 | 34.2 |
51-60 years | 105 | ↓52.2 | 6 | 3.0 | 90 | ↑44.8 |
> 60 years | 42 | ↓48.8 | 9 | ↑10.5 | 35 | 40.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.086) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 263 | ↑68.8 | 10 | 2.6 | 109 | ↓28.5 |
Official or similar | 113 | 68.5 | 1 | 0.6 | 51 | 30.9 |
Self-employed | 461 | ↓57.3 | 25 | 3.1 | 319 | ↑39.6 |
Monthly income (V: 0.100) | ||||||
<500 € | 44 | 62.9 | 4 | 5.7 | 22 | 31.4 |
500-1000 € | 137 | 65.6 | 8 | 3.8 | 64 | 30.6 |
1001-1500 € | 252 | 63.5 | 11 | 2.8 | 134 | 33.8 |
1501 -2000 € | 218 | 63.2 | 6 | 1.7 | 121 | 35.1 |
2001-3000 € | 154 | 62.1 | 4 | 1.6 | 90 | 36.3 |
>3000 € | 32 | ↓39.0 | 3 | 3.7 | 47 | ↑57.3 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
As displayed in Table 5, other sociodemographic variables that are statistically associated with this question are ‘age’ (Cramer’s V= 0.117), ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V= 0.086), and ‘monthly income’ (Cramer’s V= 0.100). With respect to the variable ‘age’, the corrected typified wastes reveal that the percentage differences in the older groups present a statistical association. The respondents pertaining to the age groups 51-60 (52.2%, 105 cases) and above 60 (48.8%, 42 cases) consider to a lesser extent that it is easier for men. Respondents in the age group 51-60 consider to a great extent that there are no gender-based differences when being selected by a company, as this process is not linked to gender (44.8% of this group, 90 cases).
The variable ‘exercise of the profession’ preserves the dynamics of the questions discussed above. The salaried employees are the most critical respondents by reporting to a great extent that it is easier for men (68.8%, 263 cases). Nevertheless, the self-employed group claims that the staff selection does not depend on gender (39.6%, 319 cases), as the corrected typified wastes study show. Finally, regarding the ‘monthly income’, those receiving higher salaries (more than 3000 €) consider to a great extent (57.3%, 47 cases) that the staff selection does not depend on gender. This makes it to be statistically significant.
In order to finalize the analysis of questions related to the perception of equality in the Technical Architecture sector, the opinion concerning equal pay for men and women has been analyzed in Table 6. 54.4% of the sample set (735 cases) believes that there is still a wide pay gap between men and women, whereas 45.6% of the sample declares that there are no disparities (616 cases).
As displayed in Table 6, the Chi-square test study brings back statistical significance in all the sociodemographic variables outlined in the study. In the variable ‘sex’, the strength of this association is the highest association throughout the inquiry (φ = 0.369). The study of the corrected typified wastes in this variable reveals that men consider to a great extent that wages are equal (64.4%, 424 cases), whereas a vast majority of women admitted not to be remunerated in the same fair manner as their male colleagues (72.3%, 501 cases).
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 616 | 45.6 | 735 | 54.4% |
Sex (φ: 0.369) | ||||
Men | 424 | ↑64.4 | 234 | ↓35.6% |
Women | 192 | ↓27.7 | 501 | ↑72.3% |
Age (V: 0.158) | ||||
< 30 years | 54 | 41.9 | 75 | 58.1 |
30-40 years | 163 | ↓39.6 | 249 | ↑60.4 |
41-50 years | 227 | 43.4 | 296 | 56.6 |
51-60 years | 115 | ↑57.2 | 86 | ↓42.8 |
> 60 years | 57 | ↑66.3 | 29 | ↓33.7 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.166) | ||||
Salaried employee | 124 | ↓32.5 | 257 | ↑67.5 |
Official or similar | 78 | 47.3 | 87 | 52.7 |
Self-employed | 414 | ↑51.4 | 391 | ↓48.6 |
Monthly income (V: 0.106) | ||||
<500 € | 31 | 44.3 | 39 | 55.7 |
500-1000 € | 89 | 42.6 | 120 | 57.4 |
1001-1500 € | 160 | ↓40.3 | 237 | ↑59.7 |
1501 -2000 € | 162 | 47.0 | 183 | 53.0 |
2001-3000 € | 124 | 50.0 | 124 | 50.0 |
>3000 € | 50 | ↑61.0 | 32 | ↓39.0 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
In regards to the variable ‘age’ (Cramer’s V = 0.158), the same dynamic can be seen. Older age groups perceive less inequality, whereas the youngest groups are the most critical. This time, respondents between 30 and 40 years old believe to a great extent that there is a discrepancy between the wages levels paid between male and female workers, to the detriment of women (60.4%, 249 cases). People in the 51-60 age group (57.2%, 115 cases) together with the group above 60 (66.3%, 57 cases) claim that wages are indeed equal. Regarding the variable ‘exercise of the profession’, the salaried employees mainly report the gender inequality in wages. 67.5% (257 cases) of salaried employees believe that women wages are not fair vis-à-vis their male colleagues. Nevertheless, respondents who declare working as self-employed believe that wages are equal (51.4%, 414 cases).
Finally, when examining the variable ‘monthly income’ we can once more observe that those having higher salaries (more than 3000 € per month) are the least critical with the pay gap. 61.0% (50 cases) believe in the existence of a fair wage gap between men and women. Nonetheless, respondents earning between 1001 and 1500 € per month are the most critical age group in this question. 59.7% (237 cases) claim that salaries are not distributed equally amongst men and women in the Building Engineering sector, being women the worst affected group.
3.2. Equality in the personal working environment
⌅In this section, we are going to analyze two questions related to the equality in their own company, or in their job. Firstly, respondents are requested to indicate the gender of the majority of their colleagues. As can be seen in Table 7, 68.9% of the sample believes that their colleagues are mainly male (931 cases), followed by 23.2% (314 cases) who believe that there is an equal percentage of men and women. 7.9% (107 cases) of the sample declares that their colleagues are mainly women. In this occasion, the bivariate analysis of this question conducted through the Chi-square test brings back statistical association with the following sociodemographic variables: ‘sex’ (φ = 0.326) and ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.118).
Men | Women | Similar proportion |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 931 | 68.9 | 107 | 7.9 | 314 | 23.2 |
Sex (V: 0.087) | ||||||
Men | 427 | ↓64.8 | 61 | 9.3 | 171 | ↑25.9 |
Women | 504 | ↑72.7 | 46 | 6.6 | 143 | ↓20.6 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.118) | ||||||
Salaried employee | 269 | 70.4 | 23 | 6.0 | 90 | 23.6 |
Official or similar | 84 | ↓50.9 | 29 | ↑17.6 | 52 | ↑31.5 |
Self-employed | 578 | ↑71.8 | 55 | 6.8 | 172 | ↓21.4 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
As far as the variable ‘exercise of the profession’ is concerned, we should outline the percentage of self-employed individuals (71.8%, 578 cases) who believe that their colleagues are mainly men. This situation changes in officials or similar, as 31.5% of them declare that their colleagues are men and women, in the same proportion (52 cases). It is worth stressing that, it is within this group where we find the highest percentage of respondents who esteem that their colleagues are mainly women, reaching 17.6% (29 cases).
A second question related to the personal experience in the working environment requested respondents to consider whether or not, in their opinion, in their working environment, opinions coming from men and women are equally valued. In accordance with Table 8, a majority agreement is reached in the sample set. 76.0% (1028 cases) admit that opinions coming from men and women are equally valued, regardless of the gender of the person. 24.0% (324 cases) has a different view of the matter.
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1028 | 76.0 | 324 | 24.0 |
Sex (φ: 0.326) | ||||
Men | 595 | ↑90.3 | 64 | ↓9.7 |
Women | 433 | ↓62.5 | 260 | ↑37.5 |
Age (V: 0.116) | ||||
< 30 years | 96 | 74.4 | 33 | 25.6 |
30-40 years | 291 | ↓70.5 | 122 | ↑29.5 |
41-50 years | 399 | 76.3 | 124 | 23.7 |
51-60 years | 168 | ↑83.6 | 33 | ↓16.4 |
> 60 years | 74 | ↑86.0 | 12 | ↓14.0 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.115) | ||||
Salaried employee | 264 | ↓69.1 | 118 | ↑30.9 |
Official or similar | 120 | 72.7 | 45 | 27.3 |
Self-employed | 644 | ↑80.0 | 161 | ↓20.0 |
Monthly income (V: 0.124) | ||||
< 500 € | 50 | 71.4 | 20 | 28.6 |
500-1000 € | 151 | 72.2 | 58 | 27.8 |
1001-1500 € | 283 | ↓71.3 | 114 | ↑28.7 |
1501 -2000 € | 267 | 77.4 | 78 | 22.6 |
2001-3000 € | 202 | ↑81.5 | 46 | ↓18.5 |
> 3000 € | 74 | ↑90.2 | 8 | ↓9.8 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
The distribution of answers is statistical significant in all the variables included in the analysis (Table 8). In this sense, the variable ‘sex’ presents again a greater strength of association (φ = 0.326), followed by the variables ‘monthly income’ (Cramer’s V = 0.124), ‘age’ (Cramer’s V = 0.116) and ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.115). Focusing attention on the corrected typified wastes, significant percentage differences in men’s and women’s opinion are observed, being women the group who believes the most that opinions coming from men and women are not equally valued (37.5%, 260 cases). The 90.3% (593 cases) of men participating in the study claims that opinions coming from men and women are equally valued.
Concerning the ‘exercise of the profession’, the most critical group with the fact of valuing the opinion of men and women alike are the salaried employees, where 30.9% (118 cases) do not think that it is valued alike. On the contrary, self-employed agree the most with the fact of opinions being equally valued (80.0%, 644 cases). Finally, after due analysis of the variable ‘monthly income’, it appears that individuals earning between 1001 and 1500 € are those who believe the most that opinions are not equally valued, whereas individuals with higher wages (2001-3000 € and more than 3000 €) consider to a great extent that opinions are equally valued.
3.3. Actions in the future
⌅In order to conclude the results section, we will analyze the respondents’ attitude or readiness to promote equality in the Building Engineering sector. In the first question, shown in Table 9, respondents were asked about the possibility to take actions that improve the reconciliation of family life and work. There was a broadly shared view in the sample set, that is, 93.1% (1259 cases) believe in the possibility to take actions that improve the reconciliation of family life and work. 6.9% (93 cases) do not share this view.
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1259 | 93.1 | 93 | 6.9 |
Sex (φ: 0.092) | ||||
Men | 598 | ↓90.7 | 61 | ↑9.3 |
Women | 661 | ↑95.4 | 32 | ↓4.6 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.075) | ||||
Salaried employee | 365 | ↑95.5 | 17 | ↓4.5 |
Official or similar | 157 | 95.2 | 8 | 4.8 |
Self-employed | 737 | ↓91.6 | 68 | ↑8.4 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
The sociodemographic variables that expose a statistical association with this question are ‘sex’ (φ = 0.092) and ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.075); both with a low strength of association. The study about the corrected typified wastes found that again women consider the most that actions improving the reconciliation could be conducted (95.4%, 661 cases). A view that is shared by a vast majority of men, although the percentage is lower, as it dropped significantly, 79.5% (524 cases). Finally, differences in ‘exercise of the profession’ reveal a high level of agreement regarding the actions to be carried out in order to improve the reconciliation in participants working as salaried employees (95.5%, 365 cases).
In the last question, respondents were asked whether or not actions should be taken by the professional organization in order to study the real situation of women in the Building Engineering sector. By comparison with the previous question, Table 10 indicates that although the percentage of those in agreement with this measure is high, it decreases to 86.5% (1169 cases). With reference to the statistical association of this question with the sociodemographic variables included in the analysis, ‘sex’ (φ = 0.198) and ‘exercise of the profession’ (Cramer’s V = 0.143) are the variables that bring back a significant statistical.
Yes | No | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
n | % | n | % | |
TOTAL | 1169 | 86.5 | 183 | 13.5 |
Sex (φ: 0.198) | ||||
Men | 524 | ↓79.5 | 135 | ↑20.5 |
Women | 645 | ↑93.1 | 48 | ↓6.9 |
Exercise of the profession (V: 0.143) | ||||
Salaried employee | 350 | ↑91.6 | 32 | ↓8.4 |
Official or similar | 155 | ↑93.9 | 10 | ↓6.1 |
Self-employed | 664 | ↓82.5 | 141 | ↑17.5 |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
The analysis reveals that men manifest more their opposition to the actions taken by the professional organization in order to study the real situation of women in the construction sector. This opposition is declared by 20.5% of the male respondents (183 cases). In the case of women, 93.1% (645 cases) consider that actions should be taken by the professional organization. Finally, self-employed individuals show again a great rejection to this kind of actions. 17.5% (141 cases) believe that this kind of actions should not be carried out.
4. CONCLUSIONS
⌅The Table 11 provides the sociodemographic characteristics that proved to be statistically significant in the study of the corrected typified wastes in each variable. This approach allows us to know that in all the dimensions analyzed, women are more critical. They perceive discrimination or inequality, whereas men believe that there is equality, and therefore, the gender issue does not touch the working environment they belong to. Furthermore, there is a clear pattern in the respondents’ opinions according to their age. In this case, younger workers (below 40 years of age) perceive the most inequality in their working environment. On the contrary, older individuals (over the age of 51 years) are the group that considers the most that equality has been achieved in their working environment. They do not perceive inequality or discrimination against women. In relation to the kind of job, self-employed individuals do not see any discrimination against women in their sector, whereas the salaried employees and officials or similar are the most critical with this situation, they perceive the most the inequality. In line with wages, people with lower income (less than 1500 € per month) perceive more inequality against women in the Building Engineering sector, whereas those with a higher salary (more than 3000€) do not perceive any inequality.
Variable | Perception of inequality | No perception of inequality |
---|---|---|
Exercise of the profession | Women <30 years old Salaried employee |
Men >51 years old Self-employed |
Client/developer’s preferences | Women Salaried employee Official or similar |
Men Self-employed > 3000 € |
Selection and recruitment processes | Women Salaried employee |
Men 51-60 years old Self-employed > 3000 € |
Income | Women 30-40 years old Salaried employee 1001-1500 € |
Men > 51 years old Self-employed > 3000 € |
Gender among colleagues | Women Self-employed |
Men Official or similar |
The value given by colleagues | Women 30-40 years old Salaried employee 1001-1500 € |
Men > 51 years old Self-employed > 2001 € |
Favorable attitude | Unfavorable attitude | |
Actions to improve the reconciliation of family life and work | Women Salaried employee |
Men Self-employed |
Actions to study the situation of women in the sector | Women Salaried employee Official or similar |
Men Self-employed |
Source: Own elaboration based on CGTAE data (46(46) Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España. (2018b). Encuesta sobre la igualdad de género en la profesión de la arquitectura técnica.
).
Concerning attitude towards new measures leading to reduce and eradicate the discrimination against women in the Building Engineering sector, the pattern regarding the sociodemographic characteristics linked to favorable attitudes is similar to the pattern previously presented in regards to ‘sex’ and ‘exercise of the profession’. Women and salaried employees, or officials or similar are the individuals who support the most this kind of measures. Nevertheless, as detractors, we could mention again men and self-employed individuals.
In conclusion,
the negative attitude of male workers in the Building Engineering field
towards equality, or the recognition of inequality in the sector is in
line with the findings obtained by Laura Arroyo in the Spanish framework
in 2017. Her conclusions highlight two main ideas. On the one hand, for
male interviewees, equal access to employment already exists in Spain.
On the other hand, any man agrees with the idea of taking positive
actions towards women, regardless of the sector involved. Among the
reasons given for this attitude, they believe that these positive
actions contradict the principle of meritocracy (2(2) Arroyo Barrio, L. (2017). Percepción
de los hombres ante la igualdad de género en el ámbito laboral:
relación entre la IGUALDAD legal y la igualdad efectiva. Universidad de Salamanca.
).
In
most Western countries, there is a considerable gap in the effort to
reverse inequality among men and women, being women those who have made
more achievements, and those who strive to change stereotypes (49)-(51)(49)
Croft, A., Atkinson, C., Sandstrom, G., Orbell, S., & Aknin, L.
(2021). Loosening the GRIP (Gender Roles Inhibiting Prosociality) to
Promote Gender Equality. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25(1), 66-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868320964615
(50) Allen, J., & Smith, J. L. (2011). The influence of
Sexuality Stereotypes on Men’s Experience of Gender-Role Incongruence. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 12(1), 77-96. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019678
(51) Diekman, A. B., Goodfriend, W., & Goodwin, S. (2004).
Dynamic stereotypes of power: Perceived change and stability in gender
hierarchies. Sex Roles, 50, 201-215. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SERS.0000015552.22775.44
. One of the key aspects for such behavior lies in
the rigidity of masculinity, and men’s concern about the possibility of
losing such masculinity (52(52) Bosson, J. K., & Vandello, J. A. (2011). Precarious manhood and its links to action and aggression. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(2), 82-86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411402669
), (53(53) Vandello, J. A., Bosson, J. K., Cohen, D., Burnaford, R. M., & Weaver, J. R. (2008). Precarious manhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(6), 1325-1339. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012453
). The fact of not perpetuating masculine
stereotypes, or not fulfilling the traditional role of man can cast
doubt on a man’s masculinity. This issue remains highly problematic in
men, as masculinity still has a hierarchical vision, and therefore,
there are positions of power at stake (49(49)
Croft, A., Atkinson, C., Sandstrom, G., Orbell, S., & Aknin, L.
(2021). Loosening the GRIP (Gender Roles Inhibiting Prosociality) to
Promote Gender Equality. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25(1), 66-92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868320964615
), (54(54)
Croft, A., Schmader, T., & Block, K. (2015). An Underexamined
Inequality: Cultural and Psychological Barriers to Men’s Engagemnt With
Communal Roles. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 19(4), 343-370. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868314564789
). These male attitudes and behaviors have an
impact on the organizational culture in enterprises. Public policies and
positive actions put into effect to redress gender inequality are found
to be ineffective because of those attitudes and behaviors. Hence, a
sizeable gap between regulations and practices takes place (55(55)
Sánchez-Mira, N., Serrano Olivares, R., & Carrasquer Oto, P.
(2020). What slips through the cracks: The distance between regulations
and practices shaping the gender pay gap. Economic and Industrial Democracy. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X20924457
).