Early exposure and supportive environments are critical to encouraging more women to work in the construction industry, says Ola Obadara, vice-president of the UK-based Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).

Obadara was educated at the Federal Government Girls College in Akure in Nigeria’s Ondo state, where technical subjects were a mandatory part of the curriculum.

“In our very first year, every girl was required to arrive with a drawing board, set square, technical pencils and drawing sheets – checked at the school gate on resumption day to ensure no one was left behind,” she says. “Alongside mathematics and the sciences, we studied technical drawing, woodwork, metalwork and introductory technology, all taught in purpose-built workshops equipped with proper tools and fixtures.”  

For a girls’ secondary school, this was empowering, says the executive. The early exposure gave her hands-on experience with construction tools and built environment principles, embedding skills that were practical, creative and confidence-building. “It showed us, at a formative age, that construction was not a male-only preserve, but a field in which women could thrive.”  

According to Obadara, schools can play a pivotal role in equipping girls with the confidence and technical skills to see themselves as future architects, engineers, project managers or site leaders.  

But she acknowledges there is still a long way to go in bridging the skills gap and encouraging more girls into the industry, both in Africa and across the world.

According to an April 2023 report by global independent construction, property and management consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall, in South Africa, women make up just over 10% of the construction workforce, a statistic that is mirrored in many other countries around the world. The report states this disparity is often attributed to a lack of access to education and training opportunities, and a persistent cultural bias that views construction as a ‘man’s job’.

Meanwhile, in Kenya, women account for just 3% of the workforce in the construction industry, according to a May 2025 report by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Globally, women are believed to make up just 11% of the construction workforce in the US, a figure that drops to 9% in Europe.

“Greater awareness, wider technical education provision, more funding and tackling stereotypes remain critical,” says Obadara.

An early 2025 study published by the CIOB on attitudes towards careers in the construction sector found that two-thirds (68%) of young people covered in a survey of 2,000 16-24-year-olds in the UK held a positive view of construction careers. However, 53% said the industry is not welcoming to women and 47% said construction was not covered in careers advice they received while in education.

Obadara says there are growing initiatives aimed at encouraging girls to pursue careers in the construction industry, but that progress requires more than raising awareness of the opportunities, it also demands sustained investment in targeted education initiatives that build both general academic foundations and specialised built environment skills essential for entry into apprenticeships, degrees and professional practice.  

Obadara’s own academic background in architecture began in university, with a women-only foundation programme – ‘Women into Architecture and Built Environment’ – where women were taught separately and provided the opportunity to explore the built environment in a protective environment that fostered confidence and curiosity.  

Addressing Stereotypes  

She opines that career advisers and mentors need to highlight the breadth of opportunities in construction in addition to site-based roles. “There are over 150 career paths including leadership roles in architecture, engineering, project management and site supervision – fields that demand creativity, technical expertise and strategic thinking,” says Obadara. “Many involve emerging technologies and innovative approaches to design and construction.”  

Altering the narrative is also crucial for site-based roles, she says, where there is a prevailing perception that women are not suited for physical or technical work, including being ‘on the tools’ and site-based leadership positions.  

“This brings me back to Nigeria, where I observed women having a significant presence on site within the construction industry,” says Obadara. “Before the widespread use of machinery for tasks such as concrete pouring, it was common for groups of women to be engaged in constructing concrete decks for residential buildings. Teams of highly skilled women would efficiently transport freshly mixed concrete in pans, ascending wooden stairs and expertly pouring the material, completing entire decks within a single day.  This task is still occasionally performed by female university students to earn additional income.”  

In August 2025, at the sixth annual Empowerment and Recognition of Women in Construction (ERWIC) awards, South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson emphasised that women are part and parcel of the country’s infrastructure plans.

“Our goal [as the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure] and my goal is to advocate and equip women to compete in the open market and win, because they are capable, qualified and competitive,” said Macpherson. “I believe it is entirely possible and I will strongly champion [this] for the remainder of my term.

“Every project completed creates employment, stimulates local suppliers and leaves behind infrastructure that enables further growth. When women lead and succeed in construction, those benefits only multiply further.”

In Kenya, Dalberg Research and the Buildher non-profit social enterprise are engaging in the development of a new Kenyan building code to ensure it takes gender into account. Among the issues they are raising are the need to impose a minimum percentage of women to be hired on construction projects, the obligation for employers to provide facilities and equipment suitable to women and the need to build systems that enable women to safely report incidents of sexual harassment.

Buildher’s CEO Tatu Gatere believes the culture around women in construction is finally beginning to change. Her goal is to raise the percentage of women in Kenya’s construction industry from 3% to 10% over the next decade.

In conclusion, Obadara provides an answer to a question she says is often asked at career festivals: “No, you do not have to give up your femininity to excel in the construction industry – your authenticity is your strength!

“Your creativity, grit, multitasking skills, strategic thinking and leadership skills are invaluable assets to the industry. Whether you contribute through building design, cost management, planning, leading teams or introducing new technologies, your involvement will have a lasting impact and help shape the built environment for generations to come.  

“I stand here today not just as Ola Obadara, vice-president of the CIOB, but as a symbol of endless possibilities to aspiring girls who hope to one day lend a voice to this cause. I represent resilience, equality, diversity and a beacon of hope that this is doable and you are worth it!”

Top photo: Women engaged in construction work in Somalia (Source: World Bank)