Gender and sexuality in non-traditionally female work: the experience of women in different occupational groups in the UK construction and

transport industries

Summary of findings Tessa Wright Introduction

Most previous research on women in non-traditionally female work has focused on the working lives of heterosexual women (or has not questioned womens sexual orientation) and on those in professional or managerial occupations. Therefore this research aimed to shed light on the diversity of women in male-dominated work by investigating the experiences of heterosexual women and lesbians working in operational and skilled manual jobs as well as in professional and managerial roles in the UK construction and transport sectors. This report contains a summary of the key findings of a PhD thesis carried out between 2007 and 2011 using qualitative methods. This included interviews with 15 key experts (from employers, trade unions, industry and training bodies and womens networks) on womens employment in nontraditionally female work; 38 women working in construction and transport occupations; focus groups with 16 women training or working in the manual trades; and observation of events to raise I think actually there was a awareness of opportunities for women in non-traditional work. real thrill about doing a mans job. I think it was really One of the most striking findings to emerge from interviews and thrilling. And I think it was focus groups with women workers was their very positive feeling very empowering. Yes, I think about working in typically male jobs, often despite difficult and it was actually that feeling of sometimes hostile working environments. Several women described breaking ground. (Lesbian, the sense of empowerment they felt from doing a mans job, a furniture maker, 50s) feeling which was most notable among women in the manual trades and in bus and train driving. Doing a job normally considered to be the preserve of men both increased their personal self-confidence and broadened their perceptions of what women could achieve in the world, offering role models for others. On the basis of this and other evidence, the thesis concludes that continued efforts to increase womens participation in male-dominated occupations and sectors are needed at all levels in order to progress gender equality in employment. I just think that its good for women in general [...] because I think it proves to a lot of people that women can actually do the same job as a man, sometimes better. (Lesbian, train operator, 30s)

Key findings
Policy and action to increase womens participation in non-traditional occupations
The research identified a variety of initiatives being undertaken to encourage women to enter or progress in male-dominated occupations and experts involved in these found no scarcity of women interested in entering non-traditional occupations, particularly the manual trades, attracted by the potential material rewards. Experts highlighted the need for action aimed both at encouraging women and girls to consider and prepare for non-traditional careers and at reducing the barriers to womens entry from employers and industry, such as systems of training and work placements. Political will and financial resources are necessary in order to improve the continuing low numbers of women in the construction and transport sectors. An example was the Olympics Womens Project which had provided work experience and jobs for women in the manual trades building the London Olympics 2012 site. The introduction of equality requirements into public sector procurement processes was felt to be a useful strategy for ensuring that contractors took action to address the underrepresentation of women and other groups in their workforces. Political changes at national and regional levels were likely to I didnt want to go back to stall or reverse the progress being made by projects womens wages, I mean addressing womens underrepresentation in non-traditional other things I looked at occupations due to funding cuts and changes in policy were terrible. At least with priorities. a male-oriented job you get male-oriented pay. (Heterosexual, bus driver, 50s)

Reasons for choosing traditionally male occupations

Improving pay prospects or gaining equal pay to men was a reason that many women had entered the manual trades or bus and train-driving occupations. Women in professional I think Im probably a little bit of a tomboy construction or transport occupations mostly cited interest in by nature anyway, I technical or mathematical areas as a reason for their choices. Several women had received encouragement from their fathers to pursuetend to like things that gender atypical would be more things interests, not necessarily in following directly in their fathers youd expect a boy to career footsteps, but through encouragement to think beyond be doing, we do lots of typically female interests or careers . I think Im probably a little things like mountain Many women described early interests in boys stuff or active, bitbiking and by nature of a tomboy outdoor interests and several referred to being tomboys when snowboarding and anyway, I tend to like paintball. young. They related their early interests in typically male things that would be more (Heterosexual, activities or friendships with boys to their later work choices. things youd expect a boy manager, transport, For some lesbians an awareness of an alternative sexuality to be doing, things like 30s) influenced their work choices, either through anticipating a mountain biking and need for financial self-sufficiency which drew them towards snowboarding and well-paid male work, or a rejection of heterosexual norms that paintball. (Heterosexual, I think Im probably also involved challenging traditional gender roles at work. manager, transport, 30s) a

little bit of a tomboy by nature anyway, I tend to like things that would be more things 2 youd expect a boy to be doing, we do lots of things like mountain biking and

Womens experience of working in construction and transport

The view of women as out of place in male work was symbolised by the difficulties several women still encountered in getting uniforms or protective clothing to fit and they were sometimes made to feel they were making a fuss when trying to get suitable clothing. Women paid considerable attention to dress and appearance They were talking about in male-dominated environments, carefully balancing women in a very derogatory masculinity and femininity in order to fit. For lesbians, way, and they only started appearance may also be used to signal their sexuality and to the conversation when I got minimise unwanted heterosexual attention. there, and they didnt stop, Male-dominated workplaces are often characterised by they just carried on, and I just sexualised workplace interactions, with considerable interest sat there. (Heterosexual, in womens sexual availability, or not, to men. While sexual train operator, 40s) harassment was less tolerated in the working environments of professional women in construction and transport than in the past, women working on building sites and in bus and train depots continued to experience harassment and were often reluctant to use the organisations grievance procedures for fear of being labelled a troublemaker. Some lesbians had experienced harassment on the basis of their gender presentation or sexual orientation. Employer and trade union responses to homophobic harassment were generally less well-developed than in relation to sexual harassment. Many women experienced positive and supportive workplace relations with the majority of male colleagues, with only a small minority of male colleagues resisting the presence of women in male-dominated occupations.

Support networks and trade unions

Around half of interviewees expressed a preference for working with men over women, and this group was less likely to seek out support from other women in their occupation or industry, either formally or informally. Additionally some women were deterred from joining networks for women for fear that this would hinder relationships with male So youd probably only see colleagues. one female from one week to Women who joined industry or professional networks for the next and so it was a good women did so for varied reasons, including access to training thing that we all got together and work experience; professional networking to help their [...] where there are limited careers; participation in social events; and support from women, because, you know other women in similar work. there were times when I had Lesbians working in organisations with staff networks both trouble with my supervisor, I for women and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) didnt know who to turn to. employees tended to join the LGBT rather than the womens (Painter and decorator, focus groups, feeling that raising the visibility of LGBT issues was a group) higher priority. Employer-organised network groups for LGBT staff attracted higher numbers of professional/managerial participants, which was attributed to difficulties for those doing shiftwork getting time off to attend meetings, as well as a lesser likelihood of non-professional groups feeling able to disclose 3

their sexual orientation in hostile work environments further from the reach of organisational policies. The networking benefits of participation in staff groups may also be greater for professional staff. Non-professional staff in transport were more likely to participate in their trade unions than professionals in either sector. For some trade union members a commitment to challenging inequality had provided a motivation for union activism or participation in union separate groups for women or LGBT members, although there was also a view that separate I work around 12 hours a organisation could weaken class-based union solidarity. day and I come on Saturday as well, and if Im a man, I The impact of domestic life on work probably should not have The long and inflexible working hours common in the done that much to establish, construction and transport industries meant that many but Im a woman so I have to interviewees relied on partners for domestic and childcare establish myself that I can support. Women also felt pressure to worker harder than a achieve what they can man in order to prove themselves. Among heterosexual achieve. (Heterosexual, couples with children, some male partners took primary quantity surveyor, responsibility for childcare, while others had greater construction, 30s) flexibility in working hours to facilitate childcare responsibilities than their female partners. Up to half of heterosexual interviewees with partners had earned more than their partners, which in some cases had affected the division of childcare responsibilities within couples with the male partner taking the greater share. Therefore the entry of women into higher-paid male-dominated work can shift the traditional gender division of labour within households. However for one lesbian couple, while there was no gender division of domestic tasks, they had chosen to organise their lives to support the primary career of one partner, while the other partner took charge of domestic life, I am the housewife, yes I do taking on a housewife role on top of her part-time paid all the cleaning, shopping. employment. Literally I will see foundations A high proportion of lesbian interviewees (40% compared to in the morning, Ill nip to 19% of all lesbians in 2009) were in civil partnerships, and Waitrose, and Ill see a roof, several used the term wife in referring to their partner. This come home, do the washing. may have had the effect of normalising lesbian relationships [...] I joke that Im a part-time at work and provided a way to discuss their sexual surveyor but I work most of orientation with heterosexual colleagues. the time 8 till 5. [...] I do the While none of the lesbian interviewees had dependent logistics of living. (Lesbian, children, one had made a regular commitment to care for building surveyor, 40s) the daughter of friends and others were considering adoption in the future. This suggests that employers who view lesbians as more reliable workers because they do not have children (as one interviewees manager had) may be disappointed.

Policy implications
The difficulty in gaining work experience remains a powerful barrier to women entering the manual trades, and the research found that projects such as the Building Work for Women project run by Women and Manual Trades provided vital opportunities to help women gain work in the manual trades. Funding for projects of this kind, which both prepare women for non-traditional occupations and work with employers to offer opportunities to women, remains vital to overcome the real obstacles that face women seeking to improve their employment prospects by gaining work in better-paid typically male occupations. Such projects also reach women who may face further disadvantage in the labour market, such as the unemployed, those without higher-level qualifications, working-class and ethnic minority women, and single parents. The research showed the public sector commitment to ensure equality considerations were taken into account in the construction of the Olympic site in East London, as well as in other major construction projects, driven by regional policies to reduce occupational segregation. Evidence from interviewees suggested that linking procurement to equality actions could be a powerful lever for change and could offer opportunities to women in construction, provided that sufficient monitoring and support was available to ensure that companies were putting action plans into practice rather than simply ticking boxes. Further government guidance and support to public authorities to include equality objectives in procurement processes, legally supported through the public sector equality duties, would assist this objective, as well as clarification of the legal position under the Equality Act 2010. Despite the existence of LGBT network groups in some organisations, sexual orientation was still considered to lack visibility in organisational policies and procedures, particularly for example in relation to tackling homophobic harassment. Furthermore, it was often felt that organisational policy or good practice did not reach sites where operational or manual employees worked, usually distant from the head office. More therefore needs to be done to address the needs of non-professional or managerial heterosexual women and lesbians, including in relation to making staff network groups accessible to all.

More information
For further information about this research, or to obtain a full copy of the PhD thesis, please contact Tessa Wright, email: t.wright@qmul.ac.uk; mobile: 07949 785258.

Thanks to all who helped with this research

I wish to thank all those who very kindly participated in this research, as key expert interviewees, in help with reaching interviewees and most of all to the women who took the time to meet me and share their stories of working in the construction and transport sectors. I hope they find the results interesting and useful.

October 2011