Advancing gender equality in the construction sector through public procurement: Making effective use of responsive regulation

Wright, Tessa; Conley, Hazel

Abstract

© 2018, The Author(s) 2018. Labour market segregation continues to be a major barrier to gender equality, with the construction industry an example of a particularly male-dominated sector. Drawing on evidence from the Women into Construction project, established to increase women’s opportunities to work on the construction of London’s Olympic Park, the article argues that public procurement is a potentially powerful tool for breaking down gender segregation. This is particularly effective when new forms of responsive and reflexive legislation require private sector contractors to achieve social objectives. The authors argue that this could be made more effective through greater powers of engagement for stakeholders, including trade unions.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Mar 21, 2018
• Deposit Date: Nov 1, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 2, 2017
• Journal: Economic and Industrial Democracy
• Print ISSN: 0143-831X
• Electronic ISSN: 1461-7099
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X17745979
• Keywords: responsive regulation, public procurement, public sector equality duty, gender equality, construction industry, London Olympics
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/924660
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X17745979
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications
• Contract Date: Nov 1, 2017