A model for the development of women in construction in the Limpopo Province of South Africa

Abstract

The overall purpose of this study was to describe a model for the development of women in construction in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. To achieve this purpose two phases were used i.e., the two stage empirical phase that employed a mixed method research process to identify and understand the development needs of women in construction and a theory-generation phase, which consisted of 8 stages that interfaced with phase 1 The population of the study were stakeholders in the construction industry namely, women contractors who are active grade 2 (registered as such on the CIDB register of contractors) and owner-managers in the Limpopo Province of South Africa, representative of the board of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Construction Education and Training Authority (CETA), the Independent Development Trust (IDT), the Council for the Built Environment (CBE) and the South African Women in Construction (SAWIC). Qualitative data was collected through in-depth one-on-one interviews, whilst quantitative data was gathered through administering questionnaires. Six (6) stakeholders participated in the interviews and out of the targeted 167 in the CIDB register, 120 completed the questionnaires. The results of the empirical phase were subjected to the 8-step method of theory generation according to Chinn and Kramer (2011:152- 205). A conceptual framework for the model for development of rural women in construction was organized by applying the proposed elements of a practice theory according to Dickhoff, James & Wiedenbach (1968) and Barnum (1994). The theoretical evaluation of a model was done utilizing Chinn and Kramer (2011:205) criteria for evaluation of a theory. Guidelines to operationalize the theory were also described as well as recommendations and conclusion.