Employers in construction can help to stem the turnover of staff from marginalised groups by dealing head-on with the microaggressions that their workers face, NAWIC says
Microaggressions are the seemingly small, indirect and subtle jabs that happen often, and are widely felt by marginalised groups.
For women in the construction industry, microaggressions play a macro role in the dire rates of retention, job satisfaction, promotion, representation and more that these workers experience.
Strongly linked to unconscious biases held by the person making them, microaggressions can be as simple as insensitive statements, questions or assumptions. By themselves, they may seem little, but over time, as they add up, the impact is not-so-little.
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and TDC Global collaborated in a research study called ‘The Not So Little Things Affecting Women in Construction’.
The aim was to gain deeper insights into microaggressions affecting women within the construction industry and to explore how organisations can better address and prevent them.
The survey was open to anyone who wished to share their voice, with over 650 responses from this and active listening sessions.
Commonplace behaviour
Key findings show that 88 per cent of respondents experienced microaggressions at work, with those working in administrative, finance, commercial or project management roles experiencing higher rates than tradespeople.
Verbal microaggressions are the most common type at 80 per cent, with supervisors and managers being 41 per cent of aggressors, followed by clients and customers at 38 per cent.
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Alarmingly, 100 per cent of people with a disability have experienced microaggressions, followed by LGBTQIA+ at 91 per cent, people of colour at 86 per cent and migrants at 85 per cent. And these are only some of the key findings.
What next?
In our listening sessions, there was a general sentiment that organisations should be doing a lot more to address microaggressions, such as implementation of gender equality action plans, improving representation of women in senior roles, support and reporting mechanisms, training and development, active bystander approaches and internal support systems.
Following the results of the survey, it’s clear that changes are needed within the industry to tackle microaggressions head on.
Our recommendations for organisations are education and training for line managers/supervisors, facilitated roundtable discussions with industry decision makers, the creation of tools to understand organisational cultures and independent complaints handling/whistleblowing hotlines.
NAWIC is excited to take these recommendations on board and start to implement outcomes for microaggressions at work, ensuring women feel safe at work, and initiatives that shift the culture indefinitely.
You can join the conversation over on our socials @nawicau, and learn more about microaggressions in the industry, what can be done to prevent them and how to seek support if you are experiencing them.