How do women managers look? How are they perceived? discrimination in the construction sector

Abstract

Introduction: Violence against women takes place not only in situations of armed conflict or natural disaster. It is also present in normalised contexts, and specifically in the workplace, in both symbolic and direct ways, and with devastating psychosocial consequences. Methods: This article examines the social image and self-image of women employed in the construction sector, based on the content analysis of two specialised newspapers and in-depth interviews with managers (11 women and 16 men). Results and conclusions: The representation of women managers in newspapers specialised in construction is non-existent. The analysis of their self-perception suggests that women managers do not perceive gender-based barriers in their career access and development. In order to counteract gender-based discrimination, more improvements are required on the image of women managers that is projected by the media. © 2016, University of La Laguna. All rights reserved.