Tapping into the Potential of Construction Technologies to Increase the Participation of Women in the Construction Industry

Abstract

Abstract Women remain significantly underrepresented in the construction sector, a pattern shaped by persistent structural and cultural barriers. Although digital transformation is reshaping the industry, the potential of adopting technologies to alleviate these gender-related challenges has been largely overlooked. Addressing this critical gap, this study examines how Construction 4.0 innovations can advance gender equity by enhancing women’s participation and empowerment within the construction industry. By employing a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)-guided systematic literature review of 169 articles, the research identifies 29 technologies deployed across 26 construction tasks. These technologies are categorized as either enabling (supporting women to overcome physical barriers) or enhancing (facilitating women’s advancement in technical and leadership roles). The study adopts a sociomaterial theoretical lens, emphasizing that technology and social structures are coconstitutive. The study posits that digital tools can reinforce or challenge existing gendered divisions of labor depending on how they are embedded within workplace cultures and power relations. These technologies are further analyzed across three job role categories: on-site, off-site, and fluid roles with the most cited technologies being building information modeling (BIM) (63 mentions); augmented, virtual, or mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) (37 mentions); and smart robots (26 mentions). Crucially, the findings reveal that technology’s impact is not automatic; rather, its potential to disrupt exclusionary norms and promote gender equity depends on intentional integration with organizational policies and practices. Implications include investing in inclusive technology training, gender-sensitive design and deployment, and analytics for monitoring diversity, alongside policy incentives that align adoption with organizational change. Future research is needed to empirically test the enabling versus enhancing effects across the job roles and evaluate the longitudinal outcomes of technology in the industry.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2026 · DOI ↗