The current state of Black female empowerment in the construction industry measured against broad-based Black economic empowerment scorecard

摘要

The Government of South Africa has placed a lot of emphasis on economic growth and the involvement of Black people in the mainstream of the economy. The implementation of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) created opportunities for direct empowerment of Black females in ownership and management. The Construction Industry is being challenged to increase the number of Black females in management and ownership levels. Due to the nature of the Industry, only a small population of females considers Construction as a career option. The Industry has also lost a significant number of skilled Engineers and is experiencing a shortage of skilled managers in Middle and Senior Management Levels. The research problem questioned the current state of empowerment for Black women in the Construction Industry as measured against the B-BBEE Scorecard. The literature review focused on the requirements of the B-BBEE scorecard and Construction Charter. The second phase focused on gender equality and the achievements of women in Construction. The research design was done by using questionnaires to the South African Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) members in the Eastern Cape. The research design and survey aimed to determine the status of empowerment in the Construction Industry. With reference to both the literature review and the empirical findings the state of female empowerment can be determined. Therefore iv recommendations and opportunities for further research in this regard can be identified.