GENDER, POWER AND HARASSMENT IN CONSTRUCTION ACADEMIA: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES, CONSEQUENCES AND INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES

Abstract Gender-based harassment remains a significant barrier to women’s full participation, progression and retention within higher education, particularly in male-dominated disciplinary environments. Construction academia encompassing construction management, quantity surveying, civil engineering, architecture and related built-environment fields may reproduce the gendered hierarchies, masculine norms and unequal power relations evident in the wider construction industry. This critical narrative review examines women’s experiences of gender-based harassment in construction academia, the personal and professional consequences of such experiences, and the effectiveness of institutional responses. The review draws on peer-reviewed literature concerning construction education, engineering and science, technology, engineering and mathematics academia, broader higher education, and gendered workplace cultures in construction. The evidence indicates that women may experience gender harassment, sexist stereotyping, exclusion, bullying, unwanted sexual attention, professional undermining and retaliation, often within relationships shaped by unequal authority, supervisory dependence and limited representation of women in senior roles. These experiences can affect psychological wellbeing, confidence, academic belonging, research productivity, career progression and retention in construction-related disciplines. The review further finds that policies and reporting mechanisms alone are insufficient where institutional cultures discourage disclosure, minimise allegations, fail to protect complainants from retaliation or do not hold senior personnel accountable. The paper argues that harassment should be understood as a structural and institutional issue rather than a series of isolated interpersonal incidents. It recommends transparent and survivor-centred reporting processes, protection against retaliation, leadership accountability, gender-responsive institutional data, bystander intervention, professional development and stronger collaboration between universities, construction-industry bodies and professional institutions. The review contributes to scholarship by positioning gender-based harassment as a critical concern for equity, academic quality and the sustainable development of construction education and professional practice.