Sandra L. Fielden

Women in construction: the untapped resource

Currently there are over 11 million women employed in the UK, accounting for 49.5% of the workforce. However, despite increases in the number of women employed in the construction industry over the past decade, they still constitute only 13% of the industrys workforce. This means that construction continues to be the most male dominated of all the major industrial groups. A review is presented of the literature relating to the current position of women in the construction industry. It identifies and examines the barriers preventing womens entry into the industry, the subsequent barriers faced by those working within the construction industry, and initiatives committed to promoting equality for women and men in construction. These barriers arise from a number of sources including: the construction industrys image; career knowledge amongst children and adults; selection criteria and male dominated courses; recruitment practices and procedures; sexist attitudes; male dominated culture; and the work environment.

Factors Inhibiting the Economic Growth of Female Owned Small Businesses in North West England

While the general trend in the UK is towards an increase in female owned small businesses, during the last few years the number of North West of England businesses owned by women has fallen by 12.5 per cent. Aims to investigate the barriers preventing women from entering into growth businesses in the North West. The research included discussions with 12 service providers as well as in‐depth interviews and focus groups with 99 potential and established female business owners. The main barriers blocking women’s ownership of small businesses involved the widely held stereotype of business owners as “white, middle class, males”, cultural differences, a shortage of premises for new businesses and the lack of appropriate childcare.

Barriers encountered during micro and small business start‐up in North‐West England

The success or failure of a new business is often dependent on overcoming a series of potential barriers, eg securing sufficient financial backing, adequate and appropriate guidance and training etc. Yet, in light of the substantial growth rate of micro and small businesses, there has been little research into the experiences of potential and new business owners during the start‐up of such enterprises. To date there has been no systematic study of this group in the UK, and many questions remain unanswered. This study of micro and small business during the initialisation and formation of new venture creation (eg pre‐start‐up, 0‐6 months and 6‐12 months∥ sought to answer some of those questions. It identifies the needs of new business owners, the barriers they encounter, and the strategies they use to overcome those obstacles. The findings indicate that financial difficulties and the attitudes of banks towards new business owners are the main barriers to successful enterprise creation, with mentors and more specific advice cited as the assistance regarded as affording the greatest benefit to potential and new business owners. In addition, small and micro business owners are going out of business, or are unable to fulfil their potential, because they are denied access to those factors that promote success.

Women, equality and construction

Examines the situation faced by women in the UK construction industry. Finds that women are confronted by a significant number of barriers, beginning with difficulties in joining the industry. In addition, the administrative or human resource management roles traditionally occupied by women do not lead to mainstream roles and senior management roles. To increase prospects, women need to able to take on the more mainstream roles in the industry such as design, engineering and construcition iteself. The main investigation of the article is therefore into the barriers preventing women from taking these roles. Conclusions and suggestions for reform are made.

‘It’s good to be angry’: Enacting anger in construction project management to achieve perceived leader effectiveness

There is considerable evidence to suggest how positive and negative leader emotions influence a variety of positive and negative follower outcomes. However, little empirical evidence exists to suggest under what circumstances the enactment of negative emotions can yield desirable outcomes for individuals operating in a given organizational context. Drawing upon a series of semi-structured interviews with construction project managers (n = 19) from the UK, this study offers valuable insights into how anger is frequently enacted to help individuals ensure the progress of the project, be it in negotiations with other parties or affairs on site with operatives.

The NIHR collaboration for leadership in applied health research and care (CLAHRC) for Greater Manchester: combining empirical, theoretical and experiential evidence to design and evaluate a large-scale implementation strategy

BackgroundIn response to policy recommendations, nine National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs) were established in England in 2008, aiming to create closer working between the health service and higher education and narrow the gap between research and its implementation in practice. The Greater Manchester (GM) CLAHRC is a partnership between the University of Manchester and twenty National Health Service (NHS) trusts, with a five-year mission to improve healthcare and reduce health inequalities for people with cardiovascular conditions. This paper outlines the GM CLAHRC approach to designing and evaluating a large-scale, evidence- and theory-informed, context-sensitive implementation programme.DiscussionThe paper makes a case for embedding evaluation within the design of the implementation strategy. Empirical, theoretical, and experiential evidence relating to implementation science and methods has been synthesised to formulate eight core principles of the GM CLAHRC implementation strategy, recognising the multi-faceted nature of evidence, the complexity of the implementation process, and the corresponding need to apply approaches that are situationally relevant, responsive, flexible, and collaborative. In turn, these core principles inform the selection of four interrelated building blocks upon which the GM CLAHRC approach to implementation is founded. These determine the organizational processes, structures, and roles utilised by specific GM CLAHRC implementation projects, as well as the approach to researching implementation, and comprise: the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework; a modified version of the Model for Improvement; multiprofessional teams with designated roles to lead, facilitate, and support the implementation process; and embedded evaluation and learning.SummaryDesigning and evaluating a large-scale implementation strategy that can cope with and respond to the local complexities of implementing research evidence into practice is itself complex and challenging. We present an argument for adopting an integrative, co-production approach to planning and evaluating the implementation of research into practice, drawing on an eclectic range of evidence sources.

Entrepreneurship and Social Inclusion

Women in the UK frequently do not consider business ownership as an alternative to other forms of employment or as a means to gain economic benefits. The number of women currently entering in to businesses in the North of England is decreasing and is less than half of that in the South. This paper examines the preliminary findings from a longitudinal study exploring the socially created barriers to business start‐up that inhibit the growth of women entrepreneurs and how they may be removed. The study employed an action research approach to investigate the experiences of UK women entering into micro and small business ownership, emphasising the social construction of many of the barriers faced by women in the pursuit of business ownership. In doing so it examined personal and motivational factors surrounding the start‐up process, the economic and physical barriers encountered, as well as the perceived and actual support and advice available to women.

International Handbook of Women and Small Business Entrepreneurship

Foreword Preface Part I: Women into Enterprise - Personality and Behaviour Characteristics Part II: Women into Enterprise - Constraints and Conditions of Success Part III: Women into Enterprise - Black and Ethnic Minority Small Business Owners Part IV: Women into Enterprise - A Global Perspective Part V: Women into Enterprise - Future Perspectives and Recommendations

Innovations in coaching and mentoring: implications for nurse leadership development:

This longitudinal study sought to examine ways in which coaching and mentoring relationships impact on the professional development of nurses in terms of career and leadership behaviours, and evaluating the differences and similarities between those coaching and mentoring relationships. According to the UK government, leadership in nursing is essential to the improvement of service delivery, and the development and training of all nurses is vital in achieving effective change. A coaching and mentoring programme was used to explore the comparative advantages of these two approaches for the leadership development of nurses in acute, primary care and mental health settings. A longitudinal in-depth study was conducted to measure differences and similarities between the mentoring and coaching process as a result of a six-month coaching/mentoring programme. Five nurses from six UK Health Care Trusts were allocated to a coaching group (n = 15) or a mentoring group (n = 15), these were coached or mentored by a member of the senior directorate from their own Trust. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected at three time points (T1 = baseline, T2 = 4 months and T3 = 9 months) using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. While mentoring was perceived to be ‘support’ and coaching was described as ‘action’, descriptions of the actual process and content were quite similar. However, while both groups reported significant development in terms of career development, leadership skills and capabilities, mentees reported the highest level of development with significantly higher scores in eight areas of leadership and management and in three areas of career impact. Implications for nurses and health services are discussed.

Black, asian and minority ethnic female business owners: discrimination and social support

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the positive and negative effects of gender and ethnicity in relation to discrimination and the problems encountered in accessing social support (including emotional and instrumental support).Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were collected through in‐depth interviews with 40 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) female small business owners based in north west England. The main aims and objectives of the study were to: investigate the discriminatory experiences of BAME female small business owners related to their gender and ethnicity; and to identify the forms (formal and informal) and types (emotional/instrumental) of social support available in relation to their entrepreneurial activities that enabled them to cope with and overcome, the discrimination they may encounter.Findings – Over half of the respondents in the study had experienced discriminations because of their gender, ethnic background or both. This was attributed to a number ...