Diversity and Inclusion in the Engineering-Construction Industry

Abstract

The special collection on Diversity and Inclusion in the Engineering-Construction Industry is available in the ASCE Library (https://asce library.org/jmenea/diversity_inclusion_engineering_construction). The construction industry is facing significant challenges in hiring and retaining skilled labor, and this labor shortage has been forecasted to worsen. To solve this issue, increasing diversity and inclusion is imperative for the future workforce of the engineering-construction industry. Nonetheless, the industry continues to struggle to develop a diverse construction workforce and attract or sustain workers from underrepresented groups. The underrepresented groups include gender, race, and ethnicity (i.e., African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders), disability, LGBTQ+, first-generation college, and socioeconomic status in the United States (National Science Foundation 2021). The challenges in developing a diverse construction workforce are many, and the solutions are complex. Many studies have offered insights into issues such as segregation and inequality, labor shortage , lack of diversity and discrimination in the construction industry , and the education of engineering students in underrepresented groups. However, more rigorous research and evidence-based practices are still needed to help the industry enhance diversity and inclusion in its workforce. To achieve this objective, this special collection establishes the scholarly foundations and evidence-based practices for fostering diversity and inclusion in the engineering-construction industry. In particular, this special collection focuses on the research areas including (1) diversity and inclusion in the construction workforce, (2) supporting contexts for workforce diversity and inclusion, (3) implications of workforce diversity and inclusion, (4) career development of underrepresented groups in the industry, and (5) the underrepresented groups in engineering-construction education programs. It contributes to enhancing the diversity and inclusion of all underrepresented populations in the construction workforce. Since the announcement of the call for papers for this special collection in May 2019, 40 extended abstracts were received. Authors of the 26 accepted abstracts were invited to submit full papers. Twenty-three full papers were received. After a rigorous peer-review process, 16 papers were accepted for publication and included in the special collection. The guest editors also examined the papers published in the Journal of Management of Engineering (JME) between 2000 and this special collection's call for papers in May 2019. Among the 11 relevant articles identified, seven were added to this special collection, given their alignment with the scope and aim of this collection. In total, 23 articles, including those newly accepted under this call and those previously published in JME, are included in this special collection. In summary, at the time of this announcement and among the 23 articles included, six focused on diversity and inclusion in the construction workforce, eight on supporting contexts for workforce diversity and inclusion, two on implications of workforce diversity and inclusion, one on career development of underre-presented groups, and six on the underrepresented groups in the engineering-construction education programs. This announcement summarizes and highlights the 23 papers that were collected by 2021.