ABSTRACT
Diversity and inclusion in workforces and organizations of modern society have recently become topical issues. With equality and equity talks on the rise, there have been efforts by some industries and firms to ensure inclusion of all groups of workers who are marginalized and vulnerable in the structure of society. Various vulnerable groups like female, disabled, older, younger, ethnic, and even queer/homosexual workers have faced challenges of inclusion in a ‘diverse’ workforce, in a so-called manly industry like construction. In this chapter, multiple approaches comprising critical review of existing literature-based search engines and databases notably, Google scholar, Scopus, and Science direct are adopted to explore diversity and inclusion in the construction industry. The chapter analyses the challenges and prescribes solutions through strategies the industry can employ to promote the pressing concept of diversity and inclusion on the construction sector. The strategies revealed include training and education, bridging the pay gap for qualified personnel, establishing a flexible work environment, introducing anti-discrimination laws and statutes, and tackling the root cause of the entire exclusion problem, thus organizational culture. This chapter concluded by developing a framework that can help in diversity and inclusion processes in the construction industry.
