Mapping gender diversity policies in construction: a behaviour change and governance analysis

Achieving gender equality in the construction industry remains a persistent structural challenge, with women significantly under-represented in technical, trade, and leadership roles and concentrated largely in administrative positions. Despite decades of legislative reform and organisational initiatives, gender disparities persist, highlighting the need for systematic analysis of existing policy responses. While prior research has examined barriers to women’s participation, limited attention has been given to categorising and analysing policy instruments implemented across governance levels. This study conducts a PRISMA-guided systematic review of 53 peer-reviewed articles published between 1993 and 2023, drawn predominantly from Global North contexts. Legislative measures, organisational human resource policies, industry guidelines, and advocacy-led initiatives are systematically mapped using the Behavioural Change Wheel as an analytical framework to classify policy interventions across seven policy categories. The analysis is further extended through a stakeholder–policy responsibility matrix to clarify implementation roles across institutional actors. Findings indicate that existing interventions address capability, opportunity, and motivation determinants, yet challenges remain in implementation consistency, monitoring, and cross-stakeholder coordination. Key gaps relate to recruitment pathways, flexible work, worksite safety, and bias mitigation. By integrating theory-informed policy categorisation with stakeholder mapping, this study informs more coherent, accountable, and context-sensitive gender diversity strategies in construction.