The Impact of External and Internal Sources of Motivation on Young Women’s Interest in Construction-Related Careers: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we explored the influence of sources of motivation on young women’s career choice in secondary schools in New Zealand and their interest in construction-related careers. We employed internal sources of motivation – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; and external sources of motivations – individual in close association with young women and social media to achieve this aim. These factors were supported by past research in career choice and the construction industry. A questionnaire survey was carried out on young women in a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand and statistical analysis using ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation was used to ascertain correlations and their level of significance. We found that mothers and self-actualization needs were the most important external and internal sources of motivation for young women to make a career choice. Concerning the construction-related careers investigated, we found that the perception of their friends, information circulated on social media and being safe (Security needs) influenced the young women’s interest in pursuing a quantity surveying career. On the other hand, the desire to be socially accepted (Social needs) deterred young women from choosing construction management as a future career. The result of this study showed that young women’s perception of construction-related careers depends on the career itself. It suggests that there may be careers that will be perceived positively by young women and therefore, should be explored. The results of this study are essential as they provide insights into a current issue for the construction industry. Recruitment programmes targetted on these sources of motivation are recommended to increase the interest of young women on construction-related careers.

KEYWORDS:

• Young women
• construction-related career
• career choice
• motivation

Acknowledgments

We are sincerely grateful to the secondary school for data collection and the support provided during the process. This project was funded by the Massey University Research Fund (MURF).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Massey University Research Fund (MURF) [RM20726].