National Association of Women in Construction

The Black Country Learning and Skills Council, in conjunction with the University of Wolverhampton are conducting research into "Management Skills Development for Women in the Black Country". This research project aims to identify, quantify and explore the barriers to self employment and higher management roles for women in this area.

The project aims are as follows;

• To achieve a more detailed quantification than currently exists of the participation of women in self-employment, management, and supervisory roles in the Black Country;
• To construct a detailed stage model of women’s progression and identify who are the "gatekeepers" and "rulemakers";
• To identify any barriers and explain how they operate in the lives of women;
• To develop insights, from women’s own perspectives, which will be used to inform strategy on the development of opportunities for women;

The research will be centred on these series of questions;

1. Why is the incidence of women in self-employment and management in the Black Country lower than in other parts of the UK?
2. What specific external and internal barriers may be holding women back, and how are these experienced by women themselves?
3. What are the factors in each of the business sectors investigated that act as forces for or against women’s participation and progression in management or business leadership roles?
4. What would be an effective strategy for tackling the barriers in terms of the provision of learning and development opportunities?

The scope and the timescales involved for the project has resulted in the selection of four key business sectors to investigate, which are Construction, Retail, Health care, Community and voluntary work.

Are there any NAWIC members in the Black Country and surrounding areas who would be willing to take part in this research? If so please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it