Technology-driven gender inclusion in construction: a systematic review and future research directions

The construction industry continues to face persistent gender imbalance, with women significantly underrepresented across many roles. This systematic literature review synthesises 21 studies to examine how Industry 4.0 technologies influence women’s participation in construction. The analysis identifies three key pathways through which digital technologies may support inclusion: increasing work flexibility through digital collaboration tools, promoting equality through data-driven transparency in hiring and evaluation processes, and improving the industry’s image by shifting work toward safer and more knowledge-intensive roles. However, the review also indicates that these technological opportunities remain constrained by structural barriers, organisational practices, and uneven adoption of digital tools. The study highlights a gap in governance frameworks needed to translate digital transformation into sustained inclusion outcomes and proposes a future research agenda examining the organisational and institutional conditions necessary to support gender inclusion in the construction industry.