Mamabolo, Anastacia2026-03-232026-03-232026-05-052025*A2025http://hdl.handle.net/2263/109226Mini Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2025.Over the past 25 years there has been a rise in the number of women entering the male dominated construction industry sector. These women are determined to run successful entities to financially sustain themselves and to build a lasting, impactful legacy. Many women are making great strides within the construction sector, and are leading their own organisations, while some are obtaining prestigious titles such as ‘best woman-owned contractor’ and some are proclaiming titles of being named ‘the largest women-owned contractor’. Despite the great strides that some women-owners are making within the construction industry, there is still a large, saturated group at the bottom of the pool who have been unsuccessful. Some women have had to give up and exit the industry, following prolonged constraints and limited growth prospects, while others remained at the same level of business growth, with no prospects of scaling opportunities. The question therefore rises that, ‘what are the contributing factors that influence the scaling of women-owned construction businesses?’. How have these construction women-owners been able to scale businesses despite stringent construction regulatory policies while navigating bias social cultural norms?. The study therefore drew a focus on the role of personal identity in shaping the scaling of women-owned construction businesses. It sought to explore the personal identity traits that construction women owners have that have shaped the scaling of their businesses within the construction industry. The study unpacked aspects such as the character traits of these women-owners, their value systems, the beliefs that drive their motivation and resilience as well as the challenges they have navigated that influenced their personal identity and ability to scale their business. The study was structured as an exploratory qualitative study, whereby 18 women-owners, within the construction industry participated in semi-structured interviews with their contributions spanning between ten to 30 years of industry experience. The findings showed that the existing literature focuses on business-related factors such as access to capital, as well as networks, and industry related factors such as sexism, gender inequality, and patriarchal roles, without focusing on personal identity factors. The findings from the study addressed this gap, indicating identity through spiritual and socially rounded dimensions. Entrepreneurial resilience and an adaptive mindset, socio-relational identity, jack-of-all trades identity and ethical Identity were the personal identities that shaped the scaling of the participant study women owners within the construction industry. Further, findings showed that structural complexities constrained the scaling of women-owned construction businesses. Through the study, the aim was to achieve a new ii prospective, which was to contribute to the body of knowledge based on the outlined conceptualised themes and research frameworks. Furthermore, the study aimed to raise an awareness to the construction industry body, policy-makers, and industry leaders on how inclusive decisions and policies can empower and pioneer the scaling of women-owned construction businesses.en© 2025 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.UCTDWomen-ownership in constructionWomen-identity in constructionWomen-owned scalingConstruction industryScaling in constructionMini Dissertationu12180689