VR Women: Attracting Female Students to Construction through Immersive Storytelling
Jing Wen, Masoud Gheisari · Journal of Construction Engineering and Management · 2025
Construction occupations, such as construction managers, are projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2022 to 2032. Among these occupations, leadership positions in construction have been the most challenging to fill. Because of the workforce shortage, the industry has come to realize the significance of expanding the talent pool and recruiting historically underrepresented groups (e.g., women), given that this industry has been one of the most affected sectors to suffer from a lack of gender diversity. Despite ongoing efforts to augment female interest in construction educational programs, the desired outcomes have remained elusive. Thus, a critical need exists to explore innovative practices to motivate more prospective female students to enroll in construction programs. This study explored the utilization of 360-degree virtual immersive environments, powered by virtual characters, to narrate stories of the construction industry from female perspectives (VR Women). This paper first introduced in detail the creation and development process of VR Women. This study applies social cognitive career theory to examined how VR Women affected students’ attitudes toward the construction fields and how students’ personal and contextual influences played a role in the outcome of VR Women. Students’ cognitive attitudes were enhanced after the VR Women experience, where self-efficacy and outcome expectations were significantly improved. Additionally, the findings suggest that VR Women positively affects all female students regardless of their demographics, majors, accessibility to construction-related recourses, or encountered barriers. The primary contribution of this study lies in enriching researchers’ and educators’ understanding of the potential impact of immersive storytelling in motivating prospective female students and ultimately attracting them to the construction field in a cost-effective manner.