26 NEWS FEATURE
employment in construction. Roles in health and safety, construction management, procurement, surveying, estimating and site inspection are all potential routes that are available, yet people may not be aware of them. Only 22 per cent of construction companies work in schools to help to answer questions about the industry and encourage people to consider it as a potential career path.
STRATEGY FOR CHANGE To really tackle the issue, a clear strategy needs to be put in place for all construction companies to follow. There are two major steps that companies should take to ensure gender equality in construction:
female leaders. In fact, Randstad’s study found that 93 per cent of construction workers felt that being managed by a woman would have the same effect as a male manager, or even improve things. And, according to the data, they’d be
right. All 169 companies in the FTSE 350 with at least one woman on their executive board saw a higher return on capital than companies with none. Hiring from the top down is also a
way to create a more inclusive work environment for women at all levels. By having a senior female leader, it sends a message to other female workers that progression is achievable. Companies that opt for a woman as their chief executive are, on average, likely to have more than twice as many women on their executive board than companies run by a man. As an industry currently suffering from
a severe skills shortage, opening the door to talented women in senior roles could be the answer construction is looking for.
RAISING AWARENESS When it comes to women in construction being overlooked, unconscious bias and ignorance play a huge part in the issue. There are only six construction
companies in the UK that have an equal number of male to female directors or are female-led. One of those companies, Renishaw plc, has a board of 70 per cent women and regularly runs engagement programmes with schools, universities and the Government to help raise awareness of gender imbalance and overcome stereotypes. If more companies in construction follow suit, the industry can knock down barriers that would otherwise deter potential female candidates. Multinational human resource
consulting firm Randstad has reached out to organisations to find out how they are currently supporting their female
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staff to help remove gender bias in the workplace.
ADDRESSING THE PAY GAP Due to the overwhelming male to female ratio until now, the construction industry has been guilty of a wide gender pay gap. A recent survey conducted by RICS,
however, has found that the industry has acted and is making strides to address the issue. Whereas the construction industry had a gender pay gap of 36 per cent in 2018 (one of the worst industries for pay disparity), it has since narrowed to 20.43 per cent. Although this is a positive result for the
industry, more steps are needed before the pay gap is a thing of the past. Nearly half of construction companies are not monitoring their gender pay gaps, so it’s difficult to accurately determine how well the industry is dealing with the issue. By properly analysing and understand-
ing exactly how men and women are paid, as well as being transparent about their pay policies, construction companies can work towards total equality of pay for their workers.
CHANGING PERCEPTION AND REDUCING STIGMA One of the biggest problems with creating a diverse workforce in construction is that it has developed such a strong perception of what the industry is like, making it hard for people to see past the stereotypes. Keepmoat conducted a survey on 1,000
adults between the ages of 16-25, looking at the differences in perception of the construction industry. The survey showed that 21 per cent of men interviewed would consider a career in construction, but only 13 per cent of women would do the same. The prevailing narrative about
construction is that it is physically demanding, creating a stigma for
1. Create more opportunities for women
74 per cent of women in Randstad’s survey were not part of any ‘women in construction’ initiatives that will help them progress to senior positions. This highlights the need for more programmes to help encourage women to get involved, as well as greater advertising that current programmes are available. Balfour Beatty has taken gender
equality into their own hands and has recently introduced an initiative that supports women through career breaks for childcare, urging other companies to work together as an industry to do a similar thing.
2. Provide education early
As we can see from Keepmoat’s survey, education is a real issue in the industry. 29 per cent of female respondents feel like they’d be limited to on-site work and 56 per cent were surprised to find out that a significant number of women in construction are hired at an executive level or higher. With so many stereotypes around
the construction industry, it’s important to educate people early about the poten- tial career opportunities that are available. 64 per cent of survey respondents
claimed they would like construction companies to work closely with schools, colleges and universities. Without the right knowledge, many women will continue to believe that the construction is limited to working on a building site. Addressing the problems with
gender balance in construction may appear like a huge undertaking, but by companies adopting some of the methods we’ve discussed, they are chipping away slowly at the bigger picture – helping to create a pathway to gender equality.
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