recently chaired a discussion on the issue of diversity in the construction industry . More than 30 women from across the building services sector attended the event . It was organised jointly by leading charity Women on the Tools ( WOTT ), which has campaigned about the issue of women in trades for more than 40 years , and my own organisation NICEIC , who through our Jobs for the Girls campaign have actively encouraged more women into the electrical industry .

In 2007 women made up 12.1 per cent of the construction workforce – almost 10 years later we are told that figure has barely changed - 12.8 per cent . Why has the construction industry been so slow to adapt ? The 12 per cent figure was considered inflated as it includes women in allied roles or occupations such as quantity surveying and architecture – where the spilt is more likely to be around 50 / 50 .

Andrea Kelmanson , president of WOTT , said the figure for those women working out on site in a manual trade is actually something like two per cent . When WOTT started out back in the 1970s the figure was one per cent . It shows the progress has been painfully slow .

It was also interesting to hear from female electrician Charlotte Casey . She works for a maintenance firm in London with contracts for many of the stores in and around Oxford Street , including Harrods .

She is the only female out of 250 staff who works for the company and told the audience how it can be a long wait until you see another female face working in a trade out on site . She illustrated the day-to-day consequences of this by stating that the women ’ s toilets are often locked up at night – the assumption being that maintenance workers doing a night shift will all be men !

Education

The audience discussed why the figures for women were so low . Many of the problems were aimed at the education sector and the ways trades are taught , discussed and presented in schools . The construction sector is actually a well paid sector that offers a vast array of opportunities . Yet , it is still viewed by some as a third rate industry for people who do not perform well at school .

However , education has become subject to political whim , which promotes short term thinking . There has been an incredible 27 different

‘ Helping women feel they are not alone is down to industry representation .’

ministers with responsibility for education ( in its various forms ) in the last 53 years . Each one with different ideas and policies .

Parents too have a role to play . A recent survey of NICEIC contractors ( the majority of whom are male ) revealed that 69 per cent would not encourage their daughter into a trade because of the attitudes that still exist . Parents and especially those parents who already work in the trade have a big role to play in not only cleaning up any existing attitudes but encouraging their daughters to join too . Role models and imagery Many of the female trade workers in the room were united in the view that they were trailblazers in their field . Several owned their own business and felt they were able to carve out a niche for themselves as they were prepared to go it alone in an industry . What does it take to be prepared to be the only one ?

Helping women feel they are not alone is down to industry representation . The construction industry and the media have a large role to play in shaping the way the sector is viewed by young women . Thirty years ago when Kylie Minogue appeared as a motor mechanic in the Australian TV soap opera Neighbours there was a surge in applications of young females who wanted to join the motor trade . It would be great if we could get a similar character in one of today ’ s British soaps .

In addition we need to change the way construction is viewed in industry adverts . NICEIC recently ran its first ad campaign featuring a female . Not surprisingly , it didn ’ t create any fuss or outrage ! In fact , seeing a female face in workwear is now commonly accepted but we need more of it so that women and young girls can feel comfortable when choosing a career in the trades .

Room for optimism

When we started Jobs for the Girls six years ago we struggled to find female electricians who could help promote the campaign . Today we have a network of hundreds we can call on , keen to find out more and help promote the issue . It was also encouraging to hear from Kat Newton , field operations manager at John Lewis , who discussed the steps her organisation is taking to promote women trades professionals .

John Lewis is currently working in partnership with NICEIC on a pilot project to connect its customers with quality trades professionals . Home solutions by John Lewis have specifically requested more female tradespeople in response to a growing demand from its customers .

There are no diversity policies in place or any targets to be met . The reason John Lewis want to see more women is because that it is something its customers specifically like the option of .

It is something I believe we can all take our lead from .

For further information visit : www . niceic . com / jobsforthegirls

A recent discussion chaired by Emma Clancy addressed the issue of diversity in the construction industry .

20 | June 2017