Women in Construction – the critical solution to a skills shortage
The drive to encourage and retain women in construction roles is a critical solution to the skills shortage and a topic of enormous importance to the industry at large .
One only has to consider the 300,000 new homes that are to be built each year , and the need for more than a million extra workers by 2020 , to realise the enormity of the challenges ahead . Figures suggest that women are expected to make up more than a quarter of that workforce by 2020 , but more can and should be done , with some experts believing the figure will be more like half of the workforce .
Looking back to 1988 , less than 7 % of the full-time construction industry workforce in Britain were women . By 1995 , the Equal Opportunities Commission stated in its annual publication that women continue to be significantly under-represented particularly in the construction sector .
The situation is improving with wages rising , albeit slowly , and the proportion of women in senior roles has almost trebled since 2005 , providing some hope that the misconceptions around construction being a gender-specific industry are at last being removed . But , a survey by Randstad in 2018 discovered that out of 1,200 people that have experienced gender discrimination ( 33 %), 60 % were women , and more than eight in ten women feel left out and excluded from male-oriented conversations and social events . Not only are these figures disturbing , but the survey revealed 43 % of organisations do not actively monitor pay equality .
Encouragingly , there are parts of the industry that have recognised the urgent need to address these inequalities , and we at London Build 2018 are a part of that drive . We ’ ve been hosting our Women in Construction Networking Event for two years now , and are thrilled that through the growing support from industry , we are able to offer inspiring leaders the platform to encourage and inspire the younger generation and more women to challenge the barriers to entry and aspire to a more diverse workforce .
At last year ’ s event , we worked with NAWIC , Built by Both , Women in Property , the Federation of Master Builders and many more key industry figures , registering 1,150 female visitors to the session . We aim to make this year ’ s event to be even bigger and remain the UK ’ s largest gathering of women working in construction !
This year , we ’ ve partnered again with NAWIC , and are delighted that Women in BIM ( WiB ) and many other industry leading bodies have come on board to bring this free-to-attend event for all , offering the chance for professional individuals operating in this market to network and feel inspired .
Not only will we have a great supply of refreshments , but you ’ ll hear from a panel of established female experts discussing the untapped opportunities for women , get any of your questions answered , and to network .
However , we are taking our commitment to shine a light on our women in construction one step further this year by creating our Women in Construction Ambassador community .
We have an impressive list of Women in Construction Ambassadors that have agreed to help us to drive equality and diversity in the built environment , but we ’ d like more to join . These incredible ladies
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