Clearview National October 2019 - Issue 215 | Page 85

BUSINESSNEWS
as being transparent about their pay policies,
construction companies can work towards
total equality of pay for their workers. schools to help to answer questions about the
industry and encourage people to consider it as
a potential career path.
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% of
men interviewed would consider a career in
construction, but only 13% of women would
do the same.
The prevailing narrative about construction
is that it is physically demanding, creating a
stigma for 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% of construction companies work in 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:
1. CREATE MORE OPPORTUNITIES
FOR WOMEN
74% 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% of female respondents feel like they’d
be limited to on-site work and 56% 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 potential
career opportunities that are available. 64%
of 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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