SEPTEMBER 2019 | 45
Skills
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
WHAT CAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES
DO TO IMPROVE GENDER EQUALITY?
Gender inequality is a
long-standing issue that has crept
into every industry, and construc-
tion is no different. Though many
industries have a fairly even ratio
of male to female employees at
entry level, there are almost al-
ways fewer women at the top.
A report from the Directory for
Social Change takes a comprehen-
sive look at how imbalanced the
gender ratio is in the UK. Using
company CSR policies and annual
reports, the study was able to
determine the gender statistics for
399 corporate boards. An analysis
of the data shows that the overall
percentage of women on boards
was around 22%.
Although small, this number
is actually higher than, it was in
2013, where similar reports found
that only 13% of board members
were women. However, of the
remaining 78% of companies, 16%
still confess to having purely male
board members - excluding wom-
en entirely.
Addressing gender inequality
and calling for more women in the
workplace is more than just trying
to fill a quota, it could be the key
to a company’s success.
Gender inequality
in construction
Much like the tech, science and
other STEM industries, the con-
struction industry is still lacking
in gender equality and is dom-
inated by men. In 2007, 12.1%
of workers in construction was
represented by female workers,
whereas reports in 2016 showed
that statistic only increased slight-
ly to 12.8%.
In fact, a more recent study
in 2018 by Wise found that the
number of female employees in
construction numbered just 11%,
meaning the industry could actu-
ally be taking a step backwards.
Even in 2019 as a training pro-
vider, 3B Training hasn’t seen a
huge percentage of women walk
through the door for training
courses when compared to men.
Of nearly 10,000 delegates we
have booked on courses so far,
only 15% of those are women.
Overlooking
female talent
When looking closer at the caus-
es of gender imbalance in con-
struction, a common issue seems
to be that female employees aren’t
given the same opportunities as
their male coworkers.
Randstad interviewed 1,200
people who experienced gender
discrimination in the construc-
tion industry, 60% of whom were
women. Of the women surveyed,
three-quarters say they feel over-
looked for promotions because of
their gender, not their skills.
It’s not just progression where
women feel like they’re missing
out, either. 8 in 10 women sur-
veyed have felt left out of social
events and conversations by their
coworkers. This feeling of exclu-
sion risks creating a toxic culture
of bias throughout the industry.
Women leaders in
construction
Due to the lower number of
female workers in construction
in general, it’s unsurprising to
find that the industry is lacking
in women at an executive level or
higher. Nearly half of workers went
so far as to say that they had never
worked with a female manager.
However, that doesn’t mean that
the industry would react badly
to more female leaders. In fact,
Randstad’s study found that 93% 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 compa-
nies run by a man.
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 con-
struction:
1. Create more
opportunities for women
As an industry currently suffering
from a severe skills shortage, open-
ing 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, un-
conscious 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% women and
regularly runs engagement pro-
grammes 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 staff to
help remove gender bias in the
workplace:
Addressing the pay gap
Due to the overwhelming male
to female ratio until now, the con-
struction 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. Where-
as the construction industry had
a gender pay gap of 36% in 2018
(one of the worst industries for pay
disparity), it has since narrowed to
20.43%.
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 not
monitoring their gender pay gaps,
so it’s difficult to accurately de-
termine how well the industry is
dealing with the issue.
By properly analysing and
understanding 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 per-
ception 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, construc-
tion 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 schools to help to answer
questions about the industry and
encourage people to consider it as
a potential career path.
74% of women in Randstad’s sur-
vey were not part of any ‘women
in construction’ initiatives that will
help them progress to senior posi-
tions. This highlights the need for
more programmes to help encour-
age 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 initia-
tive that supports women through
career breaks for childcare, urging
other companies to work togeth-
er 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 execu-
tive 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 compa-
nies 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 under-
taking, but by companies adopt-
ing some of the methods we’ve
discussed, they are chipping away
slowly at the bigger picture - help-
ing to create a pathway to gender
equality.