In this guest blog Tamsin James, Head of Brand & Marketing at Shine For Women discusses why more women in the construction industry equates to better business and a better society.

Construction has one of the lowest representations of women across all industries. In the UK it’s estimated that only 15% of the workforce identifies as women, and this drops to 2% of on-site workers. Most companies are aware that they need to address this gender gap, after all it’s widely understood now that businesses with gender-balanced teams are more profitable, productive, and attract and retain the best talent. (We’ve compiled 100 facts on why gender equality matters, here.)

Specifically, for Construction, getting women to ‘the top’ and closing the gap will take longer than other industries at the current rate of progress. There are less women throughout the pipeline (it’s not ‘just’ the issue of mid-senior women dropping out of their careers, which we see across all sectors), and systemic challenges and deeply ingrained stereotypes that take time to dispel.

Whilst this can seem overwhelming, and on the whole a negative situation to overcome, it also brings opportunities for Construction that will put the industry in the unique position of being able to shape societies and transform lives throughout the world.

Firstly, more women in Construction will address the skills shortage and demand.

In the UK alone, despite economic uncertainty, it’s estimated by CITB and Experian that an extra 225,000 Construction workers will be needed to meet demand by 2027. This is driven by the need for more homes, better infrastructure for energy and transport, as well as adapting the built environment to meet Net Zero targets. And, at the end of 2022, Construction vacancies in the UK were almost twice as high as pre-pandemic levels, due to a combination of factors such as Brexit and an ageing workforce, so this is a challenge that requires new thinking.

Even going on today’s figures vs. future demand, if we increased the representation of women by 10%, that would bring an additional 266,000 workers into the industry – succeeding in both filling the future talent needs gap, AND the gender gap. While a simplistic way to look at things, it shows how investing in girls and women can solve multiple business challenges, beyond it being ‘the right’ thing to do.

Innovation will open up the industry to more women, and more women will drive innovation.

At Digital Construction Week we met the companies leading innovation in the sector. Not only is technology creating huge efficiencies in the way the built environment is designed and developed, but when you consider the possibilities for diversity and inclusion that BIM brings, it quite literally stands to change the entire system, if we allow it to.

We met Duncan Reed from the industrial tech company Trimble, who pointed out that many processes in Construction haven’t evolved for 100s of years, which not only wastes a huge amount of time and money, but it also means that as a career it is inaccessible to lots of people. And Construction is behind its peers. Sophie Morris, Head of Customer Success at Buildots highlighted on stage that according to McKinsey, Construction is the 2nd least digitised industry.

Technology can level the playing field, to the extent that you could be a wheelchair user, operating heavy machinery via the Internet in real-time, on a Construction site the other side of the world from you. Companies such as Skanska are acting on this change and looking to new skill sets for these jobs of the future. Their Head of Digital Construction, David Throssell explained that the organisation decided to digitalise their operations in 2017, because they realised that they had to evolve in order to meet customer expectations (clients now want a digital asset alongside the physical), and also to attract new talent and develop existing talent in order to address the skills gap.

When ‘the rules’ evolve around who makes the ideal Construction worker, so do systems and cultures. Kirsti Wells, Business Development Manager at BSI shared that inclusion, flexibility, innovation and leadership competencies are much bigger factors for companies and talent alike in this sector now. And all of this change will create a positive loop, because research widely suggests that when you have greater diversity throughout an organisation, you see greater innovation, and from that, overall business performance.

More women will mean safe spaces that work for all.

In 2023, it unfortunately is still the case that women exist in spaces that weren’t designed with them in mind – which is highly likely when there has never been an equal representation of women at decision making levels in the built environment.

For example, it’s reported that 1.25 billion women around the world don’t have access to a safe, private toilet. And in the UK there’s no legal requirement for the provision of baby changing facilities.

Transport systems have historically been designed for ‘mobility linked to employment’, and not for other needs such as caregiving responsibilities, which are still held by the majority women. There’s a reason that pushing a pram along a narrow pathway with high kerbs, or standing in a bus stop with no lighting, or not being able to catch a direct train outside of ‘peak times’ is all too familiar for many women. (If you haven’t already, read Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez OBE for several chapters on this.)

All of this impacts on women’s safety. UN Women UK ran a survey in 2021 which found that over 70% of women say they’ve experienced sexual harassment in public. And on a global scale, 9 out of 10 women in some cities say they feel unsafe in public spaces.

Women’s agency in decision-making within the built environment has a positive impact on everyone. For example, the Urban Planner Eva Kail has driven the gender mainstreaming approach in Vienna, transforming areas of the city to provide traffic lights that prioritise pedestrians, well-lit seating, kilometres of widened pavements and sports facilities that would appeal to girls and boys. Due to complete in 2028, Aspern, Vienna is one of the largest urban developments in Europe, and has been designed with gender mainstreaming throughout, already providing the residents (of all genders) with one of the highest qualities of life of any city in the world.

More women will accelerate the fight against climate change.

It’s widely recognised that gender and climate change are interlinked. In addition to the need to accelerate innovation in Construction in order to meet Net Zero goals, and women’s integral role within that, women are the people most affected by the impact of climate change – 80% of those displaced by climate change are women.

Businesses that are able to confidentially meet their ESG targets, including reaching gender equality, are more likely to satisfy growing stakeholder expectations. For example, a 2020 EY survey found that 98% of investors evaluate a company’s ESG performance, and millennials are three times more likely to seek employment with a company based on its stance around social and environmental factors.

And it’s not ‘just’ about women.

Trevor Steven, Mental Health Ambassador and former England & Everton Footballer spoke on stage at Digital Construction Week about the brilliant work he is leading at Causeway, to address the critical situation around men’s mental health within the Construction industry.

The stats are alarming. In the UK, 1 in 4 male construction workers have contemplated suicide. Two take their lives every single working day. Male on-site workers are three times more likely to commit suicide than the average male in the UK, and over 60% of men have experienced a mental health problem at some point. These figures are all on the rise…

There are multiple reasons for this. Periods of isolation working on-site, long hours, poor working conditions, tight deadlines, job security and unfair payment practices have all been reported.

It is also not a cultural norm to open up and share how you are feeling with others. Trevor and Causeway are working to change this by destigmatising mental health via the power of football, because high-profile players are now talking more publicly about their own challenges. And as the industry opens up and evolves systems and cultures to include more women and all areas of diversity, this will inevitably crack open conversations with men, and champion more human leadership traits.

What needs to happen?

Firstly, there needs to be an industry-wide shift with fundamental changes to the traditional ways of working. Starting right from the basics such as women’s access to toilets and suitable PPE, to flexibility, shared parental leave and returnships.

Once this is in place, companies need to develop women talent at all stages of the pipeline, and a focus on recruitment, reaching girls at the very beginnings of their career journeys. It’s critical that once women are there, they are not forgotten. Investment in personal and professional development for women, right at the moment they hit mid-senior management is key to ensuring they don’t drop out of the system a company has spent significant time and money adapting to better include them.

And men absolutely need to be a part of the journey to gender equality. Creating opportunities to reward them for championing women and being modern and progressive leaders, ensures that empathy becomes a habit and sits at the centre of company culture.

When this happens, women thrive, men thrive, and business thrives. And as we’ve seen – so will the world.

About Shine For Women

For the last 10 years, our unique methodology that involves coaching, practical tools, science and magic with women and all genders, has been proven to transform thousands of people’s lives.

And as a result, the organisations we work with have more gender-balanced leadership and higher-than-average levels of retention, plus cultures are changing for the better, for everyone.

Our clients understand that gender-balanced businesses are more profitable, innovative and competitive – that’s a given. By working with the world’s leading companies such as WPP, Rothschild, William Grant and Channel 4 to get more women to the top of their own systems, a ripple effect is created out into the marketplace and wider communities.

Visit our website to discover how we can support you to accelerate gender equality within your organisation and beyond.