For years, the construction industry has been dominated by men. But in recent years, although it may still appear from the outside to be a male-dominated environment, the construction industry is actually rebalancing the gender gap with more women choosing a career in construction.
There are many reasons for this, first of all, equality in the workplace has been a big driver for companies within male-dominated industries such as construction and engineering to encourage more women into these industries.
In fact, women account for around 14% of construction industry professionals and this number will continue to rise as opportunities and awareness of them increases. Misconceptions about gender- specific roles, particularly in construction are becoming a thing of the past, meaning more younger women are opting for a career in construction.
According to Go Construct, an industry-wide initiative that aims to attract, inform and retain a talented and diverse workforce to the construction and built environment sector, around 37% of new entrants into the industry that came from higher education were females.
The availability of college and university courses around construction has played a significant role in the increase of encouraging more women into construction. In the not so distant past, a career in
construction would not have been considered a possibility for many women.
But apprenticeships, construction-related courses and degrees have gone a long way to change perceptions and expectations. Students who initially think of a career in construction will likely think of plasterer, bricklayers or plumbers, but today they are realising careers such as architectural designers, project managers and buyers are available in construction.
Encouraging more young people into construction, especially women, will not only continue to help rebalance the gender gap but can go a long way to tackle the construction skills shortage. With 22% of the workforce aged 50 and over and 15% in their 60s, the skills shortage will become even greater
if nothing changes.
Costain Group and Wilmott Dixon have been recognised for their efforts to promote gender equality across the industry with both companies featuring in the annual 2020 Times Top 50 Employers for Women list. This was the third consecutive year Costain Group appeared and second consecutive year that Wilmott Dixon featured in the list.
One area of construction that is making significant progress in attracting and employing more females in recent years is heritage buildings. Female representation of manual workers during the £30m restoration of York Minster was 40% while one in six joiners, one in three glaziers and 25% of stonemasons were women at the £12.4m restoration of Lincoln Cathedral.
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