Job flexibility is the “single biggest barrier” for women in the construction industry, a non-profit lead has told a parliament select committee.
Jacqui Wordsworth, business development director at Women into Construction, a not-for-profit that promotes gender equality in the sector, said that women struggle to find jobs in construction that fit around caring responsibilities.
Speaking before the House of Commons’ Administration Committee on Monday (4 March), she said: “The single biggest barrier that we find in getting women into work and then keeping them there is around job flexibility.
“It is about persuading employers that construction can be done flexibly, that you do not have to start at 7 o’clock every morning, and that there could be different shift patterns.
“A young woman may not need that flexibility to start with, but at some point in her life, she might do and then it is difficult to stay in construction.”
Other barriers Wordsworth cited were ill-fitting PPE, poor welfare facilities, discriminatory behaviour on site and a lack of networks.
She said: “If you are the only woman in your team or the only woman on site, it can be a bit lonely and you do have to project confidence and be assertive in your demeanour at work.
“That can be quite challenging to sustain over a period of time.”
Wordsworth added that social value managers she had spoken to often want to encourage a more diverse workforce but find it difficult to provide additional training positions or flexible roles once a contract has been priced.
Women into Construction managing director Kath Moore, meanwhile, told the committee about inequality in schools’ career advice, with boys directed towards construction roles and girls towards hair and beauty.
Moore said: “There can be a feeling among teachers of, ‘We’ll send the ones who are not going to make it to university off to construction.’
“We need to challenge all these preconceptions about construction, not just for the girls but for the boys.”
The committee session was held in response to a parliamentary question by Conservative MP Natalie Elphicke about whether the parliament restoration programme would create opportunities for women in construction.
The committee later examined key personnel involved with the parliament refurbishment.
Chris Elliott, managing director of strategic estates in parliament, told the committee that women make up 55 per cent of his organisation, including 40 frontline project-management staff and heads of architecture and electrical engineering.
Janet Campbell, HR director at the Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority, told the committee that the authority is looking at obtaining PPE specially designed for women, including options for pregnant women and women who observe the hijab or the burqa.
Campbell also noted that the programme uses a gender decoder on job adverts to filter out biased language.
Information on this year’s Inspiring Women in Construction & Engineering Conference & Awards – hosted by Construction News and sister titles New Civil Engineer and Ground Engineering – can be found here
