While there's been significant progress in recent years, there's still a fairy distance to go to reach equality in the industry. To highlight this, 3B Training has released an infographic, which illustrates how far women have come and where there's still room for improvement.
The infographic shows in 2023, the UK construction force was 15.8% female with over 340,000 women working in the industry. A 3.2% increase since before the pandemic occurred.
Despite this increase, the ratio of women to men is still massively disproportionate.
For Women in Construction Week, 3B Training interviewed Pamela Evans, founder of Diggerlady to reflect on her experiences of being a woman in the construction industry.
“In school I was told I couldn’t be a digger driver, that it's a man’s job and I was signposted to different career options like care work.”
Fortunately, Pamela didn’t let this deter her from continuing her passion and aged just 21, she became not only the first female in the country to get the 360º Tracked Excavator licence, she was also the youngest person ever to obtain this licence.
These old fashioned attitudes and gender stereotyping aren’t the only reason why so few women are looking to join the industry. The lack of awareness around opportunities for women in construction is another major factor.
A Women into Construction (WIC) survey of 16-25 year olds learned only 13% of women would even consider a career in the construction industry.
29% of women thought construction meant onsite work only, and 45% later said they would be more interested in a career in construction after learning about the diverse roles available for women in construction industry management.
In an interview with 3B Training, Charlene Wade, Project Manager at Equans said: “The opportunities in construction aren't all labour based. Some of the skills women already have are transferable into the construction industry. So if you’re an admin or in any kind of leadership or management role, you can use that in the construction industry, too.”
On a more positive note, the top three reasons why women find the construction industry appealing include the:
Potential high salary
Opportunity for a long term career
Ability to set up their own business in the future
“Starting my own business was the best thing I ever did and I encourage other women to start their own business in trades.” said Pamela.
However, Pamela’s journey wasn't always smooth-sailing…
“Sometimes I'd be the only woman on a site with up to 100 men. Some were supportive, some didn’t bat an eyelid, but there were always some men who couldn’t stand the fact I was there in a ‘male’ industry. I was often told I shouldn't be there, I shouldn't be taking a ‘man’s job’. It was hard to hear but it spurred me on to prove I was in the right place and that I was doing the right job.”
Unfortunately, Pamela isn’t alone when it comes to facing discrimination as a woman in the construction industry. An alarming 72% of women in the construction industry experienced gender discrimination in the workplace, with 41% receiving inappropriate comments from male colleagues and 26% reporting they believed they were left out or excluded.
Discrimination is just one of the reasons why women have left the industry. Other factors include:
Unequal growth opportunities compared to men
Lack of access to a women’s toilet
Unequal pay (A study by Rated People found women are paid just 72% of men’s average pay for trade roles).
Inflexibility. Which can be difficult for women who have children.
So how can we address these issues that are keeping women from filling the skills gap?
When asked this question, 47% said a change to the male dominated culture would be the number one change required.
1 in 10 women said better childcare options would be the top change in persuading them to join or stay in the construction industry.
Other factors that help women to stay in the industry include:
Equal pay
Equal growth/training opportunities
Flexible working hours
Charlene Wade offers the following advice to women who are looking to join construction:
“Start doing your research online, then begin going to events and seminars to put yourself out there. There are schemes to assist women to join firms. Ensure you work in a firm whose values align with yours.”
Pamela’s advice?
“Speak to other women who work in the construction industry. Get in touch with the Register of Tradeswomen (https://registeroftradeswomen.com), attend women in trades events. Don’t be deterred by being in a minority, it’s the only way we can make the necessary changes. Women’s skills are needed.”
You can watch the full interviews with Charlene Wade and ‘The Digger Lady’ Pamela Evans on the 3B Training YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@3btraining
FACTFILE: A leading UK-based organisation, 3B Training offers premier health and safety accredited courses online, in-house, and across various training venues nationwide. Courses are backed by esteemed accreditations, including CITB, IOSH, and NEBOSH, among others.
Website: https://www.3btraining.com
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