Women in Construction Survey

A recent report by the Equal Opportunities Commission found that while women make up 49% of the total UK workforce, they hold just 1% of all construction jobs. So at a time when the industry is trying to square a skills shortage against a mounting workload (especially with the Olympic bid win), women represent a potentially vast and untapped source of future candidates.

In Summer 2005, leading Construction Recruitment organisation, Hill McGlynn, surveyed 3,000 key clients and female candidates to see whether the gender gap is being addressed.

Results from Employers
More than half of the companies surveyed employed between 1 and 10 female employees in the construction process ñ but with 66% of the companies employing 100 people (and 26% employing 1000 ), the proportions are very low.

A small majority (55%) report that they have altered working hours and practices to accommodate the needs of their female employees, but an overwhelming 79% reported that they place no special focus on recruiting more women to the company.

When asked what deters women from the construction industry, they themselves point to a mixture of the ëmale dominated environmentí, ëlong hoursí, ëworking conditionsí and ënot child friendlyí culture.

Results from Female Employees
The women questioned were employed across a wide range of construction sectors, from Building, Architecture and Engineering to Housing and Project Management/QS roles. When asked why they had chosen a career in construction, 85% referred to a fundamental interest in building and engineering, the good career prospects or just the fact that they wanted to do something a bit ëdifferentí in life ñ all good indicators of enthusiasm and commitment for the choices they had made.

While 40% had worked in construction for 6 years, 66% claimed to be aware of sexism in the industry, and 47% said they would leave if their current employers were unsympathetic to their increased family responsibilities (if they had children) and failed to offer flexible working hours.

Analysis
While it was universally agreed that employers should and do recruit on merit (rather than ëpositively discriminatingí for women) it is clear that many women may not apply for construction jobs in the first place because of the acknowledged deterrents. Therefore companies that are addressing the working hours / working environment issues on behalf of their female employees need to promote the fact to future candidates if they want to benefit from a more diverse workforce.

Full Report
You can find a full copy of the Hill McGlynn Women in Construction Survey Results at www.hillmcglynn.com ñ we hope you find it food for thought.