March 2010

The UK construction industry is one of the country's largest and most important employers. It provides a tenth of the UK's gross domestic product and employs around 1.5 million people. (A further 1.5 million people are employed throughout its supply chain.)

A recent report by the Equal Opportunities Commission found that while women make up 49% of the total UK workforce, they hold just 9% of the jobs in construction. Of those who do, only 10% make up women

working in design and construction management, and a mere 1% are trades labourers – that’s one woman to every two thousand men!

Compare that with women in education. In the UK, there are around half a million teachers employed in education, of which women make up 75%.

Education building now represents a significant part of UK construction activity, so it is perhaps surprising that construction teams remains male dominated.

A few years ago Hill McGlynn conducted a survey on women in construction. When women were asked what puts them off a career in the industry, they cited the ‘male dominated environment’, ‘long hours’, ‘working conditions’ and ‘not child friendly’ culture as key deterrents.

When it asked those women working in construction as to why they chose it for their career, however, 85% referred to an interest in building and engineering, the good prospects, and the fact that they wanted to do something a bit ‘different’ in life.

Sarah Payne is one such person. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Quantity Surveying and Commercial Management. ‘I was introduced to the construction industry at 16 years old when I did a work placement at a local building consultants,’ she said. ‘I liked it, and they advised me about pursuing a career in quantity surveying. Up until that point, it had never crossed my mind that it would be an industry I would want to get involved in.’

Now a Project Manager for BAM Construction, Sarah has worked on several high profile projects, including the rebuild and refurbishment of Lancaster University. ‘Working in construction is exciting and varied,’ she says. ‘There are not many jobs where you are engaging with people on every level, from clients to consultants and from labourers to directors. It’s a fantastic career where you get to work in a team delivering buildings that will make an impact on people for generations to come. There’s a great deal of pride in that, to be able to say ‘I built that’. It is an immensely rewarding industry to work in.’

The survey also revealed that while it was agreed that employers recruit on merit, many women don’t apply for construction jobs in the first place because of the aforementioned, and ill-perceived, deterrents.

Sarah adds: ‘The construction industry is no less flexible than any other business sector. It is about the company you work for and the benefits they offer. Despite the recession, long-term there are many varied opportunities for women in construction. However, the industry, and the benefits it offers, needs to be better promoted, and much earlier on, to girls as a career choice.’

That is why BAM goes into girls schools as well as mixed schools to promote careers in the industry, such as Parliament Hill School in Camden, where Ketiwe Pelekamoyo was able to tell students about her work experience and subsequent sponsorship. Its one reason we took on Marianna Chlebek at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and encouraged her through to a distinction on her masters degree in project management.  Around the corner in Islington, Angela Branch, another BAM project manager, is leading work on the Angel Building.

Not everybody wants to sit at a desk and wear sensible shoes all day. Twenty-two year old Liz Matthews has just been awarded a first class degree in construction management from Nottingham Trent University, and says her experience working on a local development has been essential to her success.

‘I’ve done the course on day release so I’ve been able to study and gain experience at the same time. Everybody has been very supportive. Not many women who qualify in construction management actually work out on site; they often work in design or office based positions and yes, you do have to work hard to gain acceptance.

 ‘The job has long hours but I enjoy it, I’m always busy but that’s why I like it. I could never imagine working in an office now.’