FRONT

uk construction week 2018 –––

Women in construction Women make up a mere 13 per cent of the industry’s workforce. But in the #MeToo era, asks Bryony Hancock, are things finally starting to change?

for women’s rights, 2018 has been a year of progress. Following the Weinstein scandal and subsequent #MeToo campaign, our gender-political landscape has altered dramatically. Conversations that previously would have crossed the taboo boundary – about sex, mental health and gender discrimination – are finally being aired. But despite these apparent steps forward, there’s at least one industry in which women are drastically under-represented: construction.

According to the Office for National Statistics, women constitute 13 per cent of the construction industry. It has one of the worst gender pay gaps, at 25 per cent – fair cause to place trade giants such as Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall and Kier under fire. But it’s not just an issue of pay: women aren’t getting into the industry in the first place.

The umbrella term ‘construction’ is stigmatised. Dirty, dangerous, laborious, masculine – it conjures images of hard hats, beer bellies and wolf-whistling. At the turn, of the 19th century when industrial and engineering techniques progressed full-throttle, death was commonplace. Six workers died during Marc Isambard Brunel’s attempt to tunnel under the Thames. Across the pond, the 1909 Chicago Crib Disaster saw 70 men either drowned or

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ABOVE The Shard in London, where Roma Agrawal was part of the structural engineering team burnt beyond recognition. Yet, with today’s technological advancements, these disasters are no longer part and parcel of the job.

Construction also isn’t just bricks and mortar. The industry needs to be more active in highlighting the roles available: project managers, site supervisors or consultants. Furthermore, with Brexit looming, many are concerned about skilled workers leaving Britain for a greener EU-shade of grass: recruiting more women