According to figures by the CPA, in 2021 less than 15% of the construction workforce was female. Of that 15%, less than 1% were site-based roles. This equates to fewer than 8000 females employed in site-based and manual roles across the UK.
There are numerous potential reasons for this and whilst other industries have seen greater progress with bringing more women into traditionally male-dominated environments, the house building industry has remained some-what more static in terms of progress in this particular area.
There are many attractive reasons for considering a career in the house-building (and wider construction industry). The availability of work for one; house-building was one of the few industries continuing to operate through much of the Covid-19 pandemic, its importance to the UK economy is huge. The wide variety of roles available within the industry is also appealing and with much learning available on the job this makes it widely accessible for entrants across all levels of academic qualifications. The option to learn whilst studying is hugely popular (apprenticeship vacancies in the sector are currently oversubscribed) so why are there still so few females entering the industry at site level?
The Inspiring 5050 journey will delve into potential underlying reasons for this to help support the forward-thinking work of what needs to change (and how) in order to tangibly impact this 1% figure.