This contractor worked with their suppliers to arrange a ‘try on’ event for the women’s PPE range. This gave female colleagues the opportunity to try out the range on offer in a variety of sizes to ensure a comfortable fit and order what they required on the day. Providing properly fitting, comfortable PPE in women’s sizes, is an important way…

With an increasing female workforce, this contractor have included within their site set up manual, PPE available to sites from their partners provider. The provider ensure that ‘Caddick selected’ PPE are in stock for call off when needed. This includes female sizes which are a better fit for the female members of the workforce.

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Construction Management Magazine and CIOB People have launched a new campaign to address the lack of inclusive PPE in construction. They brought together a panel of experts to hear their experiences of badly fitting PPE, why it is dangerous and what needs to change. The current shortcomings in PPE provision are nothing new for…

Women In Property, the contractor and local authority have partnered together to deliver a construction related school outreach programme to a group of 28 pupils at a local high school. The programme comprises of 8 weeks, including an intro to the project followed by sessions from a range of different disciplines in architecture, planning, structural and mechanical engineering, client focus,…

After recently carrying out some research into female site welfare standards, one suggestion was to provide ‘comfort boxes’ in the female toilets. Alongside enhancing their minimum standards for toilet facilities following feedback from their employees and visiting clients, they also teamed up with Grace and Green who provide sustainable sanitary solutions that are not only plastic free, but organic and…

This contractor has set-up a Menopause Action Group, recognising that for many people who experience the menopause that it can have huge impacts on their personal and professional lives. The group aims to raise awareness both in work and at home including for men who have partners going through the same. They have implemented specific measures to support their people…

Spotlight on… posters have been designed for general display in and around site welfare facilities. The Scheme has developed a collection of A3 posters from the series of ‘Spotlight on…’ learning toolkits. This resource has proven valuable for display on site and raising awareness amongst the workforce and visitors. To purchase these products, click here. To download a free electronic…

Over the past few months this contractor has been working with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London South East Colleges to set up a women into construction boot camp to provide training and skills to get women from Greenwich Borough into the construction industry. It is being provided in a 4 week programme with recruitment of learners being delivered…

This contractor saw an opportunity to promote women in construction through their different projects throughout Ireland and UK. The trend started on their Dungiven to Drumahoe Dualling programme when female staff were offered a ‘Wills Sisters’ jacket to help promote women in construction. This was so successful that the company have now implemented this in their other sites across the…

This contractor believe all women should have access to sanitary products during their period however, there are many women who are experiencing period poverty and are unable to access or afford them. These women have no choice but to use rags, socks, or even newspaper to manage their menstruation, making them vulnerable to disease. This project team decided to make…

On this site they have pregnant women or mothers present, therefore they have recognised a private space was needed to pump in private to keep up their supply therefore they dedicated a private nursing room for use by the project team and visitors, with a range of appropriate facilities as a minimum standard. The facilities provided include a comfy chair,…

Common Sense Self Defence led an informative and action-packed session for all female staff across the project whether site based, working from home or off-site. This was implemented as the final part of the contractors 3-part plan for women’s wellbeing as their team returns to site, which has included focuses on period dignity and domestic violence prevention. The instructor began…

This contractor implemented a 3 Point Plan to support women’s wellbeing at work. This plan focused on domestic violence, period dignity and self-defence to create a safer environment both in and out of the workplace. This is especially poignant as domestic abuse reports significantly rose during lockdown & in 2020 it was reported that 55% of women were sexually harassed…

To promote sustainable employment, a Women’s Network was established to enable locally recruited women to discuss key issues such as health, gender equality and celebrate International Women’s Day. The local women’s network provides the environment to enable women to not feel alone in a male dominated industry A recent outcome has been the creation of an interactive gender equality workshop…

Women make up around 14% of construction industry professionals and this number can only be set to rise with more and more women choosing construction jobs. Misconceptions about gender specific roles are gradually diminishing with the growing number of women choosing a career in construction. This project is promoting a toolbox talk about women in construction. The toolbox talk brings…

This project has added posters to their hoarding that celebrates twelve of the most prominent women in construction over the years from the 1500’s to the present day. They hope to have adults and children stop and take the time to read each poster and be inspired to become the next generation of construction workers.

The project team recently delivered a virtual work experience session for three women that have shown interest in Construction Health & Safety. Two women came through Women into Construction and one lady through West London College and their three week Sector Skills Academy programme. After initial support given to both stakeholder and their programmes, they were able to provide work…

After the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, recent campaigns, vigils, media spotlights, and focus on harassment and violence; this contractor have created a number of new safety conversation starter cards. These have been used as an aid to help open up conversations with the teams regarding personal safety, women’s safety and diversity. By having the conversations, it has made operatives…

Contractors should be ensuring that fairness, inclusion and respect standards are upheld to the highest level on sites, whilst also operating zero-tolerance policies on any behaviour that falls outside of what should be expected of an individual representing the construction industry. Attitudes towards these standards have improved in this area, however it is clear that it is still as important…

Period dignity is essential to health and wellbeing at work. It’s only right that female team members should have menstrual protection provided in every working environment. The Hey Girls Period Dignity campaign is part and parcel of a wider campaign to assist employers, leisure and facility providers to make conditions a little more equal for women at work and play….

The project team wanted to actively promote more career opportunities within the construction industry to women. To do this they undertook a series of presentations on construction careers within ‘Salon Services’ in Dover where the site is situated. By partnering with them, they were given access to a female dominated environment that allowed them to explain the roles women can…

Balfour Beatty are supporting the University of Dundee’s new Civil Engineering mentoring scheme which pairs female engineers with students to support and empower their transition through University and into their chosen career. Balfour Beatty Construction Manager Leigh Clark, project team member on the Badenoch & Strathspey Community hospital in Aviemore, is part of the newly launched mentoring scheme to encourage…

The Girl Dreamer Academy programme is an empowerment platform for women and girls of colour. Through leadership development programmes, adventure sport and digital content they aim to build confidence and unleash the potential of girls everywhere. Girl Dreamer likes to push the boundaries, test the waters and go full throttle at everything they do. From setting up the UK’s first…

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Kelly Sowden and Sophie Dick hosted a presentation at Temple Moor High School in Leeds to Year 11 students, to promote engineering roles and role for women in engineering. They discussed the different types of engineering and how John Sisk & Son aim to increase the number of women they hire into the industry. Gender…

Women in the Berkeley St Edward team at Hartland Village, Fleet, visited a local Brownie group (aged 7-10 yrs) to talk about the project and the huge variety of careers in construction. We played a game which involved busting lots of myths about the industry and made sure that they knew it wasn’t just for boys! The group have recently…

Berkeley West Thames, West London College (WLC) and Women Into Construction (WIC) teamed up this summer to offer women an opportunity to kick start a career in construction by hosting a four week training programme at the West London Construction Academy (WLCA), located on Berkeley’s Southall Waterside development. The programme provided an insight into the vast career options available within…

We have launched a ‘Championing Back to Work Mums’ scheme with the aim of attracting more women to return to work and get involved in the industry after having children. As a company we value women in our industry and we are committed to respect, treat fairly, encourage and support women within our company. As an incentive, we have introduced…

GRAHAM-BAM Healthcare Partnership recently hosted 14 girls aged 10–13 from the Women’s Tec Summer Scheme GIRLTEC Academy to raise awareness of environmental considerations in construction projects. The workshop formed part of a practical visit to the GBHP Royal Victoria Hospital site to encourage female pupils to consider future careers in construction. The visit included talks and hands on activities from…

After a gap in the market was discovered, our Senior Office Manager, supported by Multiplex’s Temporary Works Manager, have been working with Onsite Support and Leo to develop a dual-tone female-shaped Hi-Vis. The Broadway will be the first project for Multiplex to make this change. Ensuring details of purchasing are passed onto the supply chain, all of the women currently…

The construction industry lacks diversity. There are various diversity issues within the industry and there have been various attempts to tackle the issue. Gender disparity has been one of the diversity issues, as the construction industry is still predominantly male dominated. Changes take time, especially attitude changes. The unconscious biases exist in the industry and the changes in construction industry…

A secure iPad in the canteen has been installed for the workforce to access while on their breaks. The iPad stand is adjustable and has two positions, so the user can stand up or sit down. The stool provided at the station is made out of re-used waste materials from site. The iPad is preloaded with information on the following…

Over the past few years, the construction industry has been trying to improve the diversity of the workforce by encouraging more women into the industry. However, as the industry is still fairly male orientated, there is still a risk that welfare facilities and toilets may not be suitable for female members of staff (for example there may not be clean/…

Construction has an infamous gender imbalance which the industry needs to redress. Working with young women can help tackle false perceptions of the industry and promote construction careers. See the examples below for how one site addressed this: The site supported the local council’s Women in Engineering and STEM event for secondary school aged females. The site team delivered a…

As part of BAM Construction’s Ready, Steady, Girls Construct! Employability programme, the Blairdardie Primary School site team created an onsite skills zone to host the group. The programme, which focuses on attracting female pupils into the construction industry by providing them with industry insight, training, work experience and employability skills, was delivered over a 10 week period to a group…

Women remain vastly underrepresented in the construction industry. I started as a graduate in Redrow Homes and they have a robust plan in place to encourage and support women. Redrow decided to make an animation video where I was able to tell my story, stating a message that construction is a great place to work and many people were able…

As part of Heron Bros project delivery for East Renfrewshire Council and the construction of Faith Schools Joint Campus, Crookfur PS & Nursery and Arthurlie Family Centre, they implemented the “Girls’ Horizons” Initiative to encourage females into STEM careers. In partnership with East Renfrewshire Council, BDP Architects and local schools a female-only careers event was held. More than 80 pupils…

As part of our commitment to promoting women in construction, the Interserve site team at our flagship £25M Leisure Centre project in Eastleigh, Hampshire have hosted two Women in Property breakfast meetings which have included presentations about the design and construction challenges faced as well as a site tour for those attending. The project has a number of women working…

International Women in Engineering Day is an annual event organised by the Women’s Engineering Society to promote career opportunities and celebrate successful female engineers. To celebrate this day on your site you could consider: Attending and presenting at a Women in Engineering event. Conducting a visit to a local school to promote engineering careers to young women and men. Encourage…

Women who work for BAM Nuttall are being supplied with workwear designed specifically for them. After a series of trials on a number of its sites in London, Leeds, Newcastle and Scotland, the company is rolling out a range of work clothing nationwide that is specifically designed for women. Working with workwear manufacturer Arco, BAM Nuttall has commissioned polo shirts,…

Reports reveal that women are expected to make up a quarter (26%) of the UK’s construction workforce by 2020. Although companies are doing more to encourage women to join the industry, 41% of women still believe men are paid more. Encouraging and retaining more women in construction is essential to filling the looming skills shortage. Ballymore is encouraging women to…

The WISE campaign seeks to achieve gender balance in STEM industries by conducting schools outreach, showcasing role models and providing consultancy and training. Drawing from research seeking to understand why certain groups are under-represented in STEM, WISE has launched its ‘People Like Me’ programme to show young girls that they could find fulfilling careers in STEM. Psychological research shows that girls…

To celebrate International Women in Engineering Day, we developed a series of short bios of women in our business. Drawing from a broad cross section of disciplines and experience from within the project, our leadership team worked with women to capture and celebrate their own journey in engineering and construction. As well as capturing their stories, we encouraged our women…

Pupils from four schools in East Renfrewshire recently attended an informative workshop hosted by BAM Construction. Held at Barrhead High School, a live construction site, the event was designed to inspire girls to consider construction as a career. Third to fifth year pupils were selected to take part from Williamwood High School, St Ninians, Woodfarm High School and St Luke’s…

As part of a greater effort to introduce new talent into the industry, Crossrail Paddington offered short term work placements and CV Workshops to members of Women into Construction (WiC), giving them the opportunity to develop their skills and gain further project experience. Aliona supported the commercial team as an assistant to help produce subcontract agreement for various work packages;…

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. To support International Women’s Day on your site, you could do the following: Support and participate in ‘Women in Construction’ events; Have a robust equality and diversity policy ensuring men and women are treated equally; Visit the ‘International Women’s Day’ website to view resources…

The construction site was based in a remote area with no direct neighbours so we went out to the local Girl Guides group to try and get them involved in construction. They had the annual International Jamboree which they wanted to create an archway for their camp site which they requested we helped with. Using timber that was going spare…

One of the problems that exists when talking to young people about careers in construction is the lack of understanding about the variety of different roles available. Both teachers and school children are unaware of the scope with a career in construction and can limit the options of students because of preconceptions about who would be suitable to work in…

To celebrate women in engineering and support and encourage more women to consider a career in engineering or construction, we developed a series of activities to celebrate National Women in Engineering Day (NWED). These encouraged staff to take the opportunity to understand a bit more about how the role of women in engineering has changed and continues to change in…

A key requirement of the Scheme’s Code of Considerate Practice is to provide a workplace where everyone is respected, treated fairly, encouraged, supported and made to feel valued as an employee. All members of the workforce must be treated fairly and without discrimination. An ‘inclusion’ policy should demonstrate commitment to equality, diversity and respect amongst the workforce. Many companies are turning to CITB’s…