Woman in Construction

Hey everyone! This week, we’ve got a slightly different blog for you as it's Women in Construction Week! Every year, the Construction industry celebrates Women and their equality in what is still a heavily male-dominated industry.

In this week's blog, I’m writing to you, joined by Char. We want to talk about how Sealand helps us take any question of gender inequality off the table and how they always have our backs the same as any other member of staff!

This year’s theme for WICW is ‘Together We Rise’ so we want to share our stories and hopefully encourage at least one woman who’s debating a career change to join us on this journey to complete gender equality across the industry.

Statistics from 2024 show…

According to ONS, only 15% of professionals in the UK construction industry are women. 

Only 7% of executive roles in the industry are held by women - Autodesk.

SIMIAN says that only 1% of the manual workforce in construction is women.

According to Redrow, 66% of young women are either working in, considering, or are open to a career in construction - so it’s safe to say these frightening facts are on the up! The UK construction industry now employs over 340,000 women, this number is estimated to jump up to 600,000 by 2027. 

But what about the other 33% who don't consider construction? Why, to part of those 66% of women, is construction still just an idea? I’m not going to sugar coat it; walking into an industry which has been heavily male-dominated for as long as we can remember is pretty daunting! I’ve definitely had my fair share of frosty welcomes both on-site, along with over-the-phone conversations where people would rather deal with anyone that’s not me. I’m extremely lucky to have colleagues who have helped me to build up a resilience to these kinds of behaviours, and who always push me to keep going despite putting up with inequality, which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy! It’s not all bad though - through the years, I’ve met some incredible people in the industry who treat me no differently than my colleagues, and I know they deeply appreciate the work I do for them. I’m thankful I have customers like these on my side, who celebrate women in the industry and believe that there is no place for gender inequality in the construction industry.

Anyone can join this industry; neither Char nor myself hold any construction-based qualifications. For context, I am a trained beauty therapist, and Char trained to be a midwife! Getting into construction seems to be a taboo for some reason. No one just lands here one day (not even the men); everyone starts from the beginning. I can’t shout loudly enough that the change I’ve seen over the last 5 years is amazing, and I'm so excited to see how the generations to come make a huge impact on those statistics we talked about earlier.

Women have a huge opportunity to play a pivotal role in closing this gap and driving the industry forward! Construction isn’t for the fainthearted, but if you’re looking for a job where you can stand out, make a difference and be a part of this movement, then it might just be for you! There are jobs readily available across the industry, whether you’re looking to help out in an office or get your hands dirty on site.

I think we can both confidently confirm we’ve found a home in the construction industry, and I couldn’t encourage women to join us more! We want to thank Sealand for pushing the Wendy’s of the world to be just as important and feel just as valued as the Bob’s!