Tackling the leaky pipe
Dr Karen Blay FHEA, Lecturer in Digital Construction and Quantity Surveying, Loughborough University
RESEARCH from the Construction Industry Training Board1 has found that the UK construction workforce has fallen by 175,000 – causing labour woes for employers in the industry. And while the construction industry is making important strides in addressing the gender imbalances that exist, more must be done. Attracting more females into the sector as well as doing more to retain current women in the industry will help address the construction skills shortages which risks moving from an issue to a crisis.
While inclusive working policies and promoting gender diversity across organisations are embedded in the working practices of many construction firms, women still only make up approximately 20% of the overall construction workforce globally. In the last decade, progress has been made to raise the profile of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers but this has mainly centred on the discipline of engineering. There are wider opportunities for women that have not been explored or promoted.
The leaky pipe
We have a concept that has emerged over the last few years that is theoretically referred to as the ‘leaky pipe.’ In its most basic terms, it is essentially discovering that you have had a substantial pipeline leak in your critical water supply for some time. Although your supply is precious to your community activities and outputs, it is a limited commodity, and you pay a premium cost to have it.
So, the leaky pipe involves discovering that your water is disappearing to other communities who are benefiting from your investment. Putting this into context in the construction industry; whilst we struggle to attract women in the first instance, we also struggle to retain female employees. This issue can often go unnoticed by construction firms, but from an industry perspective, we all have a role to play in driving the necessary change to plug the leak.
Digitalisation
Many young women – particularly those outside the sector – engage with the common misconceptions that circle around the industry, and the range of opportunities available for them. This view is further reinforced by marketing and talent attraction campaigns. Job adverts in the construction sector tend to adopt gender-biased language and traditional visuals of men working on site.
There’s a lack of awareness of the scope of roles that digital transformation in construction can offer women. For school students, poor knowledge of the construction discipline is also fuelled by the absence of early mentorship programmes – more needs to be done to demonstrate the exciting opportunities the construction industry can offer them. Strong campaigns supported by positive outreach can help reverse industry misunderstandings to appeal to girls at secondary education level.
While this approach could lead to an increase in the number of females pursuing a career in construction in the future, we also need to focus on the issues existing within the sector today. Although time has shown that progress has been made towards attracting women into the sector, it is often historical issues within the industry that stop females from progressing – or at least from believing they can progress.
There’s a lack of awareness of the scope of roles that digital transformation in construction can offer women.
While women account for only 11% of the construction workforce in the UK, only 1% of workers on site are female. Nevertheless, according to Randstad, women in construction management roles increased by 9% in the UK between 2018 and 2020 which shows opportunities are there. Increasing pressure on skillsets, coupled with the sector losing employees due to outward migration brought on by Brexit and the pandemic, means it is imperative that retaining women should be a central focus of the industry.
Digital technology is increasingly playing an important role in construction, providing an opportunity to change the outdated image and stereotypes of the industry today. Nonetheless, because of the traditionally high workloads and long working hours embedded in the industry some women struggle to maintain their work and home life balance which leads them to seek flexible working opportunities outside of the sector.
As construction firms develop and embed their digital strategies, especially in light of remote working practices as a result of COVID-19, diverse innovative roles in the industry are constantly developing. The industry has seen a rise in digital experts gaining more senior and leadership positions – and women with strong hard and soft skills are in the perfect position to put themselves forward for these roles.
Digitalisation facilitates flexible and remote working which has become more important and prevalent in the workplace over the last two years. The hybrid working environment provides more balance to employees and enables women to feel more included, valued and supported. In online meetings, everyone is in the same position. Female colleagues can raise their profile and extend their network in ways that may have not been so accessible in the pre COVID-19 working practices.
The rise of building information modelling (BIM) and digital twins within the industry is pushing many companies to work in more efficient and collaborative ways, but there is a requirement for the entire workforce to upskill in this area. Platforms like Autodesk’s Construction Cloud’s Build solution allow all team members to access project data at any time from anywhere. For women working in remote roles, access to key project data supports transparency and inclusivity when it comes to working on projects. Being able to access BIM models from wherever, whenever means there are no barriers when it comes to developing digital skills within their roles.
Culture shifts
So, what is the secret to retaining women in the sector and fixing the leaky pipe? Company culture and optimising digital technologies to facilitate inclusion play a significant role. More open and inclusive working practices and environment are an important element, supported by using digital technology tools to facilitate and analyse female interaction and engagement within an organisation and across project teams. Also, the need to shift mindsets when it comes to productivity and focus on innovative outcomes across the industry will facilitate inclusive work practices.
There is much to do in the industry – from tackling climate change, embedding new working practices and dealing with health and safety concerns. We need a diverse and engaged workforce to address these issues, bringing unique and innovative perspectives to some of the biggest problems we are facing both for our industry and for our communities right now.
Dr Karen Blay FHEA, Lecturer in Digital Construction and Quantity Surveying, Loughborough University
Dr Karen Blay partnered with Autodesk as part of the Women in Construction World Series.