years ago, when I started recruiting for construction and property organisations, sexism was still pretty common within the industry. The moment a woman stepped on the site, it began; the analysis of her face, her body, her voice, her demeanour; the scrutiny of her skills, her accomplishments, and her ability. Until recently, one in five companies have no women in senior roles. Less overt sexism was also more frequent. Back in the day, site gear didn’t fit women, for instance. “It’s reassuring to see how our data supports the positive advances we are seeing in our industry even if this isn’t as quick as we would like! The recent advances around the design of PPE to support our diverse workforce is a real achievement. I am confident that over the next decade, we will start to see more women in senior roles.” INITIATIVES & SOLUTIONS Randstad also asked women what they thought would help women stay in the industry. Half (50%) said more flexible working hours with 42% suggesting better childcare options. A third (33%) said cultural change was needed. Owen Goodhead said: “There are some concrete initiatives that the industry can adopt to stop the flood of women leaving the industry including more flexible working arrangements, and better childcare arrangements. The worrying thing is that, 35% of the women we polled were unaware of any initiatives offered by their own company to try to stem the flow.” Contact details: Contact: James Staunton, Instinctif Partners Details: 079 0320 7726 / james.staunton@instinctif.com Contact: Gemma Umney, Randstad UK Details: 07879 677 436 / gemma.umney@randstad.co.uk TABLE 4: How to persuade more women to stay in the industry? How to persuade more women to stay in the industry (%) Equal growth opportunities for men and women 52% Flexible working hours 50% Better childcare options 42% Culture change 33% Better maternity rights/pay 28% More mentors 27% More serious approach to management of sexual harassment claims 25% Available career advice 21%
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