Osborne focuses on Gender Inequality

The conversation about challenging gender inequality in construction has been gaining traction for several years. While there has been various research into the representation of women in the construction industry, the figures haven’t shown much in the way of increase.

As a business, we are keen to change the perceptions and misconceptions of our sector as a way to attract women into construction. In partnership with Learning to Work, we invited 30 female students from Baylis Court School to join us for an insight into the Construction sector. Girls and young women need to see more about the fantastic opportunities construction presents, such as the chance to travel, gain industry-recognised qualifications and play an integral part in the development of buildings of the future.

In 2020 Go Construct investigated gender-related discrimination and gaps in the construction industry. They found that only 14% of the workforce in construction is female. Which, when considering women make up roughly 50% of the population is astoundingly low.

A collaboration of some of our incredible female team shared their career journeys throughout the day. Through storytelling their individual experiences, they inspired an audience of 30 young women. We also had activities interspersed between these talks to inform students about the wide scope of available roles that exist, teamwork exercises demonstrating the value of listening and hearing one another, and an office tour, where they were able to feel the welcoming and warm environment.

Our Managing Director Vicky Fordham-Lewis closed the day with a talk to the students. She researched dates for female access to sectors and leadership that perfectly illustrate why this is important and why we still have a long way to go.

Alison Griffiths, Project Delivery, LearningToWork: ‘The Osborne team was very welcoming and helpful. Very approachable and friendly also. Overall, very informative and engaging, and allowed exploration of many potential future careers! Thank you for collaborating with LTW so that we could inspire the future workforce!’

Mrs. Malik, Class Teacher, Baylis School: ‘A well organised event which was extremely inspiring! We are so much more aware and really appreciate all the effort that has gone into this. Thank you.’

Feedback from female students who attended the event:

‘Every woman who spoke today was extremely inspiring and motivating and the activities were fun. I’d like to register for a work placement to learn more’.

‘A well organised event which was extremely inspiring. Looking forward to doing some work experience with you’.