Are We Starting Too Late with Efforts to Boost Gender Equality in Construction?

For a long time, it was assumed that there were such things as ‘male’ and ‘female’ brains. In fact, this assumption hasn’t altogether gone away. The myth was that gendered brains made boys and girls naturally better at certain things and predisposed towards certain occupations.

The assumption was that boys would tend to be better at making things, science and maths, and girls would be drawn to occupations that involved caring and empathy. However, modern neuroscience tells us that this is all bogus (The Guardian).

It turns out that the gender imbalance in construction probably has more to do with brain plasticity and the experiences, tasks and influences we are exposed to from an early age.

Shaping Attitudes

Plenty of implications flow from this understanding if we want to achieve gender equality in the construction industry. The first question is whether we are starting young enough? A lot of engagement with education is at the point where young people are considering future employment and training options.

Teenagers already have pretty well-formed views of what they are interested in and what they are good at. So maybe it’s appropriate that (without closing any doors) we focus on ensuring that girls are aware of the full range of employment opportunities, and that not all construction happens on a building site.

But if we want to see a fully gender-equal industry in 10-15 years, perhaps we need to start younger so that more girls currently in primary education will see nothing remotely strange about wanting to don a hard hat, hi-vis and work boots when the time comes.

Action in the Workplace

In the meantime, we also need to double down on our efforts in the workplace to embrace flexible working (for men as well as women), ensuring that women are properly represented at senior grades and on eliminating any remaining gender pay gaps.

Across the industry we have to become increasingly aware and tackle any unconscious bias in recruitment, promotions and development opportunities. We also have to be 100% confident that all of our worksites are fully inclusive and welcoming.

Things are improving, particularly regarding the gender pay gap, but much more needs to be done. And maybe the slow pace of change is further evidence that we’re not starting early enough to inspire young minds and help them develop the capabilities and enthusiasm needed by our industry.