Lovell is celebrating its year-round commitment to improving gender equality in light of International Women’s Day.
The construction industry is widely reported to have the worst gender balance of any UK industry, with just 13% of all workers being female.
Lovell’s workforce, however, is 30% female; and while not quite the 50/50 split the business is striving for, Lovell says the figure demonstrates its ongoing commitment to even up the balance.
Through its culture, staff, and initiatives, rectifying the gender imbalance in the construction industry is something Lovell strives to achieve everyday.
As a consequence, these actions are naturally embedded within the business, it says.
Alexandra Robins, Community Engagement manager in the London region, is a strong advocate of women in construction and is part of Lovell’s commitment to spearheading change.
Robins said: “Attracting more women into construction will require us to shatter the myth that women don’t belong.
“As a woman in construction, and in particular a woman in construction at Lovell, I have had equal opportunity to progress my career.
“Working on various construction sites gives me the opportunity to work with diverse communities, including students choosing their career paths.”
While Lovell has a clear strategy to address the imbalance of gender equality in its own business, it’s important that the industry joins forces to emphasise that women have an equal place in construction.”
Gill Dunningham, Partnerships manager at Lovell, added: “One of the challenges we must overcome is the perception of construction, it’s very much viewed as a man’s world and we must break down these out-dated attitudes.
“The industry has improved a great deal since I joined Lovell as a graduate trainee 27 years ago, but we still have a long way to go.
“Engaging with students, graduates and other young professionals considering their career choices is where we must target our message – through education we will change opinions.
“Every woman entering the industry today, is paving the way for the next female joining our incredible sector.”
Lovell is part of the Morgan Sindall Group plc, a UK construction and regeneration group with revenue of £3bn.
Image: Lovell graduates of the internal programme 2020
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