Women consultants strenghten client relationships

While I don’t accept the stereotying of the sexes - girls shouldn’t climb trees and boys shouldn’t dance and so on - I do accept there are some typical behaviours of both that can deliver great benefits to the workplace. I would like to see this view shared and accepted more.

Despite the evidence for collaboration put forward by Latham and Egan, much of the language of construction remains confrontational. There are many causes behind this and many possible solutions. However, I would contend that the fact that until recently the industry has been both run and resourced, almost exclusively, by a single sex has been a massive contributing factor to this polarisation and lack of cohesion and collaboration. In certain construction quarters there is still a pride in machismo.

My experience over a 30 year period in the industry leads me to conclude that from a client’s perspective having women on the team is a benefit

The simple act of broadening the project team to include, in this instance, women, brings different and beneficial perspectives which can change the dynamic and behaviour of the whole team.

I am not arguing that all women are good listeners, have high levels of emotional intelligence and see compromise as a way of moving forward rather than a sign of weakness, nor am I arguing that all men make quick decisions, are goal focused and competitive. A team made up entirely of women would have pitfalls too. But my experience over a 30 year period in the industry leads me to conclude that from a client’s perspective having women on the team is a benefit.

Across a spectrum of projects I believe that a balanced team leads to better decision making, less conflict, greater collaboration and overall a better product. Back in the late seventies women were a rarity. Even today there is a strong lobby which says “we only select on merit - the best candidates just happen to be men”, or “women don’t apply”. This stance reinforces a group think mentality and fails to recognise the nuances of the different roles we all play and the positive impact of having a wide spectrum of team members.

Ann Bentley is chairman of Rider Levett Bucknall UK and director of the Rider Levett Bucknall global practice