The construction industry is sidelining women and people from minority groups, a report carried out on behalf of the Construction Industry Council has found

The survey of industry bodies, including the RICS, the RIBA and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), found that although women constitute 46% of the wider workforce, they make up just 13.5% of those employed in construction.

Female membership of the RICS was 10.1%, of the ICE 8.1%, and of the Chartered Institution of Building Service Engineers (CIBSE) just 5%; 0.4% of CIBSE fellows are women.

Meanwhile, 2% of those in construction are from a black, Asian or other minority group, compared with 10.9% in the population.

The research compared construction with the legal and medical sectors, and found it to be lagging. The report said: “Not only has there been little progress in some of the construction professions, but some are going backwards.”

David Lloyd-Roach, director of membership at the ICE, said the message was starting to get through, but admitted: “We absolutely need to attract more women into civil engineering.”

Topics