Gender and ethnic diversity mix in professions improving, says CIC

There has been a slight uptick in the number of women in professional roles in the industry overall, while the proportion of women in the under-25 age group has noticeably increased, according to a new report from the Construction Industry Council (CIC). 

The report, entitled A Blueprint for Change, is its second diversity benchmarking report covering 207,564 construction professionals, and shows how the industry has evolved since a data gathering report from the CIC was published in 2009.

But although the report is based on data from most CIC member institutions, it is not a complete picture as some of the organisations do not collect data on their members, and others collected partial data that did not fully reflect gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and age.

Among the main findings, the report shows that 14.1% of the 207,564 construction professionals covered by the report are female – up from 13.5% reported six years ago.

But the number of women under 25 coming into the industry has taken a jump to 22%, showing significant progress. However, the report acknowledges that retention of women – in the middle and later stages of their careers – needs more focus. 

The report also indicates a change in the ethnic mix of the construction professions over recent years. Among those who choose to disclose ethnicity, the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population is currently 11.3%. In 2005, ethnic minorities constituted approximately 3%.

While these improvements are encouraging, more work is still needed and the CIC is calling on its member organisations to collect more detailed data on their members in order to accurately benchmark the industry. 

Danna Walker, CIC project manager, said: “To achieve a truly reflective benchmark for industry we need everyone to agree to collect the same categories of information, and for more institutions to get involved and collaborate. If we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it and improve.”

Gender mix by age (percentages)

In a foreword to the report, CIOB deputy chief executive Bridget Bartlett expanded on this point, saying: “Comparing data across organisations does have challenges, namely the protected characteristics on which data is held, classifications of some of those protected characteristics, and varying disclosure rates.

“Despite these challenges the smallest data set published here [on sexual orientation] represents in excess of 23,000 individuals so there is plenty to draw meaningful conclusions from.”

Overall, A Blueprint for Change calls on industry to undertake three major actions:

• Address the needs of a multi-generational workforce, particularly in terms of retention, and focus efforts on attracting new entrants and building on the successes of attracting a more diverse millennial cohort;
• Provide greater support and celebrate inclusive activities and in particular those led by practitioners who are creating positive impact;
• Collaboration from the institutions to collect a wider range of data and for greater participation in the project. The next CIC Diversity Panel report will be published in 2018.

The report was supported by the National House-Building Council, which stated that it had been increasing the level of disclosure in its annual reports on diversity and inclusion for several years, and will be continuing to do so as work carries on, ensuring that data quality is robust.