News & Insights
Mercury making strides as latest CSO figures show increase in numbers of women in construction
At Mercury, we are leading the way in making the construction industry more female friendly.
As the sector continues to face challenges relating to skills shortages, now is a time of opportunity for females targeting a career in construction.
The latest CSO figures show that there has been a 76% increase in the number of women working in the industry from 2017-2019.
12,500 females are currently employed in the sector, up 5,400 on two years ago.
While these figures highlight that steps are being made in the right direction to increase diversity in construction, women still account for just 8.5% of the workforce.
Mercury wants to change the perception that construction is a career that only men can succeed in, and this is why we are industry leaders.
Of our 2,000 employees, 11% are women – a considerable mark up on the industry average.
Excluding our trades staff, 22% of our employees are females, with 60% of total Mercury female employees working on site.
Joanne Cluxton, Group HR Manager at Mercury, says more needs to be done to convince women that construction is an industry that needs them.
She said: “The industry average is 8.5% female employees. While, we’re above this at 11%, we still have ways to go.
“Most interestingly, if you were to consider our professional staff only, excluding our trades, our proportion of women is doubled at 22%. The area that most needs to grow is in the trades area.
“That’s why we have held numerous female apprenticeship focused events in recent years.”
“If we can attract female school-leavers into apprenticeship roles, we will start to see increases in women in construction across the board, and not just in the professional space.
“While we are actively looking to attract female trades, we of course also want to ensure that there are increased opportunities for women with professional backgrounds at Mercury.
“The number of females in management positions within construction is something that we are actively taking steps to improve upon.
“We are also now recruiting for our 2020 Graduate Programme and are committed to taking on more female applicants than ever before.
“Now is a good time for women looking to start a career in construction, but there are also opportunities for those already within the industry to advance their career at Mercury, through initiatives such as our Leadership Development Programme.”
This article was originally published on the Construction Industry Federation (CIF). Click here to read it.
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