BBU Blog | Are women being “over mentored?”
Celebrating International Women’s Day 2020 in Construction
The UK construction sector can be proud of the number and variety of activities and events in celebration of International Women’s Day 2020. Attitudes to gender diversity and awareness of some of the barriers to women’s progression in construction have evolved from debate into action with companies beginning to take the lead and provide support for change. But is this enough?
Many of the International Women’s Day events contained space for debate but at one event I attended an undercurrent of frustration with progress was present, with one delegate noting that what is needed “is for women to given leadership roles with the right to prove themselves just like men are!” Another attendee commented that what was needed was “less mentoring and more opportunities!”
Women in Leadership
I too believe that there are not enough opportunities available to women and to everyone underrepresented in the construction sector. We only have to look at our leadership statistics to see that barriers persist when it comes to progression.
Women occupy 13% of positions on the executive committees of construction businesses
Women hold 4% of profit and loss or business-critical roles on the executive committees of construction businesses
Women represent 7% of executive board directors.
Source: Roofing Today, July 2018 https://www.roofingtoday.co.uk/construction-bottomline-hit-by-no-gender-progress-says-report/
For me true equality exists when everyone is given an opportunity to try, thrive, fail and repeat like our incumbent industry leaders are able to do, without those stages being attributed to their gender or background.
I also believe that opportunities and mentoring (learner-led development) can and should work hand-in-hand. As a sector, we are committed to lifelong learning and many professional bodies require chartered or registered members to learn throughout our careers. Mentoring can be a powerful and transformational part of a learner’s journey.
Mentoring is effective not just for women but for anyone and it doesn’t need to be a binary choice between other forms of development, knowledge sharing or career opportunities.
21st Century Leadership Needs to be Inclusive
There is at present a critical need to develop a new generation of managers and leaders with the skills to navigate the challenges of the 21st century in the built environment. Not only does that mean we need to attract and promote talented and diverse practitioners, but we also need to ensure that the support and knowledge exchange structures are in place.
I believe women in construction are not over mentored, women are key to the future of the leadership of the industry and as such, need more opportunities to prove it.