All Female Design and Build Project
Get to Know Our Female Design and Build Project
Shining a light on women working in the built environment and construction industry
The aim of our All Female Design and Build Project is to promote gender equality in the construction industry by showcasing the talented women working in the industry, from the design stages through to the building work.
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We are doing this by assembling an all-female team to work on our own sustainable house renovation project.
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It is well documented that women are severely underrepresented in the construction industry. Latest figures for 2023 from Statista indicate women make up 17% of the construction workforce and only around 1 to 2% of skilled trades. There has been an encouraging increase in overall numbers of women in the industry since the pandemic (up from 14%) but it is vitally important that gender quality and diversity continues to improve. Sadly, discrimination and old attitudes are still present. Attracting more women, plus welcoming transgender and non-binary people, is essential if the skills shortage in the industry is to be closed. Employing a diverse workforce will benefit employers, increase innovation and enrich the construction industry.
We know we can't change the construction industry or societal norms on our own or in the short term but through our initiative and showcasing our experience we are hoping to be able to start conversations, raise awareness, empower others and cause a ripple effect to make change happen.
We are all living, working and using our built environment spaces so why aren't we designing and building them?
Fiona and Kat Parsons
A Bit More About Us
Our strength lies not only in the words we stand by, but most importantly in the actions of our initiatives. That is why we have decided to use our own renovation project for disruptive innovation. If we had employed an all male workforce no-one would have flinched but an all female team - that's not the norm! We wanted to understand if it was possible in 2023/24 and if not, why not? What needs to change? From the moment we had the idea for our All Female Design and Build Project, we understood that to make it a success a collaborative approach would be required, working together with others that share our values on the need for a more diverse and equitable industry and the positive benefits it brings. Thank you to all our team and supporters so far and we look forward to working with other brilliantly talented women and allies as our project progresses.
We are looking for talented women, particularly in the skilled trades, to work on our home extension and renovation.
If you would like be part of our project team, raise awareness of gender equality and diversity, help make change happen, encourage other women into the industry by showcasing your skills please, please get in touch we want to hear from you!
Also please contact us with any questions about our project or if you just want to lend support.
Recognitions
We are so proud to be have been listed in the 2023 National Federation of Builders (NFB) Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction and to have won the NFB Most Influential Client Award in 2023.
More information here on .
We are also delighted to have been shortlisted in 2024 as a Pioneer for the UK Construction Week (UKCW) Role Models.
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