Workshop: CIC Chief Executive calls for the industry to be more inclusive
This event has finished
The Construction Industry Council launched a report highlighting the issues facing businesses in competing effectively in an increasingly diverse employment marketplace. The report includes best practice case studies from PRP, an award winning multidisciplinary architectural practice, Mott MacDonald a management, engineering and development consultancy and Boyes Rees, one of the three largest architectural practices in Wales.
The record of employing and retaining women in the construction industry is poor. Although the construction professional services performed far better than the industry as a whole, the percentage of female employees has only improved at the miserly rate of 1% in three years – only 23% of the 270,000 people employed are female. Other high pressure professional sectors do much better in providing a more appropriate work/life balance.
Graham Watts, CEO of CIC, said, “We work in an increasingly multi-cultural environment with clients, stakeholders and the users of our projects frequently demonstrate far better gender balance than the professional firms that deliver their built environment. It makes sound business sense to not only employ woman professionals, but to put in place working practices and fair policies in recruitment, career development and promotion that are inclusive for all staff.”
Copies of this report are available on the CIC website www.cic.org.uk
A workshop to help disseminate the findings of the report and to show how the recommendations can be put into practice will take place on 4 March 2010.
The event will comprise of talks by Graham Watts, CEO of CIC, Judith Cherry, Head of Research and Insight at Opportunity Now and a representative from one of our case studies, followed by a panel debate/Q&A session and an interactive workshop session.
Building the Future: How Women Professionals Can Make a Difference
Thursday 4th March 2010; 9.00am – 11.30am; The Building Centre, Store Street, London, WC1E 7BT