Building Opportunity: Women In Construction Week 2024
The theme of this year’s Women in Construction Week is ‘keys to the future’, celebrating strength and knowledge, and the important role women have in delivering innovation and shaping the future of the industry.
We caught up with Charlie Miller, one of our Customer Success Managers, to talk about what this week means to her. Charlie’s been with us for four years and her varied role meeting partners both on-site and in the office gives her a breadth of experience.
Charlie has shared some of her insight on what the challenges are facing women in the industry, but more about what construction needs to do to bridge the skills gap, entice more young people into the industry, and make the most of the opportunities on offer.
What are the challenges facing women in the construction industry?
There’s a bit of a stereotype that it’s just men that are found on construction sites. For me, I do still think that I might be the only female there, and that can be a little daunting at times.
A challenge for women is that the visibility of them doing the hands-on work and being the boots on the ground is lacking. If you can see it, it’s real – and if you can’t then that’s an invisible barrier to getting stuck in. We need to work harder to prove to women and girls that if they want to be a builder for example, they can.
So, where do we start with that?
I think it’s engrained from a young age that men are labourers and the practical ones who get their hands dirty. It’s 2024 and things are changing for the better, but won’t change as far as they need overnight, so we need several years to change that perception.
The industry needs to work harder and reach out earlier to showcase the opportunities available. This will hopefully entice more girls to consider construction, whether that’s on site, in an office or in one of the various other roles available.
How is MSite promoting opportunity in the sector?
"Part of my role at MSite is really fulfilling because we show that there’s an interesting and innovative edge to construction through software and technology. We show site workers how our software makes their roles on-site easier, improving social value and sustainability in the process. You meet all sorts of different people in the industry and helping problem solve gives you a feeling of achievement."
Charlie Miller
Customer Success Manager
A skills shortage is affecting multiple industries, not just construction – would getting more women involved help with this?
I would love to see an increase in women in construction. Women currently make up around 14% of the industry, which isn’t high enough. We are experiencing a shortage of skills that can easily be filled if more women are encouraged to join the industry.
In school we are taught the standard subjects, and I know that in terms of technology we’re expanding the curriculum to teach coding, so why can’t we teach civil engineering or begin to introduce youngsters to these hands-on and important things? I’m not sure everyone knows what’s available to them as they get older, so we need to talk more about the options that they have and at what point they can get involved in career-based activities.
Is there optimism that the industry is doing more to champion women?
With the technology and solutions we have now, there’s no reason why men and women can’t both do the same jobs. Because of the progress made in site health and safety, and the machinery and tools now available to equip workers, things are more equitable.
There is lots of work being done in schools, for example, to explain the improved accessibility – but this must continue. Women in Construction Week is just one occasion where the spotlight is placed on the role we play, but to get to where we want to be it has to be considered all year round.
Part of the Infobric Group, MSite has operated in the construction industry for more than 20 years with values based on embracing challenge, achieving together and doing the right thing. With an end-to-end workforce management solution ranging from pre-site registration and inductions through to access control, site briefings and workforce management, MSite is trusted by leading names such as Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, Sisk and BAM across all construction levels and sectors including commercial, housebuilding, infrastructure, refit and utilities.
For more information about our work with Galliford Try, visit https://www.msite.com/case-studies
For more information, please contact Matthew Santos at Cartwright Communications via: matthew@cartwrightcommunications.co.uk or call us on 0115 853 2110.
About MSite:
Part of the Infobric Group, MSite has operated in the construction industry for more than 20 years with values based on embracing challenge, achieving together and doing the right thing. With an end-to-end workforce management solution ranging from pre-site registration and inductions through to access control, site briefings and workforce management, MSite is trusted by leading names such as Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, Sisk and BAM across all construction levels and sectors including commercial, housebuilding, infrastructure, refit and utilities.
For more information visit www.msite.com
Discover more MSite and Galliford Try success stories
Click for more information about our work with Galliford Try’s on their Monk Bridge development project.