ROBERT Gordon University (RGU) is ramping up work to create and maintain more female leaders within Scotland’s construction sector, as it gears up for a pilot event in a new series of initiatives aimed at ensuring Scotland has the workforce to achieve its infrastructure goals.
Joining the Dots – Women’s Leadership in Architecture and the Built Environment will be held on November 27 from 10am until 1pm in the Sir Ian Wood Building at RGU’s Aberdeen campus.
Speakers include Karen Anderson, president of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS), who will also take part in the roundtable – with the event billed as going beyond just being a learning session, but rather one in which those at all levels in industry can connect and gain the practical insights required to advance professional growth.
“You need to have both males and females in leadership, otherwise nothing is going to work,” Dr Whitney Bevan, course leader in project management at RGU, told Project Scotland. “By not encouraging women into construction you’re missing half the potential workforce… we’re not going to meet any targets without skills. We (the UK) need to build 300,000 houses each year; that’s not going to happen if we don’t have the labour.”
Dr Bevan, who has experience organising similar events at Western Sydney University and spearheads RGU’s International Women’s Day, will be joined by Professor Maria Martinez Sanchez, associate dean for research at Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and Built Environment, and Lydia Hunter, RGU business development manager.
“We’ve been working for some time on trying to encourage female professionals and students to work within the built environment and construction – we’ve identified that there’s certain gaps, especially within leadership,” Professor Sanchez explained. “We’ve put together a programme – this is just the initial pilot – to support women and develop their skills to get into leadership positions.”
Lessons will be taken from the initial Joining the Dots session to influence future events, with attendees on November 27 set to be capped at around the 40-mark, with organisers keen for an environment which allows for all to engage with one another, networks to be built, and a knowledge and thought exchange to occur with those at all levels.
“It might also help to make organisational change, because you need senior leaders to be aware of issues,” Lydia said. “From the conversations we’ve had with younger women, they seem to feel like it’s getting better – which is great, but we need to make sure that doesn’t stop and keeps improving so at some point this isn’t a talking point.”
Despite improvements, data from the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s annual diversity study 2023 revealed that around 46% of women leave the UK construction sector before the age of 34.
“Lots of women do come into the industry, but it’s retention that’s the issue,” Dr Bevan explained. “As women reach the age of around 30 and have children they leave and sometimes don’t come back – and that’s where we start losing women.”
The Royal Institute of British Architects’ (RIBA) recently released Build it Together report revealed that 83% of respondents felt their architecture career progression had been impacted by having children.
After having her son, Professor Sanchez revealed she went through a temporary period of feeling as if she wasn’t able to engage with her work in the same way she once did. “It takes a little bit more time to get back up to speed – but it’s normal; it’s a process.”
Having such open conversations is hoped to quell any worries women have about entering or remaining in the sectors, whilst also aiding in the creation of better workplace cultures and practices.
“Depending on what comes out of the day, it may shape further events,” Lydia concluded. “We may learn quite a lot from those attending on what we do next and what direction we need to take the next joining the dots workshop in – it may be about something really particular or one like this (a range of topics). This isn’t about us preaching, we also want to learn from the people in the room.”
Tickets for Joining the Dots – Women’s Leadership in Architecture and the Built Environment can be purchased by clicking here.
