10/06/2026
👷♀️ What can be done to encourage more women into construction?
When it comes to building a career in construction, awareness can be just as important as ability.
Here’s what Lois English from SNG (Sovereign Network Group) had to say on breaking down barriers in the industry.
"Even when I had been working within the development/construction world for a while, there were jobs I did not understand and had not been even aware of.
It goes way back to childhood in my opinion, and what are perceived as appropriate activities for girls and boys. And at school, I remember sitting with the guidance counsellor, going through a standard quiz that everyone took, to work out what subjects I should do for the sort of career it spat out that I would be good at. Not once was I asked what I like doing, what do I enjoy in my spare time, or what were the sorts of activities I naturally gravitated to as a child.
If I had been asked that, and encouraged to take on subjects that might bring me enjoyment and satisfaction, rather than because they “looked good”, and to be exposed to a wider range of jobs, including the ones that were discounted immediately because they “wouldn’t earn enough money”, I might have had a completely different life.
I think a really back to basics explanation of some of the jobs available in the construction industry, would really help children and teenagers in school. Case studies and videos of “a day in the life of”, would be a start, especially when trying to encourage school leavers.
So if there was one thing I would say could be done to encourage people into construction, it would be to educate people in the sorts of jobs that are available in the first place, and how base level skills and natural talents that show up in children from an early age, can be nurtured and developed into careers."
