INSIGHTS
The Big Construction Diversity Challenge
23 Jan 2026
The BIG picture: why gender diversity is crucial for the future of skilled trades
A shifting landscape in construction
Read time: 10 min
The construction industry is at a crossroads in 2025. With demand accelerating and deadlines tightening, the sector needs more than incremental improvements. Meeting this challenge will require unlocking every source of innovation and capability, and that means tapping into a full spectrum of available talent.
Progress is underway. Women starting construction apprenticeships surged by two-thirds in 2023-24, according to CITB. A 2025 Redrow survey revealed that 66% of young women are either working in, considering, or open to careers in construction. This cultural shift marks the emergence of construction as a viable path for women - a perception change that has been years in the making.
Yet statistics tell an incomplete story. Women make up just 15% of the construction workforce and less than 1% of skilled trades roles. While professional positions have seen dramatic growth, on-site roles remain stubbornly male-dominated. This isn't a talent problem - it's a culture and access problem. And it’s one which the industry now desperately needs to fix.
At The Big Construction Diversity Challenge, we envisage a future where construction thrives because it welcomes all. Diverse teams are proven to innovate faster, adapt to challenges more effectively, and deliver stronger outcomes. This transformation lies not in sweeping reform, but in rethinking everyday practices that shape who can participate and succeed.
In this post, we’ll explore the transformative power of gender diversity, share actionable insights for industry leaders, and celebrate women who are already driving change, on-site and beyond.
Six reasons women are needed in construction
The benefits of gender diversity in construction are proven in practice. Women bring talent, perspective, and leadership that drive stronger performance on every level. Here are six ways women are transforming the industry:
Economic powerhouses
Women consistently emerge as transformative forces in business, and the impact goes beyond ethics or social responsibility…
Construction operates on notoriously tight margins, where every decision regarding workforce stability and project efficiency impacts the bottom line. In this environment, the business case for gender diversity is highly practical.
A 2018 International Labour Organisation survey found that companies tracking gender diversity initiatives reported profit increases of between 5 and 20%. In construction specifically, CITB studies find that for every £1 invested in women-focused recruitment, training, and retention programmes, firms generate a return of up to £6 in social value.
These aren’t marginal gains - they reflect real competitive advantages. Diverse teams foster better decision-making, innovation, and responsiveness to market challenges. For an industry where every pound counts, investing in women is far more than a values-based initiative; it’s a lever for business growth and performance.
Did you know that gender diverse teams drive profitability?
According to McKinsey’s Diversity Matters Even More report (2023), executive teams in the top quartile for gender diversity are 39% more likely to outperform their bottom quartile peers.
They’re also more likely to outperform peers financially.
To read more, see our article: Beyond good intentions: the real Return of EDI in construction
Innovation catalysts
One of the growing pressures in the construction industry today is the need to innovate and adapt to meet increasingly demanding targets. The solution? Women are proven innovators who bring fresh perspectives and problem-solving skills that drive progress.
Homogeneous teams breed groupthink. And when teams all think alike, innovation stalls and problems persist. Diverse perspectives are crucial for spotting hidden solutions and keeping up in a competitive market.
A Construction Industry Federation study (2018) found 44% of employers value women’s ability to avoid ‘groupthink’ and introduce new approaches. It also found that women contributed unique skill sets and improved overall decision-making, with 30% of employers highlighting skill set diversity and 22% citing better decisions. This evidence confirms that women not only need to participate but that they are key to shaping forward-thinking workplaces.
By increasing female representation, businesses increase innovation and create environments where diverse thinking becomes a defining trait of their culture. The companies that embrace this now will position themselves to lead the industry forward.
Client champions
Women strengthen client relationships through inherent qualities that the market actively values. In an industry where reputation is crucial for establishing trust and securing repeat business, these attributes provide a significant competitive edge.
Clients seek qualities such as respect, trustworthiness, and attention to detail in tradespeople, but may not always find them represented equally across the workforce. The solution? Research shows that women consistently deliver what clients look for most.
According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), nearly a third of UK homeowners say they would feel better hiring a female tradesperson. This reflects a broader shift in client expectations: homeowners increasingly value qualities like respect, trustworthiness, and attention to detail. The data reveals some striking client preferences:
51% believe women are more respectful of their homes
46% want to support women in non-traditional roles
42% feel more at ease with female tradespeople
37% see them as more trustworthy
30% appreciate their attention to detail
The figures make a concrete case for hiring more women. Gender diversity makes companies more representative of their marketplace and delivers the exact qualities clients value most. For business leaders, this translates directly into stronger client relationships, higher project satisfaction, and increased loyalty.
Safety leaders
Women enhance safety through distinct leadership. They communicate openly, spot risks early, and build accountability across teams.
Construction is high-risk. Every decision carries weight, and safety depends on spotting what others miss. Without diverse perspectives, blind spots grow, and incidents can increase. Industry leaders consistently cite women's empathy, communication, and attention to detail as critical drivers for safer sites.
NCCER, the National Centre for Construction Education & Research, has been notably outspoken on this blind spot. Rather than accepting the construction industry's persistent talent drain, NCCER conducted one of the industry's most comprehensive investigations into what women actually bring to job sites. Its whitepaper, "In Her Own Words: Enhancing Project Results" (2023), surveyed over 700 women in craft and trade roles and cited that women benefit project outcomes through inherent traits, including: focus on teamwork, attention to detail, job site cleanliness and organisation, and improved safety performance. According to this research, women are responsible for shaping safer, more accountable workplaces.
Across the board, messages from industry leaders are unanimous: more women on site means fewer accidents and snags, better compliance, and safer teams. By improving female representation in trade roles, businesses gain enhanced safety and a culture built on accountability and care.
Team builders
Women drive retention in an industry haemorrhaging talent. Their presence fosters collaboration, encourages accountability, and creates workplaces where employees feel valued and supported. They are an anchor to businesses struggling with turnover.
The construction industry consistently overlooks a proven solution to its retention crisis. Despite widespread recognition of retention challenges, many firms fail to leverage the impact of women on team stability and workplace culture, missing a critical opportunity to address one of construction's most costly problems.
Building gender-diverse teams is one of the most effective ways to drive retention in construction. Companies that actively support gender diversity are more successful in retaining talent. A 2024 study by Saint-Gobain found that organisations with higher gender diversity experienced turnover rates 15% lower for women and 25% lower for men compared with less diverse companies.
According to a study by BetterUp (2019), inclusion practices are critical to productivity.
When employees feel they belong, it can:
Boost job performance by 56%
Reduce turnover risk by 50%
Cut sick days by 75%
Even a single instance of micro-exclusion can reduce an individual’s performance on a team project by 2.5%.
To read more, see our article post: Beyond good intentions: the real return of EDI in construction
Whether by challenging discriminatory practices, reinforcing an inclusive culture, or providing visible role models for new candidates, women help tackle a culture of early churn. For construction, where early departures are costly and turnover disrupts project continuity, diverse gender representation can translate into important operational advantages.
A skills shortage solution
Amidst a chronic skills shortage in UK Construction lies a ready opportunity. Construction is one of the least gender-diverse industries, and yet thousands of young women are ready to step into its roles.
The construction industry faces a critical workforce gap, needing 239,000 additional workers by 2028. Without creating a more diverse talent pool, it risks falling short of future demand, slowing projects, and raising costs. The solution lies in a new generation of ready workers.
Current surveys show that 66% of young women in the UK are open to a career in construction, up from 49% in 2023, according to Redrow. Tapping into this potential is a diversity goal, yes. But it’s also a way to close the forecasted workforce gaps that are slowing the industry. Data signals growing openness to construction among young women, and the remaining issue is making it more accessible to them. Women represent the skills, scale, and perspectives that construction desperately needs to meet growing demand.
For the UK construction sector, expanding female participation is no longer optional. It's the most immediate way to close the skills gap and build a workforce capable of meeting tomorrow's challenges. Half of its potential new workforce is just waiting to be reached…
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Turn these insights into a team advantage
The Big Construction Diversity Challenge transforms inclusion from boardroom talk into site-level performance. Tackling hands-on challenges that showcase individual strengths and drive collaboration, your team will experience firsthand why mixed perspectives deliver better outcomes.
Join companies already proving that diverse teams don't just feel right - they perform better.
See The Challenge in action → The Big Construction Diversity Challenge
Turning hurdles into high performance: these women are driving change
“I think anybody can do anything. If you want to be a plumber, you can be one. Don’t let the naysayers keep you down. Every dream starts with the first step.” - Hattie Hasan.
Hattie Hasan’s Stopcocks Women Plumbers has set a gold standard for meaningful change in the construction industry. Relaunched in 2017 as a national franchise to help women establish themselves in the sector, her network now supports 750 women tradespeople across the UK. It hosts the annual Women Installers Together (WIT) Conference, provides training courses and engineering consultation services, a DIY Club, and a Business Incubation Scheme that supports women in becoming self-employed plumbers.
By providing training, mentorship, and practical resources, Hattie's network transforms inclusion into demonstrable, real-world results, and her grassroots approach proves that even community-driven initiatives can reshape opportunities without waiting for industry giants or policymakers to lead the way. She serves as an inspiration for businesses that want to adopt similar approaches and drive systemic change from within.
Nicola Bird, meanwhile, represents a new generation of construction leaders seeking to revolutionise skills development. As founder and CEO of AccXel, Nicola is building on similar momentum, envisioning a future in construction that is aspirational, diverse, and attractive for all. In 2021, she opened the UK's first industry-led construction school funded by £1.96 million in government grants, determined to break the rigid traditional education mould. Her approach breaks from convention in three crucial areas:
Real-world training environment: students learn on mock construction sites with state-of-the-art simulators, ensuring they are “constantly on site, rather than in a big college where construction students feel like the underdog”
Industry-led curriculum: instructors maintain active construction roles, keeping training current and relevant - unlike traditional colleges, where lecturers may have been “out of the industry for a decade”
Diversity focus: She has set an ambitious target of achieving 15% female trade learners by 2027, significantly above current industry averages
Nicola's story exemplifies how vision and purpose can redefine what's possible in this industry. Starting as a part-time administrator 15 years ago, she became the sole female director at KW Bell Group before founding AccXel. Her philosophy - “anything is achievable if you work hard, have self-belief, and the support of others around you” - drives her mission to revolutionise construction education and attract diversity to the industry. As a leader, she demonstrates a female innovation case in point.
Together, Hattie and Nicola demonstrate what happens when vision meets action. Hattie's franchise model proves that structured support networks can scale across the country, while Nicola's education reforms show how rethinking training from the ground up attracts new talent. Their combined impact reveals a clear path forward: inclusion becomes reality when leaders create tangible pathways, not just policies.
