The Anonymous Blog Strikes Back

At Constructing Equality Ltd. we like to create blogs that are both engaging and interesting for the reader - blogs that stimulate and prompt research and investigation by anyone that may have an opinion, or view, that they feel will contribute to a particular matter related to construction and/or equality and diversity.  We want to use this blog is as platform for discussion; a place where people of all ages, backgrounds and professions can anonymously write their responses to initiate discussion.

Last year we were approached by a woman working in construction who proposed to us the idea of hosting an anonymous blog. She considered some of her experiences as potentially harmful to her career and was unsure what to do - she wasn't so much looking for answers as a platform to let off a bit of steam; a place where she could talk about the experiences and behaviours she had encountered and hopefully interact with others who’d had similar experiences, or who had suggestions as to how to deal with them.

An anonymous blog was suggested as a way of enabling open discussion without fear of reprisal either for her, people like her or those who wish to comment.

The long and short being - we began to host the anonymous blog; a place where people of any age, sex, race, ability etc. can write a blog post, which we will host, and generate vibrant discussion. The anonymous blog has already enabled a number of people to have a platform for debate and gain guidance and resources to support them and their journey.

We want to encourage more of you to use the anonymous to reap the benefits of constructive debate and discussion and there are a number of rules for using the anonymous blog which can found at an earlier blog from last year.

We see this as a tool for industry, and individuals in the industry, and want you to use it as your own, so get blogging!

If you want to add rules, groups or networks, please let Kyle know and we will do what we can to support you.

Construct Away,

Kyle

For all things construction and equality, get yourself over to the Constructing Equality Ltd. website. 

Wedding rings – “To wear or not to wear?”

“I have spoken to people who have said they'd remove engagement or wedding rings before going into a job interview.

Has it become so bad that we perceive ourselves as having to almost lie in order not to be judged as falling into a certain stereotype? I.e. She is engaged and will therefore be married and have kids within a year so she’s not worth employing?”

In an ideal world the answer would be to wear your rings; the law is in place to protect you and make sure that you will not be discriminated against so you should have nothing to worry about.

The problem is we don’t live in an ideal world.  And whilst if you did face discrimination in a job interview because your prospective employers suspected you were newly married and about to start a family you could take legal action, but first of all, you would have to know that was the reason for their decision.  

Secondly, you would need to be able to prove it. Neither of which are particularly easy to do.

Even if you could prove it, the expense of a court case, in terms of finance, time and mental well-being  is high and the pay-outs are low - if you take away the few big pay-outs that are awarded, you find an average of £3/4k.

So what then should you do?

If you need a job, don’t care what job is and just have to pay the mortgage now…then it might be best to leave the ring at home. You see, it’s not just that some people do not employ “women of child bearing age” (a phrase we have heard more often that we would like to admit) or those who are recently married.  Although this direct discrimination is common, it is not the only thing you need to worry about; there is also the problem of inherent bias - subconsciously a lot of people think mums will take more time off, not be fully committed and generally fall short of the work a man can do. It doesn't matter that research has found the opposite to be true and it doesn't matter that you don’t want children; you look like you might have them and, to the under-educated, that makes you a risk not an asset.

If, on the other hand, you have a bit more choice and don’t need to take the first job that comes towards you; wear the ring . You see if you take a job with an employer who does not understand the business argument for equality and supporting working parents, it is likely that you will eventually find out about it (even if you never have children). If you do, this may be made apparent by being given lesser roles and responsibilities and possibly being made to feel unwanted if, and when, you do conceive. If you have the luxury of being able to take the risk let the employer self-select. This will enable you to find yourself an employer who “gets it”, one who knows the importance of supporting and retaining key talent – and don’t just do this because you’ll get extra maternity pay.  It goes further than that - a supportive working environment is more likely to retain key people which has a positive effect on profit; meaning that this is the company more likely to be around in ten or twenty years’ time.

The changes in law mean that men can now take paternity leave so the risk is there - male or female - and with an increasing number of men becoming the main or sole carer, the point should be that the questions and assumptions are made of all or none; failing to do this is denying someone an opportunity because of their gender, not because of their family status. A company deciding to discriminate is doing so despite the fact that it is illegal; whatever your moral position, they are in the wrong.

Happy Building,

Chrissi x

What did Margaret Thatcher do for women?

The recent demise of Baroness Thatcher has prompted much discussion and debate across the globe, both positive and negative. However, we can mull over the various things she did, or didn't do, for the country during her time in office until we are blue in the face; but what I’m sure we can agree on is that she was a charismatic leader that proved women have a voice, even in an era where business was still very much considered to be a ‘man’s world’.

She was the longest-serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and is the only woman to have held the office. However, what did she actually do for women? Some would say not a lot. A recent article written by Jenni Murray, a journalist at the Guardian newspaper, gave the opinion that she did nothing at all – an opinion that is contentious in itself.

And while you may disagree with this opinion of “The Iron Lady”, she had some pretty stern views on the promotion of women in her cabinet - Baroness Young, a close friend of hers had been the only female elevated. She was leader of the House of Lords from 1981 to 1983, but had never been elected to Parliament. If you read through Thatcher’s autobiography, there is no mention of any woman apart from Young, her daughter, her secretary, Indira Gandhi and the wives or daughters of other statesmen. No Edwina Currie, no Virginia Bottomley, no Gillian Shephard, no Angela Rumbold.

Upon facing Thatcher for the first time in the mid-1980s, Murray explained that she would dismiss apprehensions regarding low pay, lack of childcare facilities, and poverty in old age and would scorn the idea of feminism – a term that simply wasn’t in her vocabulary.

When asked about her proclivity to improve equal opportunities she would recurrently reply with the view that none of the women were good, or proficient, enough to rise through the ranks.  She would dismiss positive action with an authoritative: "But no, a woman must rise through merit. There must be no discrimination." While this may be extent valid point for some, you would have thought she might have found some qualities of leadership in at least one female in her cabinet.

Furthermore, her empathy for other ambitious women, who were not as lucky as her in terms of finding independent wealth through marriage, was entirely absent. So while it is wrong to take joy from someone’s death, as we have seen people do in the media, especially in areas of the country most affected by her decisions regarding some traditional industries, it is understandable that people may feel negatively towards her and how those decisions affected them and their communities she made during  the ‘80’s.  

Construct Away,

Kyle

For all things construction and equality, get yourself over to the Constructing Equality Ltd. website. 

Site Managers - What they and I think I do........

As it is the Easter Bank Holiday this coming weekend we thought that we would take a slightly different approach to the blog this week and celebrate the long weekend with a dab of construction related comedy.

Whilst we have a lot of work to do around the image of construction, its healthy to have a little laugh at the current perceptions. My personal bug bear was always - "so your an architect....."

Not to exclude anyone planners, QS's, drylinners, ground workers and architects we would love to see your versions.

Happy building 

Chrissi x

Why the Prompt Payment Code matters to people in the construction industry.

I have worked for a main contractor, sub-contractor and, for my sins, I married a PQS - so I’d like to think I have a bit of an idea around how late payments work – though, as always, I’m happy to be corrected.

In the worst case scenario main contractors retain money from sub-contractors so that they can invest/buy land.

“Evil main contractors!” I hear you say? Well no, not always. Whilst some companies do this as a business model, many are being forced back down a route that was abandoned in the early 2000’s due to client’s ever increasing pressure to reduce costs. This means profit margins are slashed and the retention of payment is the only way to make money.

Evil clients then? Well, again, not always; when everyone is submitting similar prices it can be hard to know that something should cost more. Also, the news is rife with stories about construction bid-rigging and cover-pricing. Although in industry we might know there is a big difference between these terms and clients have asked for a cover price on more than one occasion, localised clients don’t. This means there is an air of distrust and reasonable prices can be seen as a bit of a con.

Why does late payment matter to the people?

Quite a few reasons:

• Sub-contractors have to wait up to three months to get paid, which can mean making staff redundant, but more likely moving to a self-employed model of work. Whilst there are up-sides to this for those who enjoy true self-employment, there is a dirty dark side. Harvey [1] found a large number of people working in construction were falsely self-employed, meaning they had no choice over the hours they worked (the same as a regular employee), but did not receive employee benefits such as holiday pay, sick pay and employment rights. In the very worst cases, the situation was used to pay people less than minimum wage.  This isn't to say that this happens to everyone everywhere, but it does happen and late payments encourage that. As a site manager once said to me, “we once employed a team to supply and pour concrete for less than we could buy it with our own substantial discount – we really should have looked into that.”

• As a site manager bad subbies would make my life very difficult, and it’s pretty likely that a underpaid, unfairly treated person is not going to be a pleasure to work with - the worse we treat people the worse they behave. Don’t believe me? Look at your own reactions - very few people can smile in the face of constant disadvantage; obviously I’m not including Preston fans. This means our lives are made increasingly difficult, subcontractors are harder to work with and yet we have the same, if not shorter, time frames to do it all in. Not exactly great for our blood pressure. 

• If, as often happens, a sub-contractor goes under due to late payments, someone is needed to come in last minute which is never easy to find, creating additional headaches and cost. Quite often, more cost than would have been saved if the subbie had been paid on time in the first place.

• The image of the industry also slips again; stories of late payment, subbies going under and false self-employment create a bleak picture of the industry and of those who work in it, which ultimately feeds the client view. 

Before anyone says this blog adds to the problem, I would disagree. The problem is that acceptance of late payment practices treats people as if they don’t have rights or an expectation of fairness. As a sector we must work together to eradicate these issues by first acknowledging they exist, then finding a way to overcome them. Whilst we are fragmented and apart, Clients cannot always see when a rogue contractor is bringing the sector down. By signing and adhering to a code of practice we can take the steps in the right direction.  And though no one is saying this will make the world better overnight, at least it won’t be pushing it further backward.

Happy Building, Chrissi.

For all things construction and equality; get yourself over to Constructing Equality Ltd.

The business of site: 10 things running a site can tell you about running a business.

Last week when we spoke about the reasons why we felt a career in construction was worth it, we started thinking a little about the link between working on site and running a business.  After all building sites might have the support of head office, but more often than not you’re pretty alone out there and the process you follow of setting up office, managing work and closing the site down is pretty similar to any small business with an exit strategy. So for those who have been caught out by the recession, or others seeking new opportunities, why not think about your skills differently and see how you can apply them to your own business.   

This week let’s consider 10 things running a site can tell you about running a business.   

Please note, I've written these from the point of view of a setting-out engineer/site manager, so please feel free to comment on how other roles might see this transition: -

1.     How to start.

So you've got a site and an idea of what needs to be done, but how do you do it? Think like a site and get a plan, establish contacts, collate the right information and find out what the critical path is. You already know how to ring people you don’t know, so just do it; try to imagine yourself as a business, not an individual, and this will be a lot easier.

2.     Managing finance

I know unless you work in America most sites will have a QS that handles this work, but that doesn't mean there is no financial interaction; the basics are there - collecting information for contra-charges, checking day rate sheets and information learnt from progress meetings. Trust me, you know this stuff and, whilst some of it gets a bit more complicated, for about £100 a year you can hire an accountant to take the pain away.

3.     Managing staff

If you can motivate sub-contractors who don’t work directly for you, you have already got more skill in this area than you’re giving yourself credit for. Do be careful though, it’s much more difficult to manage people directly; you are paying them with money that could otherwise be going into your own pocket, which is why it’s even more important to build up trusting relationships and empower your employees.

4.     Managing programs

This is, kind of, our thing, which makes life easier - though do be prepared to find out that Microsoft Project Professional costs about £900 per computer; like me, you might have to go old school and use excel for, at least, the first few years.

5.     Producing a quality product

Again, you know what to check for and how to ensure quality; you know when a line needs to be drawn to mm thickness and when a can of spray will do. Apply this to your business to help you prioritise and not waste time on work that doesn’t need to be perfect; trust me, when you’re running your own business, time is not a luxury you will have to waste.

6.     Marketing yourself

Ok, so this is where my plan falls down a little. Most builders I know are not great marketers, but they do have a great base of hard work and quality product to build upon. The industry needs to up-skill when it comes to telling people how much it achieves so don’t take lessons from it here, instead look outside of the sector and see how other companies brand and sell that brand.

7.     Added value

Another thing we do a lot in construction. We look at the big picture; the building needs to get built so we put in extra hours, skills and money to make it happen, often without really considering it – it’s just got to be done. Think of your business in the same way, without being taken advantage of, and work with your clients to achieve their goals. If this means a small bit of additional work, weigh up what’s best in the long run.

8.     Entrepreneurial spirit

On site we find ourselves problem-solving as a matter of course, which is a great stepping stone into business management. Knowing how to overcome issues, seeing the bigger picture and knowing what needs to be done are tools you can’t afford to be without.

9.     Managing risk

In business you need to know which risks will provide a return and which are best left alone.  Again this is something we learn through health and safety training and the day to day experience of life on site.

10. Leadership

Running a site means leading a team. If you can get a site to follow your vision you should appreciate that as a valuable skill that is not as common as you think, and being able to apply that to your own business is a key factor in success.

Happy building, Chrissi

For all things construction and equality; get yourself over to Constructing Equality Ltd.

What do women have to gain by going into the construction industry instead of another industry that is already accommodating to her needs?

Quite a lot actually,

Firstly the pay is higher. As we mentioned before, the jobs dominated by women are the lowest paid but those in more male-dominated sectors come with a higher financial reward. It‘s not without risk, as we mentioned in one of our earlier posts, but from a salary perspective there is a lot to be gained.

Second, is the opportunity to progress; there are still options to climb through the ranks with day-release, apprenticeship and academic routes available. Whilst the recession is off-putting to those entering university now, they should be coming out of university just as the industry recovers, which means a good chance that they will secure a role.

Individuality; being able to do something you enjoy is an important factor when making decisions for your life. I tried other gender-traditional roles before construction but none of them gave me the sense of fulfillment that this industry has. Being able to work in a role that you enjoy is a priceless and rewarding experience and should not be undervalued. That being said make sure you are prepared for what you might encounter, plan your career and make sure your employers know about it and are on board to help you achieve your ambitions.

I strongly believe that employers do want to help foster and grow their female talent; they are just not always sure of the right way to go about it. So, ask questions, seek advice, form networks, plan your career, seek out appropriate training and form networks (not a typo, it really is that important).

Want to read more on the subject women in construction? The following previous Constructing Equality Ltd. blogs are also very interesting and topical:

Why should women choose construction? 8 pertinent questions from a woman that did.

Part two – Why shouldn't women choose construction 5 reasons across the career path.

Part Three – Why are men hostile about women being in construction? Identifying 3 main types and how to deal with it.

How to manage the risks of being a woman in construction: Using the 6 principles of Health & Safety.

If men don't like the construction industry, why would women?

''If men don't like the construction industry, why would women?”

In the latest in a series of questions asked by Becky we will address “If men don't like the construction industry, why would women?” Here we will consider how the industry treats its employees generally and why it should be attractive as an industry. In order to do this I will focus on the average construction; worker a middle-aged white man.

If you would like further reasoning on why women should seek such a career, in addition to these comments, please have a look at the first blog and other blogs in this series.

Firstly, let’s acknowledge that “if men don’t like construction” is a  bit of a generalisation; at the moment we are in the middle of a difficult economic climate (as if you hadn't noticed) and unfortunately, it looks like construction is one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest (workplace employment relations study 2011) so it’s bound to seem like people are unhappy here.

However, it should be recognised that some of the things that make the industry great have gotten a little out of hand and can now be the very things that become off-putting. I have listed some examples below and shall talk about two in full.

•         Large number of small firms in industry; suicide bidding
•         Ability to rise through the ranks; glass ceilings
•         High self-employment; false self-employment
•         Opportunity to progress quickly; project-based work
•         Varied and challenging work; long hours culture
•         The craic; the pressure to conform
•         Responsibility; expectation of men
•         Travel; transient work

If you would like me to elaborate on other areas in a separate blog please do let me know.  But for now: -

High self-employment; false self-employment

Positive: -

High self-employment - Construction is a sector where you can be your own boss, work your own hours and charge your own rates.

Obviously it’s become harder; where there was a massive demand for bricklayers previously, there are now estimated to be five for every job as a result of new building methods and the recession.

Nonetheless though, especially when times are good, it gives you the freedom to work flexibly. Bricklayers, steel fixers and other skilled trades often work this way.

Negative: -

False self-employment – this is where some people realised they could take advantage; by taking on people as self-employed subcontractors but treating them as employees.

This means that whilst they have to work the days and the hours dictated to them, they do not get holiday benefits, the right to a tribunal, or any of the other protections the law gives to employed staff.

In the very worst cases this method can be used to pay people less than minimum wage.  

Solution: -

I’ve often heard that this is a situation welcomed by the workforce and whilst I would agree that skilled trades benefit from this arrangement (though it could be argued that the Exchequer does not, with an estimated loss of £1.9billion per annum) it’s the unskilled trades that worry me.

In my time on site I spoke to a number of ground workers, concrete slab gangs and general labourers who felt they were being taken advantage of but had no other option  than to stay put for many reasons including; lack of qualifications, need for a a steady wage and illiteracy.

We need to be aware of this as an industry; it drives down prices so firms paying a fair wage and treating employees with respect are driven out of business.

The solution is for main contractors to be more aware and to investigate the organisations they are working with. 

As one main contractor put it, “on my last job we subcontracted the concrete and labour for less than we could buy the materials alone with our own privileged discount from the same supplier. We really should have looked into that”.

The Craic; pressure to conform

Positive: -

Some parts of construction site culture I love; the camaraderie, the banter, the general understanding that we are all going to be experiencing the same British weather whilst trying to build a building for less money than it costs, with less time than it takes, for longer hours than we are paid for, so we might as well try and have a bit of fun doing it.

Any attack on the “craic”, in its purest form, I will not let go unchallenged as it builds teams, makes the day enjoyable and gives us a sense of identity – put simply, it rocks.

Negative: -

Unfortunately some people chose to use site banter to bully, oppress humiliate and belittle their colleagues not only for their own amusement but also to cement their position in a given group. If you don’t find it funny you don’t have a sense of humour, your not one of the lads, you just don’t get “it”

I personally don’t buy this excuse, mainly because if I ever raise objection to something said in a group, the other members usually have come up to me and said something along the lines of “I agree with what you said. Sorry I didn't say so earlier, it’s just you know, you have to go along with it”.

In my experience though, it’s never “the lads” that think its ok it’s usually one lad who everyone else is agreeing with to avoid an argument.

It seems the more a group looks the same the more we feel we have to fit in with a stereotype and unfortunately the one placed upon construction could do with a bit of an overhaul.

Solution: -

99% of the people (of which on site about 99% were men) I have met working on site were polite, respectful folk who just wanted to do their job, maybe have a laugh and get paid. 1% wanted to stir up trouble, create controversy and make people feel bad about themselves.

I believe you will find this in any workplace. I think construction differs because we don’t stop it. We think everyone else agrees with that one git and so it’s therefore not just OK to go along with the behaviour but would, in fact, be bad for us personally if we didn't.

I think the solution to improving this misplaced belief is to stand up to people who think it’s funny to reinforce this negative stereotype; we need to make it ok to say I’m a builder and I’m proud of that; what you’re saying might make people think badly of us all, so give it a rest and try and find something that’s actually funny to say.

So, I suppose the answer is that whilst there are reasons to dislike the sector there are also reasons to love it. It needs a bit of help in its approach to people which is something that is being considered strategically as we speak; but the people in it also need to play their part by not allowing others to drag our industry down just because they don’t respect others. Saying “I build things” should make people ask “How? What? Where?” not say “Oh right”, as they try not to be patronising.

How to manage the risks of being a woman in construction: Using the 6 principles of Health & Safety.

It’s the half-way point of our questions from Becky and this week we have changed the question slightly as we feel it will still provide the right answer. First a recap of what we have looked at:

• Why should women choose construction?

• Why shouldn't women choose construction?

• Why are men hostile about women in construction?

• If the industry is so hostile to the idea of women being in construction, why would / should women choose it? (How to manage the risks of being a woman in construction)

• If men don't like the construction industry, why would women?

• What do women have to gain by going into the construction industry instead of another industry that is already accommodating to her needs?

• What are the risks and what are the potential gains?

• Is it worth it in the end?

For the actual reasons why women should choose construction, look at this earlier blog; in this post I am going to focus on the things you should consider when making that choice and the tools you can use to manage your own career better.

Being an ex-site manager I thought it might be useful to look at this though the eyes of the Health & Safety principles.

Eliminate

Reduce

Isolate

Control

PPE

Discipline

But first to the reasons why they are needed.

Let’s get this clear, it’s not that the industry and everyone in it is hostile to women. More that, as we highlighted last week, isolated groups or individuals can have a serious impact. On top of that there are less “hostile” actions such as sub-conscious bias and over-protection that can impact significantly on individuals’ careers.

Your role in the sector will dictate not only the types of challenges you might face but also the extent of the effect that they are able to have on you.

For example, if you are discriminated against in an office environment and work with other women in a similar role who are understanding and supportive and you are aware of the internal procedures to follow you are likely to feel supported.  Especially if the role also provides you with a good work life balance with regards to working hours (less than 37.5 hours per week), challenging work and routes to promotion.

If, though, you face discrimination on an isolated site where you are the only female (substitute gender here for any minority) and don’t feel there is support from your colleagues because they joined in a little and you‘re unaware of internal HR procedures because you have so little interaction from them, you might not feel as supported.  Particularly, if you are also working long hours (<50hrs per week average), have work that does not challenge you and have been unable to progress you career.

These are, of course, two extremes; the point being that the industry is not hostile to everyone all the time, but it’s handy to recognise the situations that are likely to be most difficult.  You can then decide if you are prepared to risk being put into these situations or not and manage around it where possible.

When I worked in the sector I felt that the fact that I was a woman was unimportant; it was my ability to do my job that counted. As my career progressed I realised that simply wasn’t true; just because it didn't affect my ability to do my job, didn’t mean that other people wouldn’t see it that way and treat me different anyway.

This is why I would say it’s not that you shouldn’t work in construction, it’s that you should go in prepared; so let’s use health and safety tools to help us do that: -

Eliminate – First do a bit of reading - find out some of the experiences people have had in the sector and decide what you would not be prepared to risk. Eliminate the roles with high occurrences of behaviour that you would find unacceptable and keep the ones with smaller amounts. People have different tolerance levels so remember to pick what’s right for you and no one else.

Reduce – Now look a bit deeper - which companies provide strong support and are as a minimum aware of these issues? Try and pick a company that at least acknowledges you might have a different experience to men.

Isolate – Or in this case don’t - build yourself a network that you can relate to. Inside or outside the organisation; this does not have to be women or be all the same thing. You might have a senior male manager as a mentor, some male site managers that you have a drink with once a month and a formal external networking group for women that you go to three times a year. What’s important is that you take a proactive stance by putting this network in place. NB  if you have  a networking group  you would like to see on our links page just drop us a line and let us know. 

Control – Make sure that you talk to your managers on site about your expectations - tell them what you want from the role and where you want to go. If you think you can discuss with them what should happen if behaviours occur, keep it professional and positive and explain you’re sure things will be fine but this way everyone is on the same page. Also keep a diary if unacceptable behaviour happens; you don’t need to use it but its there as a back-up in case you do.

PPE – Dress smart and professionally - your clothes say a lot about you, even though they probably shouldn’t. If you want to progress, dress for where you want to go. Obviously, roles like site engineering or trades will murder a good suit before the week is out, but when you go to meetings in Head Office, or for other site roles that don’t have you wading around in man-holes, dress up.  Show you are a professional first, a builder second and a woman third when you are at work.

Discipline – If unacceptable behaviour happens, know in advance how you are going to deal with it.  This might seem negative, but it will give you a proactive plan and help you to feel in control of the situation. Be aware of your HR policies and try and get to know your HR team well, so if an issue occurs you have a friend to speak to not just a colleague.

You’ll find there are a lot of companies who genuinely want to increase their numbers of women and simply do not know, or understand, some of the challenges they face. Make it your mission to help them; don’t be ashamed of your gender or difference and don’t let others let you be demeaned, or demean you. Most people (myself included) say crass things because they don’t know any better; if all women in the sector started educating it a little I think we’d find ourselves, men and women alike, all a little bit better off.

Part Three – Why are men hostile about women being in construction? Identifying 3 main types and how to deal with it.

The third in a series of blogs looking into women in construction, this week we attempt to answer “Why are men hostile about women being in construction?” The questions come from Becky and will be answered in the following order. 

• Why should women choose construction?
• Why shouldn’t women choose construction? 
• Why are men hostile about women being in construction?
• If the industry is so hostile to the idea of women being in construction, why would / should women choose it? 
• If men don’t even like the construction industry, why would women? 
• What do women have to gain by going into the construction industry instead of another industry that is already accommodating to her needs?
• What are the risks and what are the potential gains?
• Is it worth it in the end?

Why are men hostile about women being in construction? 

The majority of men on site are not hostile about women working in the sector and it would be dangerous and insulting to think differently, that’s not to say that there are not issues such as subconscious bias that need to be overcome. But that happens with women towards women (even ones working in construction) as well, so I shall cover it in more detail in a later blog if you request it. 

There are though, some men that do act in a way that can be hostile; this behaviour can be overt and plain to see and in my opinion far easier to handle. Then there’s covert; much trickier to spot and likely to make the person on the receiving end feel unsure of what is actually going on. The reason this is such an issue on site because more often than not the perpetrators of this behaviour are usually people with power, either given (in charge on the job) or taken (social – e.g. the natural leader) others are likely to follow their behavioural patterns. This is for a number of reasons including lack of knowledge around the true motives of the perpetrator, peer pressure or for an easy life, who hasn’t laughed along at something they know to be wrong to fit in and to protect the group; we all have our stereotypes to fit into and our loyalties to protect. 

It’s important to bear in mind this is a very power related issue and that means it’s more likely to occur where one has power over another, for example a female site manager is more likely to face hostility from same-level peers, or above, than from subcontractors. This is, of course, likely to be obvious to anyone who has worked on site; if someone is linked to how you get paid, you’re less likely to be in a pain in the arse. 

So why then the extreme hostility?

We shall look at three main reasoning’s and look at why they occur, how the symptoms can be displayed and how you can look to overcome them: -

• Fear
• Self-preservation (promotion)
• Misogyny 

Fear 

Fear of what might happen to a woman on site, could accidently end up in court.

Reason 

The easiest of the three, sometimes site environments push people into thinking they can’t ask for help and it’s seen as a weakness, This coupled with a big lack of knowledge around equality law, women in the sector and management skills can mean that some managers simply don’t know what to do or how to ask for help. This then leads to fear; fear that they might put their foot in it and end up in court; fear that the “lads” on site might say something that ends you them up in court and; fear that the women in question will be like one of “those women” that cause trouble. 

Symptom 

Managing women in construction away from environments they perceived to be harmful (more filing duties, in office away from site), references to political correctness. 

Overcoming 

Where possible try and have a conversation with your boss about how you feel about being on site and your ambition. Explain what you will and won’t accept in terms of language and make it clear he has nothing to fear regarding your interaction with other staff, unless of course they cross a line, in which case, you will inform him and warn the individual in the first instance, not run straight to a court room. Also make it your responsibility to protect and support other women in construction, you’ll be surprised how many women in the sector who are classed as “that type of woman” are actually a lot like you, they just had to manage a hostile environment without support. 

 Self Preservation

Women might rock the boat or get “their” promotion

Reason 

Women are much more likely to point out a social injustice, so an alpha heading a group will see women (in fact anyone who is different to them or the main group) as a threat to their position. Research has found that in these circumstances alphas can subconsciously influence the group into thinking the threat is to the group, not the alpha individual, and this is where you can see groups acting out of character and isolating individuals. Secondly, the equality agenda has been misinterpreted over the years and led people to believe you can give some people jobs based solely on their status as a woman, asian man, person living with a disability, etc. This isn’t true, but that doesn’t seem to matter to some people. 

Symptom

Become isolated from the group, your work is subject to additional checks (more than peers), appraisals are non-descript,

Overcoming

A word to the wise, the people behind this behaviour are usually very political; they don’t play fair and will cover their tracks. You have a few choices the first is to get them on side, look at their ambitions and consider how you could help them achieve them, make sure they know you are there to help and thus eliminating the threat and instead being seen as useful. This doesn’t always work of course and in such cases make sure you keep a detailed diary of any events that might seem small and insignificant, they can add up to so much more and protect you against any accusations that might be levied. 

Misogyny 

Some men do not like women, it can manifest itself in any of the ways described above and unfortunately more. It’s here that it should be mentioned that sexual harassment, be that physical or language, is usually more about power and “putting women in their place” than it ever is about sex, so if you do encounter this try and acknowledge it for what it is and ensure you make a note as it in case the situation progresses.

Conclusion

Research shows us that it is not the behaviour of individuals that force women to leave companies, it’s the support they receive or feel they should receive from their organisations. Most women do not report instances as they do not feel they will be taken seriously, and that is not good for companies looking to retain key talent. 

In closing, individuals seek out a company that will have a dialogue with you around what to do if you face an issue, stay professional if something occurs and try not to display your emotions if possible – I know this is hard but unfortunately you are more likely to be seen as weak and out of control than as a credible employee.

Organisations, let your staff, especially those on site, know you support them before they have to ask for it. Know what you would do if these situations arise and have someone in-house who has read a bit of research on the barriers women face in the sector. At the very least have someone external you can call for advice in this area, it’s never easy and usually both sides feel wronged but there is generally a solution if handled in the right way. 

As usual we encourage your comments,