Bridging the Diversity Gap: A Call to Action in Construction

Title: Bridging the Diversity Gap: A Call to Action in Construction

In a recent employee survey conducted by the Sustainability Tool and the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Programme, the construction and utilities sectors face an uphill battle in achieving true diversity and inclusion. The survey covered 526,000 employees across 537 Supply Chains, 8 companies, with two-thirds employed by tier one contractors such as Morgan Sindall and VolkerWessels, and a large take up in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's).

Diversity Snapshot: Progress and Shortfalls

- The inclusion of ethnic minorities decreased marginally from 13.7% in 2022 to 13.6% in the following year, falling short of the 18.5% representation in the UK population.

- Job applications from ethnic minority backgrounds stand at 52.5%, amounting to approximately 70 applicants per hire, in contrast to the 22 per hire for white applicants.

- Gender disparity remains stark, but showed a marked improvement with 29% female representation in 2023 compared to 23% in 2022.

- A 20.7% pay gap between male and female workers, and an 8.3% ethnicity pay gap, highlights ongoing imbalances.

- Application to hiring ratio was notably higher for ethnic minority groups (90:1) compared to white applicants (28.4:1), on average making it three times as challenging to secure a job in2023.

- Depending on background, ethnic minority groups found it between 1.2 to 6.4 times harder to be hired than their white counterparts.

The Voice of Experience: Unravelling Complex Trends

Amos Simbo, founder and CEO of the Black Professionals in Construction Network, emphasises that the industry has the talent to benefit from diversity but points to complex factors contributing to the low participation of ethnic minority communities.

Construction Inclusion Coalition (CIC): A Collective Vision

Recognizing the need for immediate and substantial steps toward equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), CEOs from 11 leading organizations have joined forces to create the Construction Inclusion Coalition (CIC). This coalition represents over 250,000 workers and aims to catalyse progress in EDI across the industry.

Built On Better Pledge: A Joint Commitment

The CIC, rooted in the desire for measurable progress, encourages businesses across the sector to take the Built on Better Pledge. This joint commitment spans several key areas, fostering sector-wide collaboration and knowledge exchange:

1. Driving the recruitment, retention, and progression of under-represented groups.

2. Creating an environment that encourages feedback and higher satisfaction from underrepresented groups.

3. Transforming internal processes for concerns and complaints to be raised by any and all colleagues.

4. Vowing to measure and report on progress year-on-year for continuous development.

The Urgency for Change: A Talent Pool Untapped

Beyond the statistics, the industry faces the imminent retirement of close to one million construction workers in the next decade. These figures underscore the urgency for change — not just for the benefit of businesses but for the industry's future resilience.

The need for change is underscored by alarming statistics:

- Only 2% of women consider construction an industry where they'd feel welcome.

- A mere 36% of Britons are confident in the safety and respect of female family or friends in the construction industry.

- Pay disparities are still present and need to be reduced.

- The figure for minority and female representation in the industry is still below respective population levels, and hiring on the surface appears discriminatory.

Industry-Wide Responsibility: A Call to Unite

The CIC is not merely an initiative but a movement calling for everyone in the industry — from housebuilders and contractors to manufacturers, logistics businesses, and suppliers — to join hands in making the sector more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

Endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), the CIC represents a collaborative effort to deliver meaningful and tangible progress. Now, more than ever, the industry has the opportunity to build not only structures but a future that embraces diversity and inclusion as its foundation.