Episode 17

Overview

Are the construction and property industries are really making progress on inclusivity, or just making promises? Are we still seeing discrimination and unconscious bias within the built environment sector? Or are we happily witnessing progress?

What does inclusivity really look like in practice – and are we genuinely moving the dial, or just reshaping the same conversation?

On paper, the sector looks more diverse than it once did but there is still a long way to go. If we look at gender alone, women make up around 15 per cent of the UK construction workforce and roughly 31 per cent of partners or directors in architecture practices.

Despite the number of public pledges, the gender pay gap in construction still sits at around 17 per cent, barely shifting in the past five years.

Representation of ethnic minorities in construction hovers near 7 per cent, compared to about 14 per cent across the overall UK workforce, showing that racial diversity also lags behind national averages. (Statistics from the Office for National Statistics and the Construction Industry Training Board.)

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