Advocates take action on diversity

Advocates take action on diversityThe most effective way to drive diversity through the industry is for male leaders to sponsor up-and-coming female talent, reveals new research from the University of New South Wales.Launching a new report, Construction Industry: Demolishing Gender Structures, PhD researcher Natalie Galea (pictured) says there is clear evidence that sponsoring or championing women in the industry can influence career progression.”While mentoring tends to be about standing on the outside to provide coaching and advice, sponsorship is about advocating on someone’s behalf and providing them with access to the skillsets and opportunities they need to further their career,” Galea explains.Galea says the Property Council’s 100 Women in Property is an excellent example of how championing female talent elevates the diversity agenda throughout companies. Participants in this program are sponsored by an experienced colleague, who may be male or female, to help them grow their networks and gain visibility within their organisation.”Informal sponsorship networks are well established and tend to favour men, so initiatives like this really make a difference,” she says.”Our research has found that sponsorship is important from the very outset of a person’s career. Because construction is a project-based industry, sponsorship happens from the moment project leaders pick their teams.”Companies tend to recruit on potential, which is really hard to measure. This means a lot of promotion and opportunity occurs through these informal sponsorship networks.”Galea says the Property Male Champions of Change has been another significant driver of change.”Building on what the Property Council is doing, the next stage is to capture the attention of middle managers. Gender diversity has to be owned by those in power – from project directors to construction managers. It can’t stay in the hands of head office. It needs to travel onto the construction sites.”Galea says the research has found clients are having a “huge influence” on the gender balance of teams. “It’s coming across in the data. Clients are asking contractors why there are no women at site meetings or in tender teams, or if they can see their gender diversity plans. This emphasises the importance of gender diversity with contractors, who are beginning to see that they must prioritise diversity alongside safety and quality as elements of a successful project.”Download Construction Industry: Demolishing Gender Structures.