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Opportunities for women in the construction sector have been dealt a serious blow by the pandemic, setting some careers back by years, according to industry experts.

Gender pay gap data out this month shows several big employers reporting no progress or a worsening situation for women, which in turn has raised fears that the pressure of covid-19 has reversed years of enlightened HR policies designed to boost the number of women employed in the sector and promote them to senior positions.

> Also read: Covid drives big differences in employers鈥� gender pay gaps

Efforts to improve the gender balance in construction, where the proportion of women has stayed stubbornly around the 14% mark, had gathered momentum, but some commentators have warned that the extra childcare burdens placed on women during three UK lockdowns could have had the reverse effect.

Another factor that affected women鈥檚 pay over the past year was the proportion placed on furlough. Women disproportionately fill administrative and support roles, which were the first to be stood down at many firms, while men dominate operations roles, which largely continued through the pandemic.

The indication is that women鈥檚 careers will be stalled and could be stalled for years

Theresa Mohammed

According to a study from the Women鈥檚 Budget Group based on HMRC data, women made up 52% of workers put on furlough across all industries between March and August last year, with around 133,000 more women affected by the initiative than men.

A report from management consultant McKinsey last summer found that women鈥檚 jobs around the globe during the crisis were 1.8 times more vulnerable than men鈥檚 jobs, with women representing 39% of global employment but 54% of job losses.

Theresa Mohammed, partner at law firm Trowers & Hamlin, warned that women disproportionately opting for the furlough scheme, reducing their hours or delaying their return from maternity leave 鈥渕ay well be delaying the progression of women鈥檚 careers鈥�.

She added: 鈥淵ou have got women delaying returning to work, or reducing their hours, potentially volunteering for furlough, then what we鈥檝e got is an economic crisis that will affect construction businesses. So, you add those together and the indication is that women鈥檚 careers will be stalled and could be stalled for years.鈥�

Rachel Bell, national chair of Women in Property and director of architect Stride Treglown, said it would be months before the full impact of the covid-19 crisis would be felt on women鈥檚 progression in the sector.

She said: 鈥淔urlough continues until September, when it will become apparent who has been 鈥榗arried鈥� through the pandemic and might then unfortunately be made redundant, at which point we can look at the gender and sector data.鈥�

Bell added the government extending the deadline for firms to report their pay gap data from this month to October had 鈥減rovided companies with a comfort blanket, enabling many to hide comparisons for over a year鈥�. To date only 13 out of 40 top construction firms obliged to publish the data have done so.

Others warned pay was not the only issue to have hit women harder than men during the pandemic.

Dr Jenni Barrett, a senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, said flexible working and working from home during the three lockdowns had increased burdens on juggling work with childcare.

She said: 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a masculine culture in the office because we are at home and that鈥檚 really positive. But on the flipside, there are things that have marginalised women further.

鈥淔or example, all that working flexibly means for a lot of women is that they have to work longer and harder around caring responsibilities.鈥�

Barrett said the mistake that is often made is to try talk about women as if they are the problem when 鈥渨hat we need to do is focus on fellas鈥�, adding men, especially in senior roles, had to take on their fair share of flexible working practices and non-work responsibilities.