黑洞社区

Construction leaders have voiced support for continuing efforts to improve diversity in the industry amid growing pushback against diversity targets in the US.

Several major US companies have publicly scrapped or watered down diversity programmes since the election of Donald Trump as president, including Goldman Sachs, Amazon, Meta, Walmart and McDonald鈥檚.

While the moves have prompted fears that UK-based companies, including those working in the built environment, could follow suit, Civil Engineering Contractors Association chief executive Alasdair Reisner said he had seen 鈥渁bsolutely zero moving back by any organisation鈥� he had spoken to.

Speaking during a panel event on improving diversity at 黑洞社区鈥檚 Good Employer Guide Live event yesterday afternoon, Reisner said that even UK arms of US-based firms appeared to be 鈥渟till fully committed to greater inclusion in the workforce鈥�.

Asked how the industry could avoid resistance to diversity initiatives spreading to the UK, Sybil Taunton, head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said it was 鈥渟imply a choice of what side of history you want to be on鈥�.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 a choice whether you want to show up and keep pushing for ethics and fairness and respect and equal opportunities for everyone.

She added: 鈥淭hat sounds very altruistic, but it really comes down to choosing what kind of leader you want to be for the industry - an inclusive leader, or someone who sets us back.鈥�

The panel also included Natalie Penrose, HS2 director of stakeholders, skills and inclusion and Hony Premlal, founder of industry coaching firm Hony Premlal Consultancy.

Both spoke of the advantages of boosting diversity in staff teams, with Premlal arguing that customers were more likely to trust a company with a diverse leadership.

鈥淚f you want to get business, get the right people in your team or message, you better have diversity because the return on investment is better,鈥� she said.

Penrose added: 鈥淒iverse teams are better teams. Diversity and thought is critical for us to see risks and find innovative solutions. If everybody looks the same and thinks the same and talks the same, that team is not going to be at optimum level.鈥�

However, Taunton said the industry still had 鈥渂ig questions to be asking ourselves鈥� in explaining slow progress in improving diversity and hiring practices which appeared to favour white applicants.

Data supplied to the RICS by the Supply Chain Sustainability School, which surveyed nearly 600 built environment firms, found people from non-white backgrounds faced an 88 to one applicant per hire ratio, compared to a 26 to one ratio for those from white backgrounds.

鈥淭here鈥檚 load of diverse talent knocking on the door of the industry, and they鈥檙e not getting in,鈥� Taunton said, adding that industry leaders would need to start having 鈥渦ncomfortable conversations鈥� in order to rebalance the figures.

The data also found that only 27% of applicants to the 589 surveyed firms were women, despite women accounting for nearly half of construction students in higher education.