Construction Inclusion Week: The part executive search has to play in building the future

Needless to say, if inclusion and diversity were a race, the construction industry would have fallen at the first hurdle. This infographic paints a bleak picture, with:

• 73% of women feel passed over for roles due to their gender.
• 60% of gender discrimination victims within the construction industry are women.
• 47% of women have never worked with a female manager.

This week (October 18 – 22) is the inaugural Construction Inclusion Week. With COVID-19 threatening to thwart over a decade’s worth of inclusion and diversity progress, a consortium of the six leading general contractors saw the need to cultivate a more inclusive construction industry. Thus, Construction Inclusion Week was born.

The power of inclusion & diversity strategies in modern construction firms

Inclusion and diversity aren’t just the latest industry buzzwords, designed to paper over the industry’s flaws – they’ve become deep-rooted cracks. The construction industry has become marred by unconscious bias and the gender pay gap. And, as we all know – if the foundations are weak, then the structure is sure to follow.

Across America, more and more women feel like they are being forced out of jobs they love for nothing more than their gender – which is a disgusting thought in 2021. Across the world, more organizations (across a host of industries) are reaping the benefits of embracing a diverse and inclusive workforce. A recent cognitive intelligence study from MIT engineers observed that the most successful teams had three things in common:

• They gave each other equal time to talk.
• They were sensitive towards each other’s situations.
• They included more women.

So, why isn’t construction following suit? When you consider that 8 out of 10 women have reported feeling like they’re left out of their company’s social events, it’s clear that things don’t just need to change; they have to.

Levelling the playing field

The American construction workforce is ten million strong, yet only 3.4% of workers are female.

It’s time to smash the stereotypes surrounding the US construction industry. The time for organizations to be 100% white and male has passed. Working in the construction industry shouldn’t be a daunting prospect for women and other minorities – regardless of the stage they’re at in their careers.

We need to push that 3.4% up to 34% (and more), soon. That won’t be possible when there’s only one week per year dedicated to inclusion – it should be at the forefront of leaders’ priorities for 365 days a year.

When we stop treating words like inclusion and diversity as buzzwords, we can begin to challenge the status quo, and bring about positive change within our industry.

According to the Peterson Institute, organizations who were in the top 25% in the gender diversity of their workforce were over 45% more likely to outperform their industry average. In a separate study from Credit Suisse, businesses produced a 10% higher cash flow return, when women made up more than half of the senior managers.

Breaking new ground: the Harris & Co. approach

Over 1,100 firms are participating in this year’s Construction Inclusion Week. It’s clear that we need to start holding industry leaders accountable when their businesses fall behind inclusion and diversity standards. For women and other minorities, the door to the C-Suite should be kept open – not slammed closed.

Building a career in construction should be regarded as incredibly rewarding. Nevertheless, for those who have been passed over on opportunities due to their gender is an awful thought for an industry that’s only just started seeing the tentative shoots of recovery after an intense and challenging period.

Here at Harris & Co., we’re incredibly selective about our construction clients – and actively prioritize those who focus on building solid relationships with their employees, and invest in their inclusion & diversity strategies. We’re always on the lookout for new candidates to introduce to our progressive construction clients. After all, it’s far easier to introduce a candidate to a client when their wider beliefs align with your own! And, when a role is fulfilling for a senior manager, and your organization champions the needs of women and other minorities, your business stands to benefit, too.

The results speak for themselves; encouraging more women and those from minority backgrounds to climb the ladder within your organization stands to open your business up to new, bright ideas, and a more holistic problem-solving process. And, there’s no denying that there’s a need within the C-Suite to nurture high performers – their gender or background shouldn’t matter.

After all, if you can’t nurture your best workers, we’ll be sure to find them a position in an organization where their value is recognized.