20 Apr 2012
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New taskforce set up to improve diversity

A new industry-wide forum has been set up to improve the employment of women, minorities and the disabled within the construction industry.

The new Construction Industry Leadership Forum for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR), has been established on the recommendation of the Employment and Human Rights Commission following two studies on diversity in construction and has been charged with changing practice in the industry.

Chaired by Judy Lowe, Deputy Chairman of CITB-ConstructionSkills, the forum is made up of a wide array of participants from across industry to ensure that it is representative and facilitates the needs of all sector stakeholders. Participants include UK Contractors Group, the Construction Industry Council, the Chartered Institute of Building, the National Federation of Builders, Constructing Excellence, Constructing Equality, SMEs and SummitSkills.

An immediate priority, as identified by the forum at its inaugural meeting, is to provide clear and consistent information on Fairness, Inclusion and Respect for the industry so that everyone can access guidance, advice and helpful examples of good practice. The industry’s need to improve its retention of skilled female employees and those from ethnic minority groups is also a top priority.

Commenting on the new initiative, Judy Lowe, Deputy Chairman at CITB-ConstructionSkills said: “I’m delighted to be heading up this forum. It presents a fantastic opportunity to build on what’s best in the industry and encourage where there’s scope for improvement. There is a great deal of excellent work already happening in the area but this forum can act as a central hub to drive change across the industry.

“As the first woman to be appointed as a non-executive director of a construction company more than 15 years ago, I know that construction is a fantastic industry to be part of, no matter what your background is. On a personal level therefore, I am passionate about challenging the status quo especially when industry has so much to gain through wider inclusion and representation. Nowadays, construction is for everybody and with an aging white male workforce, diversity is no longer a luxury or a ‘nice to have’, it’s just sound business sense.”