Four out of Five Tradeswomen Face Discrimination and Most Women Won’t Consider a Construction Career

MOST TRADESWOMEN (78%) are facing discrimination in their jobs, most frequently encountering negative comments and harassment, according to research by online construction community, On The Tools.

The research, launched to mark International Women’s Day, surveyed 474 tradeswomen across the UK to uncover what it’s like to work in construction in 2022.

Most Won’t Consider a Career in Construction

As part of the report, On The Tools also partnered with YouGov to survey 2,000 adults. From this YouGov survey, 78% of women consumers, and 66% of men said they would not consider a career in construction.

Job Satisfaction

However, the white paper also uncovered many promising drivers for women to enter the construction industry, with 77.37% of self-employed tradeswomen feeling job satisfaction, while 25% of these said they were ‘extremely satisfied’ with their career.

Tradeswomen Discrimination

Several real-life experiences from tradeswomen are featured in the report, highlighting the breadth of opportunities for women, including the real earning potential within the trade.

Clare Harding, Brand Director of On the Tools, said: “The level of discrimination the report reveals is disappointing, but despite all hurdles, we know from listening to the women who have been part of the research, that construction can be a great career choice.”

“There is still a lot of work to be done, both to increase representation of women in industry, as well as to improve education and resources on the topic in order to address discrimination head-on. By taking steps to understand what it is like for women in the industry, as well as uniting construction brands and industry bodies, there can be the focus needed on representation, working conditions and on encouraging women to enter the industry.”

Site Facilities

The report also highlights that discrimination can extend to the physical facilities available for women on-site, with only 22.15% of tradeswomen saying that they always have access to a women’s toilet.

Pay

When asked about their pay in comparison to their male counterparts, only 29.75% of tradeswomen surveyed felt they were paid the same as men. This was confirmed by figures provided by report sponsor Rated People showing that women get paid just 72% of men’s average pay for trade roles.

The white paper found that the majority of tradeswomen were in favour of improving education and raising awareness to tackle the issue of discrimination.

The report is supported by: Bosch, Band of Builders, Dulux, Fischer, Rated People, Register of Tradeswomen, Speedy, Toolstation and Youthbuild.

>>Read more about Women in Construction in the news