Women in Overalls

Pop quiz – In the UK construction industry, what does WAMT mean? How about WIC or WISE? If you can’t answer these questions without looking up the answer on your smart phone, you are not alone. In fact most people (yup, even women) in the construction industry in the UK would be hard pressed to tell you that WAMT (Women and Manual Trades), WIC (Women in Construction) or WISE (Women in Self Employment) are available resources for women to enter this under represented field of work, even though WAMT has been around since 1975. 

According to a SET survey in 2008, only 7,700 women were self employed in construction, compared to 774,000 men (approximately 1%). Of the 3.5 million self employed people in the UK, 27.1% are women (0.95 million), so why do only 7,700 or less than 1% consider construction? Previously the reasons were stereotyping and inflexible schedules for women with children.

However, we live in the year 2012, where these barriers are no longer allowed to exist. Things are improving. The WIC site published a 2010 survey that says more women are entering construction. Of those now working in construction, 41.1% are in office jobs, and 56.2% are in both on and off-site positions. There are advantages to hiring a woman in construction. They could range from clients that only feel more comfortable with a woman in their home alone with them, to employing different skill sets. So you have to ask yourself, does your company want to tap a potential in the industry, or not?