The construction industry is not a particularly diverse industry, with ethnic minorities making up less that 6% of the workforce and women accounting for approximately 2% of on-site roles.

However change is happening and Speller Metcalfe want to do our part in making sure we are committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) among our workforce and throughout our projects. Our aim is for our workforce to be representative of society, treated equally and fairly, and for every individual to feel respected and able to give their best.

The header image was taken on International Women’s Day 2022 with the theme of ‘Break the Bias’.

The purpose of the EDI group at Speller Metcalfe is to generate discussion and understanding of equality, equity, diversity and inclusion issues.

Since 2022 our EDI group has been dedicated to pushing the company to be more inclusive and set real, meaningful targets which make a difference to our employees.

In 2022, the group set three over-arching objectives:

1. For Speller Metcalfe to create an environment where everyone feels valued, supported and safe.
2. To ensure all Speller Metcalfe staff are aware of themselves and their impact on others, in line with our company values.
3. To promote a culture that embraces and celebrates all human differences by actively making opportunities accessible for all, not only within Speller Metcalfe but also the wider industry and communities that we engage with.

In order to meet our objectives, each year the EDI group define annual targets to ensure we are consistently working towards creating and maintaining an inclusive environment. It is both a learning curve and an opportunity for us as a company to take both small and big steps in achieving this goal. In the last 12 months, this has included:

• The introduction of a regular EDI feature in our bi-annual company newsletter, The Blueprint;
• Setting out the key themes and events to raise the profile of EDI throughout each year. This has included the introduction of LinkedIn articles, social and blog posts, as well as client e-shots:
  – Discussing diversity – it’s good for business
  – Menopause article
• Reviewing the company values to accurately reflect Speller Metcalfe’s ethos
• Boosting the visibility of the EDI team and Co-Chairs as places our staff can go to for support, with a dedicated email address
• All female on-site toilets now have the provision of sanitary bins;

We’re proud of the progress that has been made to date and welcome the positive response it has been met with. But what we have reflected on is that while driving change is important, it is better to have smaller, manageable targets that are achievable.

The key objectives for 2023 onwards are:

1. Development of gender pay gap research and reporting.
2. Improvement of inclusive recruitment practices and widening our geographical recruitment areas.
3. Introducing PPE that works for all body shapes and genders.
4. Encouraging and promoting the benefits of a more diverse construction workforce for the industry.