Amelia Maydom, head of learning and development for housing group untypical, which delivers homes under the Tilia Homes and Hopkins Homes brands, on the true potential of women’s careers in housebuilding.
Does construction have a perception problem? Ask most people to describe a construction worker, and the image most people conjure up would almost certainly be of a man. However, scratch beneath the surface, and the reality of modern construction – and the women thriving within it – tell a very different story.
Across the UK construction workforce, women account for around 15-16% of employees, according to recent data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But the picture changes dramatically when you look specifically at on-site roles such as site managers, skilled trades and plant operators.
In the homebuilding sector, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) reports that women currently make up just four per cent of site managers, highlighting the significant gender imbalance in on-site leadership positions.
Thankfully, there are signs that the pipeline is beginning to change. At untypical, women now make up 50% of trainee construction roles, including trainee assistant site managers.
But persistent myths are still putting some women off, so what needs to be challenged?
Myth one: construction sites are unwelcoming for women
This is perhaps the most deeply held assumption about construction sites.
Yes, construction has historically been male-dominated. But the environments women are walking in today bear little resemblance to the clichés. Feedback from women in on-site roles at untypical describes colleagues who are professional, collaborative and often, in their words, “overly respectful of women”.
The humour and camaraderie that define site culture are cited not as sources of discomfort, but as genuine reasons people love the job. Younger workers entering the industry are also shifting attitudes further, creating sites where inclusion is increasingly the norm rather than the exception.
Myth two: it’s all physical strength and repetitive graft
This is another assumption that falls apart on closer inspection. Succeeding in most roles – from assistant site manager upwards – depends far more on organisation, communication, problem-solving and leadership than on physical strength. These are skills that have nothing to do with gender, and everything to do with aptitude and training.
Construction is, at its core, a project management and people industry. The physical elements are real, but they are rarely the defining factor in who succeeds.
Myth three: it’s simply not a career path for women
Research commissioned by untypical and conducted by OnePoll, surveying 1,000 UK teenagers and their parents, found that more than half of respondents still believe construction is a gendered industry. Trades including bricklaying (59%), plumbing (59%) and electrical work (53%) were considered by many to be roles primarily for men.
These perceptions form early and quietly narrow the options young people feel are available to them. If a teenage girl never sees construction framed as a realistic career choice – at school, at home, in the media – she is unlikely to consider it, regardless of whether she’d be brilliant at it.
This is where the real work lies: not on site, but in classrooms, well before any career decision is made.
Talks from industry professionals around Year 9, combined with actual site visits, could be transformative in showing young people what construction careers genuinely involve – and dismantling outdated assumptions before they calcify into life choices.
The OnePoll research also found that 60% of parents feel supportive and 24% feel inspired if their child pursues a career in an industry traditionally associated with the opposite gender. But there’s a gap worth noting: while 46% of mothers said they would feel proud, only 36% of fathers said the same. Therefore, changing the conversation at home is just as important as changing it in the classroom.
The housebuilding sector is evolving, and many organisations are actively working to make construction careers more visible and accessible.
At untypical, that includes a commitment to championing opportunities across the industry and encouraging people from underrepresented groups to consider careers in housebuilding. The early results speak for themselves: women now make up half of its trainee construction roles. This is proof that when you actively create pathways and challenge assumptions, things change.
The business has also joined The 5% Club, supporting efforts to increase the number of people entering the industry through apprenticeships, graduate roles and other ‘earn and learn’ pathways. It also backs initiatives such as the Home Builders Federation’s Women into Homebuilding programme, which helps women build the skills and confidence to pursue careers in site management and other construction roles.
The myths about women in construction – that sites are hostile, that the work is purely physical, that it simply isn’t for them – are just that: myths. Modern construction is a dynamic, collaborative and genuinely rewarding career environment, and the women already working within it are living evidence of that.
The future of housebuilding depends on talent. It always has. It’s time the perception caught up with reality.
