Constructing her story: Emma Beardsley, M&J Evans

I accidentally entered the Construction industry in an administrative role 18 years ago. I was managing the competencies and compliance of a rail business in the West Midlands. Because I was office-based, I did not immediately feel that the industry was male-dominated as the office was full of women. It didn’t really occur to me at the time but now looking back there were no women in the Senior Management Team or the operational side of the business. When I initially showed interest in training to be a site-based Health and Safety Advisor in 2008 I was quite firmly rejected. I continued in my office-based role for another 4 years before I finally got the chance to pursue my site-based aspirations. Perseverance and showing I was committed was key for me.

Could you share some of your most memorable experiences or projects throughout your career in construction?

I will never forget my time working on the Area Central Enabling works contract for HS2. I doubt that I will ever work on another project of that scale – the unique challenges we faced and the complexity of the project will never be beaten for me. Also as a safety professional, I am very proud to have been part of an enabling works joint venture that achieved 11 million hours RIDDOR free.

What are some of the unique challenges you’ve faced as a woman in construction and how have you overcome them?

Overall I would say that my experience of being a woman in the Construction Industry has been very positive. But if I was to pick a challenge:

Sometimes the lack of close female colleagues or easy access to female peers can be quite isolating if you are site-based. I could go weeks on a previous project without seeing another woman let alone speaking to one! I have overcome this in the past by setting up a women’s support network within the business – it made a difference to have other women to reach out to for support if required and became so popular we had to regionalise it.

In your experience, what are some of the misconceptions about women working in construction, and how have you overcome them?

The main one for me is that often women entering the construction industry (myself included initially) think that they have to be “one of the lads” to get anywhere. This is not true – over the years I have found that my working relationships and the results I have achieved massively improved when I softened into my natural personality – I started showing up as a girl.

What advice would you give to other women considering a career in construction or currently working in the field?

Show up as the woman you are rather than the woman that you think you need to be. You should not have to work harder, longer, faster than any male colleague to succeed…it just leads to burnout.

What advancements or changes have you witnessed in the industry regarding gender diversity and inclusion since you began your career?

Us women are definitely on the rise and it’s great to see that more women are entering Senior Leadership Teams in operational roles across the industry – it inspires the rest of us!

Looking ahead, what do you hope to see for the future of women in construction, and what steps do you believe are necessary to continue progressing towards gender equality in the field?

My biggest one is that it would be amazing to have ‘women’s’ PPE that fits and it would be great if they ditched the pink or flowery waistbands….we just want PPE that fits well and does the job, no frills required!

I think women need to be more communicative and honest about their career aspirations to leaders within the business rather than assuming that a path might not be open to them, and more businesses need to actively encourage and support the women in their teams with a clear line of progression and open-mindedness to avoid pigeonholing individuals.

 

We thank Emma for her key insights, it was a pleasure to feature her experience during Women in Construction Week.

You can connect with Emma on LinkedIn here.