Property’s middle managers are the stumbling block in the industry’s ambitions for a diverse workforce, a panel of industry leaders have concluded.
“The C-suite get it, there’s demand at lower levels but it’s the middle management we need to target,” said RICS president Amanda Clack at its Diversity and Inclusion conference today, which addressed ways to set new standards to support and retain a more balanced workforce.
Clack added that the responsibility for diversity and flexibility rested with individuals across the board but said: “It’s not where you are in the hierarchy that determines your impact.
“Commit to lowering the ladder and bringing people up with you.”
Jane Duncan, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, blamed the “prohibitive cost of training” required to enter the industry, with the prospect of graduates being “locked into the equivalent of a mortgage” by their early twenties.
The panel was unanimous that producing an inclusive work environment also means recognising the contribution that older people can make to the workforce, particularly supporting “returners”, such as people who have spent time away from the industry to raise a family.
Part of this, according to Chris Blythe, chief executive of Chartered Institute of Building, involves offering flexible working.
NEXT WEEK: EG will be sharing the stories of LGBT members of the industry, taking a look at the issues surrounding inclusivity, celebrating best practice and much, much more.
“Money is only half of the equation. A lot of men want flexibility to provide support to their family. Not everyone has to be on the doorstep of the project they are working on and if we don’t recognise this we will never get the talent we need.”
On women in construction, he said its “macho, sexist culture was hard to break down in such a fragmented industry.”
Clack said the RICS’s Inclusive Employer Quality Mark was driving behavioural change in some businesses but she conceded it was not enough and that diversity measures should be linked to bonuses and objectives for middle management.
Duncan advocated a “carrot approach” and reinforced that diversity is a business imperative.
“If you don’t have an inclusive environment it won’t do well. It’s simple,” she said.
However, Janet Askew, past president of the Royal Town Planning Institute, disagreed. “We need to set targets for women in certain roles, otherwise nothing will change,” she said.
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