Emma Ramell, Director of External Affairs, reflects on the importance of diversity and inclusion initiatives and the role developers, and their supply chains must play.

A diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a critical necessity for home builders. This was one of the most powerful messages to emerge from HBF’s 2024 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Conference.

The event, which was held on 19 June, brought together over 70 delegates from various professions and seniority levels within the home building industry and gave attendees the opportunity to hear from a wide range of inspiring speakers.

While the conference was HBF’s first event of this kind, EDI has nonetheless been a key area of focus for the Federation for some time. This work started with the creation of a dedicated Equality, Diversity and Inclusion working group in 2018 to help increase the diversity and inclusivity of the home building workforce.

The working group has been instrumental in supporting developers to tackle the challenges that are hindering diversity and inclusion head-on by providing a platform for collaboration, discussion and the development of effective solutions.

In 2024, we have seen the industry’s EDI work progress further with the launch of the second year of the Women into Home Building programme. The initiative, developed with Women into Construction (WiC), aims to provide hands-on experience and training on the role of a site manager whilst offering support with the cost of childcare and travel costs for the duration of the placement.

The first year of the programme was a huge success engaging over 160 women, providing career support to 69 participants and securing over 45 work placements. Considering that women currently account for just 4% of existing site managers in the home building industry, this is no mean feat.

Beyond the programme, there is also a lot of activity being undertaken by individual home builders, including the establishment of reverse mentorship programmes, employee engagement surveys, reviews of recruitment practices and the introduction of family friendly working hours.

However, with an onsite workforce that is 96% male and 92% white[1], a persistently high gender pay gap, and a lack of diversity among senior role holders, few would disagree that the industry still has a long way to go in establishing a workforce more representative of the general population.

The EDI conference has the potential to be a milestone in home building’s journey to a more diverse and inclusive industry but will require a concerted effort to make not just a step or a jump, but a gigantic leap forward.

While achieving this level of progress will undoubtedly be difficult, there were many lessons that emerged from the conference which if implemented, would set us on the right path.

Lesson one: Change is coming so let’s approach it proactively and positively

In every industry, including home building, there are businesses who are fully committed to the EDI agenda and believe it is the right thing to do, and those who are yet to be convinced. This is partly why much of the narrative around EDI is focused on the ‘business case’ and the importance of presenting it to decision makers as a tool for tackling skills shortages, reducing absenteeism, saving costs and increasing productivity.

But regardless of motivation or commitment, there is a growing expectation from some political parties, that businesses should be doing more in this space. Take for example the forthcoming General Election on 4 July. It is looking increasingly likely that we will soon have a Labour Government and with that change, will come new expectations of developers.

Indeed, the Party’s Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been very vocal about her ambitions to close the gender pay gap, review parental leave, introduce disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting for large employers, introduce a Race Equality Act and where possible, make flexible working the default if Labour wins.

As highlighted by one of our speakers, progressive change is also being driven by other industries and closer to home, other areas of construction. This could have a number of ramifications, particularly for recruitment. After all, attracting and retaining the brightest talent will only become more difficult if home building compares poorly to other sectors.

Ultimately, the home building industry cannot swim against the tide and nor should it wish to. Therefore, it is important that we all give serious consideration to what can be done to further EDI in a way that is still practical and realistic for the industry.

Lesson two: No action is too small

To that end, the conference demonstrated that for developers in the initial stages of their work on EDI, there are ways to begin in a small, manageable but meaningful way.

This could, for example, include placing job adverts in places that are more likely to be seen by a more diverse pool of candidates. Or accessing some of the fantastic (and free!) resources created by the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS), which include webinars on topics such as setting up an inclusive site and Toolbox Talks on wellbeing.

Another small change that has the potential to make a big impact is encouraging the use of inclusive and respectful language. One of my biggest personal bugbears is when an adult female is referred to as ‘girl’ rather than a ‘woman’. It is infantilising and condescending, and in an industry where women are not represented to the extent they should be, is just another barrier to creating an inclusive culture.

The much used ‘pale, male and stale’ trope is a further example of this. As discussed at the conference, it is a lazy and unacceptable way of talking about the need for greater diversity and inclusivity. Every single person in the industry has a role to play in EDI and it should start with treating others with respect.

For those who are HBF members, you are also encouraged to join our EDI working group which provides opportunities to learn about how other companies are tackling issues such as the gender pay gap or flexible working requests.

As HBF’s Managing Director, Neil Jefferson, said in his opening remarks at the conference, doing something, no matter how small, is always better than standing still.

Lesson three: Increase allyship

Allyship was the central theme of the conference and is something that is crucial if we are to support employees from marginalised groups effectively. Essentially, being an ally means actively advocating for and supporting underrepresented communities rather than merely refraining from discriminatory behaviours.

As one speaker poignantly illustrated using the example of racism: it is not sufficient to simply avoid being racist; you must actively endeavour to be anti-racist. This proactive stance involves recognising systemic injustices, speaking out against discrimination, and taking tangible steps to support those affected.

The home building industry is already putting this in to practice in several ways, including through employee networks and groups. For example, one of our panellists spoke about how some of their colleagues had become allies of their company’s Pride Network despite not identifying as LGBTQ+ themselves.

If we are to shift the dial on EDI in house building, both businesses and individuals will need to give consideration as to how allyship can be best embedded across their businesses.

Lesson four: Treat people as individuals

A common misconception is that to achieve equality, you must treat everyone the same. In fact, equality is about treating everyone fairly and to do this, employees need to be treated as individuals with different needs.

An area where this is particularly important is health and safety. Statistics from the National Association of Women in Construction for Yorkshire (NAWIC) show that 59% of women have to wear PPE designed for men during their work on-site, which often fits incorrectly, is uncomfortable and can in some cases be a safety hazard.

Ensuring all employees are properly considered and catered for is essential not only for safety reasons but to the home building industry’s ability to recruit and retain employees. After all, ill-fitting PPE is hardly likely to help workers feel comfortable in their roles or foster a sense of belonging.

This is an issue that HBF has been working to raise awareness for some time, increasing awareness of the importance of Women's PPE and tried-and-tested suppliers.

Lesson five: Senior sponsors can be pivotal to success

With seniority generally comes a greater degree of visibility, influence, autonomy and budgetary control. It is for these reasons that having a senior sponsor, and the support of the Board, is so important to the success of EDI initiatives within home builders.

But just as important as the practical reasons for having a senior sponsor, is the message it sends to employees. Many delegates reported that having a senior sponsor in their company gives them the confidence and permission needed to dedicate some of their working week to EDI issues. It can also help to bring more people into discussions than would perhaps have otherwise not participated.

While a senior sponsor should never just pay lip service to an issue, if they are able to genuinely and positively advocate for change and feel empowered to ask questions and seek advice from relevant colleagues, they can play a vital role in creating an inclusive culture.

Lesson six: Be ambitious but not unrealistic

To legitimise the role of the senior sponsor, it should be supported by an EDI strategy that sets out clear and defined objectives. However, as with the development of any strategy, there are issues to keep in mind.

As highlighted by one of the speakers, while it is good to be ambitious, it is also important to be credible, and so home builders in the process of establishing their EDI strategy should be mindful of setting targets and quotas that are unrealistic.

A point that also resonated strongly was the advice to focus on the impact of actions rather than the outputs. For example, if your company has decided to support an awareness day, what tangible difference do you envisage it will make?

It is easy for businesses to fall into the trap of treating EDI like a box ticking exercise. But when done well, it can be a force for significant change.

Get involved

If we are to build on the momentum of recent activity and increase the diversity and inclusivity of the home building workforce, it is vital that all developers and their supply chains play a part.

HBF is here to support with this, and we would encourage as many members as possible to participate in our EDI working group. For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me: emma.ramell@hbf.co.uk.

^{[1] HBF Workforce Census 2023 Report, https://www.hbf.co.uk/documents/12623/HBF_Workforce_Census_2023.pdf}