Creating a new default for Women in Construction

As we continue to highlight women in Fortem, and discuss how we can build a better future for women in construction, Katarina Fidler, Director of Operations gave her stance on how we build a new default model. Kat had some interesting ideas regarding stigma around quotas, microaggressions, and how the solution could lie with fixing the system to make space for women by default.

Quotas: are they a good thing or a bad thing?

A quota is a tool used across countries, businesses and more to increase representation of minorities within certain groups. While quotas ensure that previously underrepresented groups gain representation across business and more, is there a risk of employing particular people as a tick box exercise, or making people feel that they have been employed for this reason? On reviewing the quota tool, Kat reflects;

“In my view, quotas are not the problem. It is the way we implement quotas that singles people out. We make bold, public and often lazy statements about filling x% of senior positions by women. This positioning detracts from competence and skill required for the job, almost undermining it, and focuses instead entirely on the membership in the target group. The language often used such as “positive discrimination” only reinforces this negative undercurrent. How can a word “discrimination” mean anything else other than one group/individual benefiting at the expense of another?

"Used in this way, quotas put a lot of pressure on those who fit that bill, because all of a sudden they are faced with having to represent and defend the right to a seat at the table for the entire population of a minority – it is like performing every day on the stage with full orchestra to audience that is waiting for you to get something wrong. I personally believe that quotas are an important tool to drive cultural change, but they need to be managed sensitively and appropriately not to have the opposite effect whereby the very people we are trying to encourage are put off by the spotlight. ?..”

So how do we address this issue? How do we tackle the stigma quotas may cause, how do we stop box ticking exercises? Kat feels it should be about embracing the notion of equal opportunities for all. The ‘quotas’ need to come into play at board level and filter their way down through the layers of the business.

“When you see a healthy balance in the Board, and director panel, that way of thinking more naturally filters down into the rest of the business. Then you see teams of people who self-perpetuate the appropriate culture, who recruit equally and are great examples of a diverse and inclusive team by default.” Kat says

Unconscious Bias – Well intended or not, where does the solution lie?

Kat grew up in a culture steeped in with what she calls ‘a performative gender equality’ which made her unaware of some of the genderbased societal biases that lay underneath until later in life.

“From an early age, I was encouraged to bulldoze through challenges focusing on end result. So I did. ?It wasn’t until later on in life when I moved to the UK and I worked with other women and heard their experiences that I realised that some of the microaggressions and, in some cases, downright sexism they had endured also applied to me. I started out in the rail industry, then moved to utilities and construction so I put my experiences down to sector norms ?I noticed it more acutely when I was pregnant.

"For example, I noticed I wasn’t included in some key aspects in my work life when I was pregnant as I was due to go off on maternity leave in 6 months, and people were assuming that I wouldn’t come back to work. Some of my colleagues couldn’t comprehend that being a mother and being dedicated to your career aren’t mutually exclusive, and that I would want to do both. It wasn’t my capability to manage both that was in question, it was my underlying motivation of why I would even want to do both; which played havoc with my confidence.”?Explains Kat.

Microaggressions are often derived from unconscious bias. Whilst a colleague could be elated for their fellow employee to be starting a family, assuming that she will step down from a position of seniority, or somehow her dedication waning after starting a family, is an unconscious bias. Tackling unconscious bias in organisations is one of the key ways Kat feels they could ?bridge the gender gap.

“It shouldn’t be about how we should fix the women, or ?how we should help them be bold enough or confident enough to start demanding and taking up space. Historically, the workplace has been designed for working men, so it needs to re-design it to fit all; from more systemic changes to policies all the way to language and behaviours we adopt into our culture. In my personal experience, it was the drip-drip effect of small things that had the largest impact on my feeling of being marginalised.

"In the gender context specifically, the support of male allies is critical on the journey to better balance. We need men to recognise benefits of a balanced workforce and become active champions for diversity. And luckily so many of them do!"

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Where does Fortem sit?

Kat feels that Fortem have done a great job in driving change and is proud to work for a company that does so. Fortem sets itself as an example of what a healthy balance looks like. Changes have been made over the years to the policies, particularly around flexible working, maternity and paternity leave. These changes allow a healthy work life balance, and encourage working parents into the business where their role can blend around family duties. Most of the caring demands still fall primarily on women, so creating an environment that is sympathetic and caters for caregivers naturally creates better opportunities for women.

Kat comments;

“We’ve done a great job around policy side of things, as well as promoting and nurturing talent. . We do have a healthy balance across the different layers of the organisation in supervisor, management and director positions. I am now focused on our trade population. Given the nature of the work we do in our daily interface with people from different walks of life, our clients and their tenants would benefit significantly from a more balanced representation. We are focusing heavily on bringing more female trade apprentices into the business and supporting them into fully fledged roles after their training . I am excited to see what the future holds for Fortem.”

What does the ideal look like?

For Kat, the ideal is a world where gender is no longer a topic of conversation and a better balanced work force is the norm; “As a leader, I strive every day to create a reality where, if you’re capable and driven then you have an equal chance to thrive and progress. “