Women in Surveying. Level the field.
Simmons & Sons
Trusted property specialists with expertise in Residential Sales & Lettings, Commercial, Development and Rural property
The RICS welcomed their first female Chartered Surveyor in 1922, Mrs Irene Barclay (née Martin). In the 20 years that followed this, only a further 128 joined her. The latest figures based on data in February 2022 show that women represent only 18% of RICS Chartered Surveyors in a pool of 139,000. Being the only female RICS Chartered Surveyor in my firm at the time of this year’s International Women’s Day, it felt right to discuss this and what we can do collectively to increase this percentage.
It is no surprise to me that when those taking part in the Women in Surveying survey were asked how they would describe a career in surveying the words, ‘varied’ and ‘good opportunities’ were used. I would agree, no two days for me are the same. This is reflected in an average of 7.5 out of 10 on how likely they were to recommend the profession to women who were considering being surveyors. Access into the profession is one area we can all improve on. Engaging in conversations with children and young adults and educating them on what a surveyor is. I certainly did not know what a surveyor was when I was in school!
Although positives were highlighted in the survey, it also flagged that female surveyors are faced with a lack of recognition, limited opportunities for career progression, discrimination, bias (both unconscious and intentional) and inequity in systemic practices. It is accepted that there is still a long way to go in transforming the culture of the profession to represent women across all levels to include both opportunities and pay. It is time for the acceptance to turn in to actions. Farmers Weekly launched their Level The Field campaign this week which brilliantly provides a comprehensive guide to female-friendly recruiting in what is also a male dominated industry. This is certainly worth a read and provides some translatable principles when recruiting in the rural surveying sector.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #InspireInclusion which is calling for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes and promote diversity in leadership and decision-making positions. I hope that over the course of my professional career that the acceptance has transformed into actions and that women’s representation in the surveying industry will have increased, levelling the field.
?Author:
Millie Maddox MRICS