Nottinghamshire housebuilder encourages women to join the construction industry this International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is an annual awareness campaign, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe, all whilst advocating for gender equality. This year the theme is Accelerate Action, which is a call for increased urgency in addressing the barriers and biases that women face.

Allison Homes is supporting the mission by ensuring women are aware of the career opportunities available to them in housebuilding.

Head of HR at Allison Homes, Zoe Evans, said: “We have hired women into many roles across the company, both out on site and in senior head office roles, and have hired female apprentices. We are looking to support women studying T Level exams who need work experience by offering them a chance to come to Allison Homes in a variety of departments, to help them with their career decisions. Our goal is to make sure that all the roles we have within the business are visible to women at a young age, so they are aware of the opportunities.”

One employee at Allison Homes helping to inspire women is Victoria Pointon. Victoria works as a Quantity Surveyor in the housebuilder’s newly established East Midlands region, after joining the company last year.

Victoria said: “My dad has worked in the building industry for 40 years and would often show me the sites he had worked on across the country. His stories sparked my fascination with how things were constructed. This curiosity led me to apply for a job with a housebuilder, and six years later I’m still loving my role within the construction industry. Now, I find myself showing my dad the sites I’ve worked on and sharing what I’ve achieved in my career.

“When I was in school I aspired to be an architect, however I ended up studying Geography at an undergraduate level and later pursued a degree in Quantity Surveying. The enthusiasm of my lecturers and tutors inspired me to explore all aspects of construction, ultimately leading me to specialise in housebuilding.

“The industry is traditionally male dominated, but women bring a unique perspective. There was a stereotype that the industry was just men on site doing manual labour, which is incorrect. Construction covers so many other areas beyond that, from engineering to marketing. My advice to women joining the industry would be to embrace their contributions, be confident in their abilities and to not hesitate to assert themselves when needed.”

John Anderson, CEO of Allison Group, said: “We are a designer, manufacturer and retailer of beautiful homes so it’s very simple – statistically 50% of our buyers are women, so it follows that at the very least, 50% of the influence on all key decisions should be from the female perspective.

“38% of our team are women, which is very high by comparison to many equivalent homebuilders. By investing in an environment and culture that will encourage more women to join Allison Homes and stay with us, we will enjoy the benefits of the influence women can bring.”