The construction industry of Greater Manchester has 30% fewer individuals with a gender identity different from their assigned sex at birth when compared to the national average.
A newly released dataset from the 2021 Census shows that while Greater Manchester has an equal or above average ratio of different gender identities in other industries, its construction sector only has a 0.29% share – compared to the 0.43% national average.
It comes despite companies like Jacobs Engineering Group and Stockport Homes Group coming sixth and seventh, respectively, on Stonewall’s Top 100 Employers List 2023 for LGBTQ+ people.
Verity Gleave, Head of Marketing and Communication at Stockport Homes Group, said: “What we say to all our colleagues and customers is ‘when you walk through our doors, you can be whatever you want to be – but be you.’
“A lot of companies see it [the Stonewall ranking] as a badge, but to us, it really is one of our ingrown ethoses.”
Census 2021 is the first of its kind to offer estimates on gender identity to over 16s, and despite the question being voluntary, over 95% of census-takers answered.
While it has no direct comparisons available, the ONS believes the figures to be accurate, stating: “The estimates are considered broadly in line with other data on gender identity. All census estimates contain a degree of statistical uncertainty.”
A Loughborough University report from 2020 also explored gender in the construction industry, stating that LGBT women found gender as the biggest barrier to career progress than sexuality.
The paper goes on to recommend action to be taken, including greater support for LGBT support networks, training for colleagues – especially those in leadership roles – and developing a sector wide code of practice.
However, the researchers were overall positive in their reflection. They noted that the people they spoke to have many positive opinions about working in construction.
Dr Sarah Barnard and Professor Andrew Dainty concluded: “Construction companies that have successfully created a ‘safe place’ to be LGBT should be proud of their achievement as it has made a massive difference to the who work people there.
“Clearly there is more work to be done, but at least it seems to be heading in a more positive direction.”
Ms Gleave described the great strides taken by Stockport Homes Group to promote diversity within their company: launching internal campaigns such as #BeYou, ‘One Team, transforming lives’, and training for its employees around understanding and equality.
She said: “I’ve worked here for 10 years and I can honestly say it isn’t just a tick-box for us, it’s something we truly believe in.”
Source: ONS, dataset available at https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/RM169/editions/2021/versions/4
Featured image: ‘construction in Dublin Docklands’ by Salim Virji via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
