More female builders would change the dynamic of worksites and boost innovation, according to one of the region’s top women in construction.
Anna Cook-Bacon, head of partnerships at Flagship Homes, said labour shortages meant women were needed in construction more than ever.
Ms Cook-Bacon said: “It would bring new ideas and new perspectives. A more diverse workforce would mean a different way of communicating with each other – it would change the dynamic of a building site.
“Women often have different views to men and I think it’s good to have that difference of opinion.
“And we don’t have an influx of people coming onto worksites to replace those who are retiring, so now is a key time to get more women involved.”
Ms Cook-Bacon, who lives near Diss and works across the east of England, was speaking to mark Women in Construction week (March 3-9) which aims to celebrate and promote the role of women in the sector.
Although things are slowly changing, women make up just 16.3% of the sector’s workforce in the UK, according to the latest Office for National Statistics data (for October to December 2023).
Ms Cook-Bacon said the key was education, and changing the perception that trades careers were just for men.
As a child, she had never thought about going into construction because she never saw any women in the field.
A stint doing secretarial work at her grandfather’s construction firm, followed by an apprenticeship at Drayton-based R G Carter construction, set her on the path to becoming a quantity surveyor.
A quantity surveyor is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. They hold the purse strings throughout a project and report commercial performance against budget.
Ms Cook-Bacon now leads a team that oversees the construction of hundreds of homes a year.
She said the sector paid well, and there were plenty of opportunities for travel, career development and entrepreneurship.
She said: “I love being in this industry. It’s ever-changing and there are so many different elements you can be involved in, from architecture and engineering to groundworkers, plumbers and electricians.
“I drive past sites I was involved in 17 years ago and point them out to my children. You’re building something for the future, and leaving a legacy to be proud of.”
