Women account for just 10.9% of Ireland’s construction workforce, prompting leading organisations across the built environment to join forces in a new drive for industry-wide change.

Constructing Equality Ireland will focus on improving the recruitment, retention and career progression of women throughout the sector. Facilitated by Business in the Community Ireland, the industry-led initiative will develop practical, evidence-based measures that can be adopted by construction organisations of different sizes and at varying stages of their equality journey.

The programme has been established by a group of Founding Partners, with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) and Women in Construction Ireland (WICI) also represented on its Steering Group.

Despite progress within individual businesses, women remain underrepresented at every level of the industry. In addition to making up only 10.9% of the workforce, women hold just 9.1% of construction board positions and 15.2% of senior leadership roles.

Constructing Equality Ireland is based on the recognition that many of the obstacles affecting women’s careers are shared across the sector and require a coordinated response. By combining industry knowledge, lived experience and research, the coalition aims to turn common challenges into practical actions capable of delivering lasting change.

As an initial pilot programme, Constructing Equality Ireland will host a series of industry roundtables focused on early career recruitment and the retention of women in construction. Open to organisations of all sizes across the built environment sector, these discussions will inform the development of an industry-wide Gender Equality Action Plan, providing practical and scalable actions that organisations can adopt regardless of their size, resources or level of maturity. The first roundtable will be held on 6^th October 2026, and more details will be released soon.

Tomás Sercovich, CEO of Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), remarked “At a time when the built environment sector is growing and infrastructure projects are becoming more ambitious, we cannot afford to leave half of our population behind and excluded from the immense and diverse employment opportunities available. BITCI is privileged to bring its expertise on facilitating a multi-sector collective action campaign to truly move the dial and make fulfilling careers a reality for women in the built environment sector. Coalitions like these require significant leadership and long-term perspective and we commend the Founding Partners for their ambition, innovation and systemic approach.”

Amy Martin, EDI Partner at Sisk, and Chair of Constructing Equality Ireland said: “As a woman working in construction, I’ve experienced first-hand the progress our industry has made and the barriers that still exist. Many of the challenges facing women in construction are not unique to one organisation. They are shared across our industry, and lasting change will only happen when we move beyond isolated efforts and work together. It requires collaboration, commitment and action.

Constructing Equality Ireland creates a platform for collective action, bringing organisations together to share experiences, turn shared challenges into shared solutions, and accelerate progress for women across the built environment. No single organisation has all the answers, but together we have an opportunity to drive meaningful and lasting change for the future of our industry.”

Andrew Brownlee, Chief Executive at the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), highlighted “Building a more diverse construction industry is essential to attracting the talent, skills and leadership Ireland will need to deliver its future housing and infrastructure. While progress is being made, the continued underrepresentation of women across the sector shows that no organisation can address this challenge in isolation.

Constructing Equality Ireland provides an important platform for industry to work collectively, share evidence and develop practical actions that support women to enter, remain and progress within construction. CIF is pleased to support this initiative and looks forward to helping ensure that the resulting Gender Equality Action Plan is relevant, scalable and capable of being implemented by businesses of every size across the sector.”

Constructing Equality Ireland’s Founding Partners are AstraZeneca, Bord Gáis Energy, Designer Group, Dornan Engineering, John Paul Construction, John Sisk & Son, Jones Engineering, Kirby Group Engineering, Turner & Townsend, and Walls Construction. Facilitated by Business in the Community Ireland

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