Venue: Danish Embassy, 55 Sloane Street London SW1X 9SR
The speakers: Charlotte Morgan, Katherine Whitehorn, Stephanie Wray and Harvey Francis at the Edge Debate, Construction needs Women because .... at the Danish Ambassador's residence, January 31st 2013
The Debate whether if there were more women in the Design/Construction/ Management Industry the current culture of competition and confrontation could evolve to embrace processes and outcomes that work effectively for all stakeholders. Women’s attributes would encourage co-operation and shared goals and enable participants to work together across disciplines to achieve exceptional results and proper engagement with sustainability. In other sectors women are better represented at all levels, so how can the Construction Industry learn from these?
It has been shown that businesses with more senior women on their boards out-perform those with the least, with 42% higher return on sales, 66% higher return on invested capital and 53% higher return on equity (The Bottom Line: Corporate performance and women’s representation on boards, Catalyst, 2007). The Davies Report of 2011: ‘Women on Boards’ called urgently for a more diverse selection of skillsets in the governance of business. In July 2012, the Credit Suisse Research Institute showed that companies with at least some female board representation outperformed those with no women on the board, citing share price improvements of 26% over the past 6 years.
Where do we go from here in the light of such evidence? How can the perceptions and behaviours of both men and women be changed so that they co-operate more effectively? How can policy-makers devise and enforce relevant mechanisms? How can women be encouraged to stay in the Industry, and how can the Industry be influenced to respect the essential role of women? Currently women represent an average 11% of the workforce in our industry.
Can change happen fast enough for better solutions to be achieved, that can support our delicate ecological system, and also help resolve the current financial crisis?
Host: Anne Hedensted Steffensen, Her Excellency the Danish Ambassador in London
Chair: Harvey Francis, Vice-president Skanska UK
Speakers: Katherine Whitehorn, The Observer
Stephanie Wray, Construction Industry Consultant and Non-Executive Director
Charlotte Morgan, Linklaters
Suggested hashtag for the Debate #edgewomen.
Downloads:
Edge Debate 53 Construction needs Women because …..
Edge Debate 53 Construction needs Women because ….. Debate report
Edge Debate 53 Construction needs Women because …. Attendance List