Mace focus on talent and gender diversity

Developing and promoting an inclusive workplace is key to our success as a company and we need to do all we can to attract, develop and retain a diverse range of talent if we are to stay ahead.

25 September 2015

“The Women of the Future programme is brilliant. I’m meeting some really inspirational female role models whilst also expanding my network within Mace. As a whole it’s giving me some brilliant tools to help me challenge my own thoughts and perceptions so that I can have more control and influence over my career and work environment.”
Caroline Oliver, Associate Director

At Mace, gender diversity is an issue we’ve been focussing on for a couple of years now. While 38% of our workforce is female, compared to an industry average of just 18%, we know that we need to do better. For us, first and foremost it is a business issue – pure and simple. Mace is not currently reflective, particularly at senior levels, of what our clients expect to see in terms of gender diversity. We need to reflect our clients and currently that’s not something we’re doing particularly well.

Another key element of our business case is the drive to attract and retain talent. Both within our industry and more widely, talented and skilled people are scarce – the press often talk about the war for talent. We want to ensure that here at Mace we have access to the widest pool of talent possible, both men and women. And once we’ve recruited these talented people, we need to ensure that the environment here at Mace is such that all our people feel able to perform and be the best they can, as well as feeling that the opportunities for advancement and career progression are open to all.

The final element of our business case is that research tells us that diverse teams make better decisions, achieve better results and are more innovative and creative – all these things are critical to our continued success as a company.

Developing and promoting an inclusive workplace is key to our success as a company and we need to do all we can to attract, develop and retain a diverse range of talent if we are to stay ahead. We all have a part to play in this. Statistics around our development programmes show that we have made significant progress in addressing the gender imbalance, although there is still more to do, particularly around maintaining our ability to attract female graduates.

Focussing more attention on attracting women to take up our industrial placements, which is one of the entry pathways to our graduate programmes, is a key part of our early talent strategy to keep our graduate diversity levels high.

In terms of developing our existing talent, earlier this year we launched the Mace Women of the Future Programme in the UK. The programme is a key plank of our diversity strategy and part of our wider talent development offering. It is the result of data analysis over a two year period, and responds to challenging feedback from both colleagues and clients regarding the gender profile of Mace.

“Being part of the programme has been a great experience so far. The speakers at each session have been fantastic; and I've found it really inspirational and motivational to hear from women both in and outside our industry about common challenges and experiences, as well as their advice for career and personal development. It's exciting to be part of such a positive change and can't wait to see what the rest of the programme and wider diversity work has to offer.”
Rachel Briscoe, Senior Project Manager

The purpose of the programme, like all our talent programmes, is to enable participants to fulfil their potential. This will also help address the gender imbalance that exists in operational areas. The objectives of the programme are:

• To build a strong network which has both personal and business benefits
• To provide development opportunities which develop skills and increase knowledge
• To position Mace as an industry leader in gender diversity
• To celebrate Mace women

The programme also gives all participants membership of WISE and the Everywoman Network, as well as access to a Mace mentor. To date the programme has been very successful with over 60 Mace women engaged and we are planning the roll-out to our international business later this year.

“I think the programme is a great way to bring like-minded people together (it isn’t just about women!) and to raise the profile of gender diversity in the construction industry – not just in Mace. It has challenged me to embrace these differences and respond in the right way to be a part of the shift in perceptions in both my day to day role, the wider Mace team and across my Client and project teams.”
Linzi White, Project Manager