Delving into DE&I
HOST
Sarah Draper
People and Culture Director
sarah.draper@uk.rlb.com
Connect on LinkedIn
Driving Inclusion Through Data: A Conversation on Equity in the Built Environment
Recent CIOB statistics found that the built environment’s workforce still only comprises of 15% of women and 6% respectively for ethnically diverse and disabled employees. And alarmingly, 51% of LGBTQ+ colleagues reported feeling that their sexuality had held them back at work. These findings provided a powerful backdrop for the UKREiiF session that I had the pleasure of hosting with a prestigious panel of guests.
With DE&I under the global spotlight, I asked what the data reveals about the industry’s progress and what still needs to change. The recent UK Supreme Court ruling, stating that, for the purposes of the Equality Act, the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ referred to sex assigned at birth, was a natural starting point. What does this mean for trans individuals in our workplace?
Our panel acknowledged that this ruling wasn’t the end of the discussion, either in courts or in our companies.
I shared how at RLB, we’ve created internal communities, including an LGBTQ+ network.These aren’t just support groups, they’re platforms that ensure our LGBTQ+ colleagues are seen, heard and integral to our organisational evolution.
Attracting Gen Z: Reframing the Narrative
We then turned to a critical question, ‘How can we make the built environment more appealing to Gen Z?’. Our panel recognised a fundamental gap in awareness with young people often leaving education without a clear understanding of the opportunities in our industry, particularly in green, digital and purpose-driven roles.
The built environment shapes every aspect of our daily lives, from schools and homes to public spaces and roads. Yet this isn’t adequately reflected in educational curricula. To change that, we need to start engaging with children as early as primary school, using language that speaks to their values and aspirations.
Representation and Progression: More than Just Recruitment
When it came to ethnic diversity, our attraction strategies are working, but progression is where the issue lies. Data shows that only 1% of senior leadership roles across the sector are held by black or ethnic minority professionals. This is not about ticking boxes or implementing token quotas, it’s about real representation at every level.
Why Data Matters
Which led us onto the theme of the critical importance of data, particularly intersectional data. While many SMES still don’t collect DE&I data beyond age and gender, those that do have a real opportunity to drive change. You can’t understand the unique challenges faced by different groups – for example, black women - if you only analyse ‘women’ as a broad category. Without this nuance, well-meaning initiatives can miss the mark. And data collection shouldn’t be a one-time event. As we already implement at RLB, you need to gather data continuously, as teams evolve and individuals feel more comfortable disclosing personal details over time.
Socio-Economic Diversity: The Missing Metric
We moved on to the socio-economic gap. Should it be measured like gender and ethnicity? Data from the Social Mobility Foundation shows individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds earn less than 12% on average, the equivalent of working one in every eight days unpaid. If we don’t collect this data, we can’t act on it. And the case for doing so isn’t just moral, it’s economic. A Co-op study estimated that focusing on socio-economic diversity could yield £7 billion in additional tax revenue.
We also heard from a member of the audience about the 93% Club, which advocates for equal opportunities for state-educated individuals. Data shows that 25% of senior leaders in large property firms attended private school, compared to only 7% of the general population.
Turning Insight into Action
With better benchmarking, we can drive performance. Real Estate Balance, in partnership with Landsec, is proving that greater diversity leads to better-designed, better-performing places. But data alone isn’t enough. As Amos rightly said:
Making DE&I a Culture, not a Checkbox
While things like the Construction Playbook and work that the Construction Leadership Council are implementing are helping, the panel warned that DE&I often risks becoming a compliance-led afterthought. Many public sector contracts include DE&I requirements at the procurement stage, but few enforce metrics later in the process. To drive real change, DE&I must be embedded into contracts, planning and delivery.
We’re already feeling the consequences of a failure to diversify. With 35,000 current job vacancies and an estimated 250,000 needed before 2028 to meet the Government’s housing targets, we can’t afford to ignore talent hiding in plain sight.
As we closed, the sentiment arose that perhaps this should be the last standalone DE&I sessions. Instead, let’s turn the conversation on its head and talk about skills shortage, investment, productivity and innovation and the role DE&I has in all these things. And in doing so, attract a different audience, instead of “preaching to the converted.” Only then can we truly hold the industry to account, ensure that next year’s CIOB statistics show real change has happened, and ensure we build places and spaces that reflect and serve all of society.
We would like to thank all the panellists for joining us at UKREiiF for an honest, forward-looking conversation delving into DE&I, data and how we work for a fairer, more equitable workforce.
RLB would like to thank all the UKREiiF panellists for their participation and invaluable insights including:
Sharon Slinger
Constructing Rainbows
Founder
Michele Steel
Regeneration Brainery
CEO
Amos Simbo
BPIC
CEO and Founder
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