JDC celebrates women in construction industry

Friday 05 October 2018

Jersey Development Company has celebrated the growing number of women working in the local construction trade with a group photo inspired by a UK photography project in a bid to motivate more women to join the industry.

The initiative followed that of NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction), an international organisation of women working in the construction industry, which is currently working on a collection of portraits.

NAWIC was formed to support and help more women flourish in construction, as well as promote a variety of female career choices in UK construction. They recently commissioned internationally acclaimed photographer Morley von Sternberg to produce collection of portraits to "illustrate the passion, inspiration and collaboration of fellow women within the industry."

The project wants to show the diversity of women in a variety of ages, roles and professions. It also aims to raise awareness of the wide range of career choices available in the industry, whether to the younger audience looking for a career with a difference, or to those seeking a career change for something different to a regular nine-to-five office job.

Pictured: A number of women worked on the IFC development, in a diverse range of roles (Andy Gresley).

The initiative prompted the JDC to take their own photograph to highlight the growing number of women working in the local industry as well as the range of roles available.

IFC 5 was chosen as the background for the group photo, taken by Andy Le Gresley, as the development showcased "the diversity of women working within Jersey’s construction industry." A number of women worked on the project in a "diverse range of roles", including project and/or procurement managers, designers, landscape architects, safety and technical consultants, engineers as well as administrative, marketing and communication roles. 

Kate Menzies, Project & Development Manager at JDC, said: “It’s the variety of roles and diversity of professional skills that are not widely understood or familiar in the construction industry in general. That applies to opportunities for men as well as for women."