Willmott Dixon champions gender diversity in skilled trades

Willmott Dixon is marking International Women’s Day (8 March) by launching an initiative to increase the number of women on its sites.

The 1% Initiative will focus on roles across seven trades: mechanical and electrical; drylining; façades (cladding and brickwork); framework; groundwork; carpentry; and roofing.

The initiative will see the company team up with supply chain partners from these key areas to increase the proportion of women from trades on Willmott Dixon’s projects.   

It comes after the company’s analysis found that less than 1% of the supply chain workforce from the main trades on its sites are women. 

Boosting that proportion by 1% each year equates to an increase of 86 women for 2025. The company will commit to similar percentage rises year-on-year.

Figures from the Lighthouse Charity show that ​while women make up around 15% of the construction workforce, representation in trades is just 1%.

Willmott Dixon aims to help address this lack of representation through its new initiative, as explained by the company’s national supply chain lead, James Vosper. 

“While the industry is making huge strides towards having a more diverse and inclusive workforce that is representative of society, there is still more we can do, and this is reflected in the number of women working on construction sites for the key trades,” Vosper said.

“The 1% Initiative intends to change this through a collaborative and supportive approach with our supply chain partners where we work together to increase the number of women working in trades on our sites.” 

Areas of focus include the company’s social value team identifying work experience and industry placements within key trade partners, supporting more apprenticeships, recruiting former armed services people, as well as creating upskilling opportunities for ex-offenders. 

There will also be a campaign to highlight role models working on Willmott Dixon projects, alongside outlining the career opportunities available within the supply chain, including project management, surveying and health and safety. 

The initiative is part of Willmott Dixon’s wider commitment to achieve gender parity across its own workforce by 2030.   

Currently, women represent 33% of the company’s workforce. Its progress in this area has been recognised in the 2025 FT Diversity Leaders list, ranking as the UK’s best construction company for 2025.