Yorkshire and Lincolnshire construction firm, Hobson & Porter, has reinforced its commitment to improving gender balance across the built environment by hosting a Women in Construction panel discussion at the head office of Airco in Hull, ahead of Women in Construction Week, which starts this week.

The event, organised and coordinated by Hobson & Porter through its Foundations scheme, brought together senior voices from across the sector to examine progress, persistent barriers and the long-term ambition of normalising gender equality in construction.

Panellists included, Katy Robinson, Senior Project Manager at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, who was recently named UK’s Most Influential Women in Construction; Louise Greene, Engagement Lead for Construction at Hull Training & Adult Education; and Mike Raven, Performance and Improvement Manager for YORhub – the suite of frameworks that includes YORbuild. The discussion was hosted by Joe Booth, Pre-Construction & Business Development Director at Hobson & Porter.

With construction contributing around 16% of UK economic output and employing approximately two million people, the sector faces an urgent skills challenge. An estimated 250,000 additional workers are needed in the next two years, yet women still represent only around 15% of the workforce, and as little as 2% in on-site trade roles.

Katy Robinson said: “The panel reflected on the historic underrepresentation of women in construction and acknowledged positive momentum in recruitment, particularly through apprenticeships and targeted outreach. However, retention remains a concern, and we all highlighted issues around workplace culture, site welfare standards, visibility of career pathways and the need for stronger role models at senior leadership level.”

A key theme was funding barriers for women aged over 24 who want to retrain in construction trades, with constraints in apprenticeships and adult skills funding limiting access to later-life career changes. The role of AI in recruitment was also debated, with cautious optimism that technology could help mitigate unconscious bias if deployed responsibly.

Joe Booth from Hobson & Porter said: “The construction sector cannot afford to overlook half of its potential talent pool. Women in Construction Week is an important catalyst, but meaningful change requires sustained collaboration across clients, contractors, training providers and frameworks. Our goal must be to reach a point where gender balance is normalised, and gender becomes effectively invisible within a fully equal workforce.”

Audio and video content captured on the day will be shared across Hobson & Porter’s Foundations social media channels, throughout the month of March including Women in Construction Week.