Tideway unites for International Women's Day
Tideway has been marking International Women's Day with the release of a new film and panel discussions on how the construction industry is evolving and the company's work to change the culture.
International Women’s Day recognises and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. This year’s theme was #EachforEqual, the notion that an equal world is an enabled world. The day raised questions globally about how we can all help to forge a gender equal world, celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality.
To mark the day at Tideway, an afternoon of panel discussions brought around 120 colleagues and guests together to explore this year’s theme and discuss how Tideway is changing the culture for women in the construction industry.
The discussions covered the perspectives of both men and women working on the project, with the panellists exploring the realities of working on site, opportunities in construction and striking a work life balance, especially for those with young families and caring responsibilities.
Special guest speaker Emma Kent, Construction Director for the Met Police, spoke passionately about the importance of normalising motherhood and how supporting each other should be the rule, not the exception.
Speaking about the event, Arlette Cole, Chair of Tideway's Encompass Gender Group said: “We need to reset what we think of as aspirational goals and make them the everyday normal.
“Getting such a diverse group of people together; from tally hut supervisors, superintendents, project managers and slinger/signallers to lead appointed person, directors, steel fixers and CEOs, means that we have everyone engaged in evolving the culture in the construction industry to be fully inclusive.
Tideway has also released a new film of four female colleagues from different roles on the project discussing their experiences of being a woman in the construction industry and how Tideway is #ChangingCulture.