International Women’s Day 2024

Kathie Wilcox, Communications Director

Diversity in leadership brings invaluable benefits to a business. A greater breath of experiences and perspectives helps to foster a stronger culture of innovation and inclusivity. It also provides a wide range of mentors and role models, supporting diverse talent attraction, development and retention.

Ryder already has a positive culture of inclusivity and a commitment to seeing greater diversity, including increased female representation, in leadership roles. But there are currently very few female directors and team leaders.

Whilst there are many talented women rising through the architectural ranks, I think it’s positive that we, as a business, have chosen not to be complacent about the pace of change. We’ve taken steps to examine the barriers, real and perceived, to women progressing into leadership roles. I was delighted to facilitate a series of gender diversity workshops recently, which provided a platform for open and honest conversations and a catalyst for action. A task and finish group is now implementing a set of recommendations – practical steps that will proactively support, empower and encourage women at Ryder to fulfil their potential.

David Stabler, Projects Director

While the built environment serves us all, the lack of gender diversity in the UK construction sector is remarkable.  Data suggests that around only 1 percent of UK construction workers are female, rising to 10 percent of engineers and 18 percent of architects and surveyors.  The point is not to celebrate the relative achievements of one industry over the other, rather that we must improve across the board, and quickly.  While it is fair to say that more women are entering the architectural profession, with RIBA reporting take up figures of 40 – 50 percent, the pull through to registered architects should be deeply concerning at closer to the global average of 30:70.

An overly long qualification period, poor career progression – particularly to senior levels – the gender pay gap, lack of role models and often deep rooted resistance to change all frame the significant challenge at hand.  We need a compelling vision, as well as targeted support to encourage women into and through construction professions.

Zoë Renwick, Communications Executive

As a young woman in the early stages of my career, it’s important to me that I’m able to visualise my career path. Whilst I feel incredibly lucky that I have a range of female role models in my life, it feels especially important that I’m able to look up to my female team leader, relate to her, and understand where her challenges have been and how she overcame them. I can also appreciate that generally, other junior females in the industry don’t experience the same relatability without that leader who shares the same lived experiences as a woman with them.

After studying architecture then making the move into communications, I experienced some soul searching that came with the change of career path. Am I able to hold my own in a board room, in an industry I’m newly introduced to? Do I need to explain my background experience to people to be taken more seriously? Being a young female only adds to that questioning of the self.

I’ve had the privilege of working alongside not only an exceptional female team leader, but a range of diverse colleagues, which has been fundamentally important in shaping my experience at Ryder as well as building my confidence in myself and my career choices. Being part of Ryder’s inclusivity group and engaging in discussions around how we can support plans to diversify the leadership team feels optimistic – we’re heading in the right direction, and I feel confident that we’re one of many practices that can contribute to a ripple effect across the industry.