Celebrating Goram Homes’ brilliant women in construction

This International Women’s Day we’re focusing on gender inequality in construction. Only 15% of the workforce are women, only 7% hold executive roles, and only 1% work with tools on site.

At Goram Homes, half of our team of 12 are women. Half of the executive team are women too. This balance is important to us, because we value diversity of voice in everything we do.

There is a practical knock on effect too. Construction faces an urgent skills shortage, with an estimated 250,000 additional workers needed by 2027.

We asked our Technical Director, Elaine Olphert, and our Development Director, Christiana Makariou. about their experiences, and what can be done to attract and retain more talented women in construction.

What inspired you to work in housebuilding?

Ela: I’ve always been fascinated by how people live and the homes they live in, and how two homes that are exactly the same can accommodate living in different ways. As a child I was obsessed by building Lego houses in different configurations and playing through how the Lego people would live in them.

When I was at school, I had an amazing design and technology teacher that encouraged me to be an architect. That teacher showed me I could have a career in construction and that I shouldn’t let being a woman curtail my aspirations.

Christiana: I wanted to do something that would make a difference to people’s lives one way or another, big or small. And it fascinated me how much of a difference well designed places, cities and buildings could make to people’s life experiences. It’s always motivated me to make places better.  There is no greater sense of pride and achievement than knowing you’ve been part of someone accessing a home.

What challenges have you faced in a majority male industry?

Ela: I went to work on a building site when I was 16. I was the only female working on any building site in Northern Ireland at the time. It was difficult being female and so young on site and getting treated seriously. There was an expectation that I was there to make the tea and wash the dishes.  Luckily, the site manager was very good at supporting me to dispel this.

Ela: Even after I qualified as a Chartered Architect, women were still in the minority in construction. Throughout my career there have been challenges, and some of these have been gender related, but having the right support of managers and colleagues has helped me overcome some of them. 

Christiana: When I started my career, I never felt like there were enough women in managerial or director roles, or at the networking events I would go to. This made it hard to imagine growing my career, when there were very few women to look up to and gain hope from.

This is one of the reasons why I feel so proud to be where I am, and so grateful for the mentors and managers who have supported me. I now want to do the best I can to help other women at the start of their careers to feel empowered.

What can be done to make the industry more balanced and attract more women to the workforce?

Ela: Historically there was pressure for women in construction to change and adapt, and to be ‘more like men’. This seems to be changing, however not quickly enough. Not expecting everyone to the be same, accepting differences in learning styles and communication, for example, would help encourage and retain women in construction.

Things have definitely changed since my first job on a building site, but things still aren’t as balanced as they should be. Retaining women in the industry can be difficult. We often have multiple roles in life, and balancing a career with being a parent or carer can create conflicting and competing priorities in a woman’s life.

Christiana: From what I see, there are more women in entry level positions, but they get fewer in numbers the more senior the roles get. This shows the industry isn’t as supportive as it could be to women’s changing needs and responsibilities.

It’s important to focus on how to be inclusive at all career stages, supporting both men and women through life’s transitions. This will make it easier for the industry to retain talented women, who can then go on to inspire future generations.