Hey, I'm Tasha, and I'm new to Tooting, I'm a Chartered Built Infrastructure Surveyor, and I'm keen to learn more about new Construction technologies and strategies, but also happy to talk about and champion Diversity in Construction, and how to change career from any background whatsoever.
@commandelicious thank you!
You are welcome @Tasha
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@Tasha Hi, great to have you. I'd love to hear your thoughts about diversity in the construction world. I would expect that is an industry struck harder than many others in that regard.
@freemo Yes, it was difficult enough to break into as a woman from a musical background, but ethnicity is really poorly underrepresented and encouraged, as is LGBT+. It's getting better and companies are beginning to encourage, but there's still a long way to go. Myself and a few other ladies have started a group called the #SurveyingSisterhood which is to support other women, but more than that, to celebrate and raise up other diversity groups too. Visibility and celebration
@freemo Thank you! Yes, I hope to just talk and discuss in time, I'm just about to go on holiday, but when I'm back, I plan to share a lot of what we're up to and discuss opinions etc to improve and see what we're missing or those we can reach out to 😁
@Tasha I will eagerly await that. Also share some holiday pictures too if you want!
@freemo Haha!! I might just do that. Not sure where I'm off to until tomorrow when my husband finally tells me!!
@Tasha Ohhhh exciting! I hope you have a blast. I need to escape to an island for some tropical scuba real soon myself.
@nerthos I would tend to agree with you. But I think it is very likely there are biases in th industry and in society that cause prejudice. So the perfect description you give where there is no discrimination and the numbers reflect peoples personal choices... im not sure we are completely there yet either.
But I'm much more interested in Tasha's perspective than my own.
@nerthos @freemo Oh, absolutely, I always thought that myself, but the sad fact is, these things never work that way. The best way we've found so far is simply to support everyone, get visibility for the differences and learn to embrace them and accept them for what they are. Not try and erase the differences. For example, if you have 20 people in the room who are all the same and have the same opinions, how will you ever look at a problem from a different PoV?
@freemo @nerthos There is a lot more to it than that, but essentially, that's the core of it. To remove the fear of the different, to remove unconscious bias by simply showing all the good work that everyone does, and that means men too, and eventually, such things become normal. And equality then reigns. But we're quite a long way off from that right now
@nerthos @freemo Yes! That's it, basically, if something is unfamiliar, then it's seen as a threat/challenge/uncomfortable you name it, but if something is familiar/visible/normal then it's simply just another string to a bow, an advantage, lots of options available to pick from, and in Construction where, there are endless problems to solve, choice and options are very valuable things.
@nerthos @freemo Yes hence why it's a general thing rather than just hiring etc. Developing current hires in their careers, and bringing majority groups along for the ride. Any change will bring criticism, but being open to speak and explain and accept is the only way forward. Hostility simply turns the brain off, for both the hostile and the aim of the rage too.
@Tasha Good to have you!