Five Years of Building Equality
This year we celebrate Building Equality’s fifth anniversary and a number of us have come together to take a trip down memory lane…
It all started with a simple question: what if we worked together?
"we were on the verge of something very exciting"
“In 2015 I was at a diversity conference in London when by chance I bumped into Christina Riley of Balfour Beatty - a delegate from the only other construction industry organisation present” says Jo Hennessey (WSP and Building Equality Chair 2017-20). “Our conversations about diversity in construction quickly turned into musings about what we could achieve if we could get companies working together as one, to change the face of construction for LGBT+ people. To create a significant impact, cross-industry collaboration would be critical. I left the conference feeling like we were on the verge of something very exciting.”
Shortly afterwards at an Arup diversity event, they met Gary Coetzee of Lendlease – and the idea to represent Construction for the first time in the Pride in London parade, was born. Gary (Building Equality Chair 2015-17) recalls: “We had around 30 people from four companies marching as one, in our hard hats and rainbow laces, through the streets of central London lined with tens of thousands of spectators from all walks of life. It was a tremendous feeling to be one of the 250 groups taking part in the parade, and to represent our companies and the industry as a whole. I remember feeling pure excitement that by being there, we were showing that there is a place for LGBT+ people in construction.”
Following Pride, the group formed the LGBT in Construction Working Group (now known as Building Equality) who met on a monthly basis to share information on best practice and lessons learned in building LGBT+ inclusion in their organisations.
“After Pride, it seemed like the logical next step to create an industry-wide group serving engineering and construction”, says Ben Anstiss of Arup. “Our early meetings, usually hosted by Lendlease, were voluntary and held in our own time as many struggled to get their companies to provide time and budget for this - which seems shocking now. Thankfully, things have changed a lot over the last 5 years. I’ve been particularly impressed to see how the network has developed to serve the regions – it’s always been a big challenge to shift focus outside of London, but the sheer number of people and companies that Building Equality has engaged with now is simply amazing.”
Growing our presence
2017 was a turning point for Building Equality in extending its reach outside of London as the Greater Manchester committee was formed. “The Greater Manchester committee was the blue print for Building Equality to establish further regions across the UK, extending its reach from its genesis in London.” says Luke Ives of Jacobs (Greater Manchester Chair 2017-20 and Building Equality Exec Committee). “I remember setting Alex Morris a goal, that if the Greater Manchester committee was a success, and Manchester Pride was a hit, then he would set up a Building Equality region in Leeds. This was soon followed by a new region in Birmingham. The rest, as they say, is history.”
We saw our biggest expansion in 2019 with the formation of five new regions: Central Scotland, East Midlands, North East, Sheffield, and South Wales & South West. Co-Chair of the South Wales & South West region Chris Clarke of WSP_UK says “Being able to draw on the experience of other regions, both established and newly forming, has been vital to developing the SW&SW network and we’re pleased to say that numbers are growing all the time. We’re also excited to have formed a partnership outside of our network with local Bristol-based Proud to Build, continuing the theme of collaboration across construction.”
Being visible – and proud!
Through increasing our presence across the UK, we’ve been able to attend and host numerous events to bring the industry together to discuss key LGBT+ issues; from organising the industry’s first ever presence at National Student Pride – the UK’s largest LGBT+ careers fair, to speaking at UK Construction Week last year. We’ve also been able to raise thousands for LGBT+ charities including The Proud Trust, LGBT Foundation and LGBT History Month.
We’ve attended Pride events across the UK, from Glasgow to Birmingham and Sparkle Weekend: the largest celebration of our trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming community in the Europe. And we’ve hosted outreach days to put a human face on the LGBT+ community in construction.
The iconic Rainbow JCB – now our unofficial mascot - has been to the public outreach days, Pride parades, and other industry events with us. Generously supported by Flannery Plant Hire, the vehicle remains in rainbow colours all year round and has even been spotted in action at work across the UK (photo courtesy of Georgina Scott).
"Building Equality has taken huge strides to bring a more inclusive approach to our workforce and are without doubt making a significant difference to the construction landscape."
Managing Director Patrick Flannery says: “It has been a pleasure to support Building Equality over the last three years. The Rainbow JCB has very much become a symbol of Pride in our sector, and we are proud to have been given an opportunity to support this very important movement. Building Equality has taken huge strides to bring a more inclusive approach to our workforce and are without doubt making a significant difference to the construction landscape. The Rainbow JCB is embedded into the LGBT+ community and is ready to support future Pride events and parades.”
Making an impact
Many companies now have dedicated LGBT+ employee networks in place. But as little as two years ago, this wasn’t as commonplace as you might think. Almost half of our members at the time did not have fully established employee networks. So to help them in establishing these, we produced the Building Equality Guide to Setting up Your LGBT+ Employee Network using the collective experiences of our member organisations.
To help tackle LGBT-phobia, tokenisms and microaggressions on our sites and in our offices, we produced the Building Equality LGBT+ Inclusion Toolbox Talk and a national poster campaign, for which we won a Diversity Award in the 2020 ICE North West Awards.
Our success in creating a positive impact on the industry was also recognised in 2018 when we were highly commended at the Inclusive Companies Awards in the ‘Outstanding Diversity Network’ category.
"I always mention Building Equality when it comes to showcasing best practice and collaboration, linking together the entire supply chain from major contractors, suppliers and clients to improve the practice, culture and image of the building industry.”
And over the years, this impact has led to some special partnerships, including with Carl Austin-Behan, LGBT+ Advisor to the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the first openly gay Lord Mayor. He said: “From the very first event I attended, I was blown away by the sheer amount of hard work, dedication and passion in raising awareness to create an LGBT+ inclusive working environment within the building industry. I often speak at events and I always mention Building Equality when it comes to showcasing best practice and collaboration, linking together the entire supply chain from major contractors, suppliers and clients to improve the practice, culture and image of the building industry.”
Hard work, dedication and passion
Five years on and Building Equality now comprises over 50 organisations – clients, contractors, consultants, supply chain, partners and industry organisations – working as an alliance to champion LGBT+ inclusion throughout nine regions (and counting!) of the UK.
Of course, all of this would never have been achieved without the unwavering support of hundreds of LGBT+ colleagues and allies across our industry and the sheer enthusiasm they have shown for making construction more inclusive. So on that note, we’d like to mark our fifth anniversary by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved with Building Equality to date and to all our supporters, sponsors and partners.
Under our new Executive Committee, we have some ambitious plans for the next five years (watch this space!) so look out for more from us as we continue to connect, collaborate and drive LGBT+ inclusion for generations to come.
Find out more by following @BuildingEqLGBT on Twitter, @buildingeqlgbt on Instagram or by visiting buildingequalityuk.com.
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