Women from across the region’s construction industry have made a pledge to champion and support women seeking to enter the sector.
A Champions Lunch was held at West Suffolk College on October 13, organised by Women in Construction Anglia (WiCA), bringing together women from all areas of the industry.
Following a delicious lunch, prepared by students at the college, guests were invited to sign the WiCA Champions’ Pledge – vowing to share their experiences in the industry with young women seeking to join the sector and support them in their careers.
The event included speeches by WiCA founder Clare Friel and West Suffolk College CTEC Director Liv Bradley.
A panel discussion followed with views from Sasha Bainbridge, Regional Partnerships Director for Lovell, self-employed painter and decorator Louise Gunn and Rhianna Darling, Assistant Site Manager at Taylor Wimpey, chaired by Amanda Ankin, Operations Director at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.
Lacey, a construction student at the college who attended the Champions Lunch, said: “I thought it was really good, very inspiring too, especially for a lot of the younger women that were here today from colleges.”
Ella, who is also a student at the college, said: “I think that the people here are all people to look up to.
“They’re all women that have something that they want to push for, if that’s more girls in construction, or if it’s going into schools, getting them into construction at a young age.
“I think that’s all something to look up to.”
During the sit-down lunch, students sat with women in the industry to talk about their careers and the opportunities in the industry.
Amanda Ankin said: “I think that was actually the most powerful part of today, seeing the young women speaking to those that are already in the sector doing the work.
“We’ve certainly had a lot of feedback from the students to say that they would love to do more of that, they would love to have opportunities to have more one-to-one conversations as well.
“I think we’ve really started something here.”
Clare Friel said: “Today we had our Champions Lunch, where we were getting together women from the industry so they can find out more about how they can support Women in Construction Anglia and become a champion – not just for each other, but for the next generation.
“We don’t want to speak on behalf of people, we want to give them a space where they can have a voice.”
For more information about WiCA and how to become a champion, see womeninconstructionanglia.com
