Willmott Dixon named as one of UK’s best employers for Women

Willmott Dixon has been listed again by The Times as one of the UK’s top 50 places to work for women, which follows its position as the UK’s highest placed contractor in the 2020 FT Diversity Leaders list of the top 850 European companies for inclusion.

The company is included in The Times’ prestigious Top 50 Employers for Women for the third consecutive time, in recognition of its focus on being a workplace that’s inclusive for all people.  Companies appear on the list after a thorough process of evaluation that identifies firms which make gender equality a key part of their business strategy, accessing companies in a range of areas, including approach to recruitment, family friendly policies and championing gender equality in the context of the pandemic.

Rick Willmott, group chief executive at Willmott Dixon said; “We are proud to again be recognised for our approach to gender diversity, through retaining our position as a Times Top 50 Employer for Women. This is an important benchmark, not only for us, but the entire construction industry, to promote career opportunities available for people from all parts of our community so that they can enjoy as we say, ‘a career of a lifetime’, while also making a long-term impact on society that increases the life opportunities for many thousands of people.”

“I am a firm believer that an inclusive and balanced business leads to better outcomes for our customers and a great place to work for our people.  We are at the forefront of unlocking the wealth of opportunity the construction industry offers to both men and women, consequently we have an ambitious drive to achieve gender parity in what was widely perceived as a male dominated industry by 2030.

“As well as an inclusive approach, we are proud to be accelerating female leadership in the construction industry, through our recently launched CITB-backed Women’s Leadership Development Programme.  Working with Cambridge University’s Cambridge Judge Business School, the twelve month programme is being delivered to 17 high-potential female leaders.  We see this as a crucial programme as we seek to increase the number of women within the most senior positions in construction”

Charlotte Woodworth, Gender Equality Director at Business in the Community, said: “COVID-19 has shone a light on how far we have to go on gender equality: by having to pick up things like the bulk of extra caring responsibilities, women have been disproportionately affected by lockdown.

“We congratulate the many employers who have maintained their efforts towards gender equality at this time, often introducing innovative policies to support their workforce during this period. This year’s application process for The Times Top 50 Employers for Women was the most competitive one we have seen in five years. Employers like Willmott Dixon haven’t forgotten women at work and they are committed to making gender inequality a thing of the past.”

Retaining a position on the Times Top 50 Employer for Women is the latest major national accolade that recognises Willmott Dixon’s people-first approach since the start of the pandemic. The company was ranked 5th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for list, along with being named as the leading construction company in the FT’s annual list of the top European leaders for workplace diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, the Group Chief Executive, Rick Willmott, was recognised at the 2020 HR Excellence awards with the ‘Best people-focused CEO of the year’ accolade.