Atkins and Faithful+Gould focused on leading the way for promoting and elevating the profile of women in the construction industry with their fifth series of Women’s Business Network (WBN) events under the theme of ‘Communicating Effectively - The Language of Influence.’

 

More than 150 women and men attended the events at the Conrad Hotel in Dubai, UAE, and the W hotel in Doha, Qatar, with the express aim to highlight the benefits the construction industry stands to gain from the growing number of talented and ambitious women who are building their careers in the sector.

 

The event was opened by Campbell Gray, managing director of Faithful+Gould in the Middle East, who iterated his strong support for the work of the WBN in improving diversity at all levels in the workplace.

 

“We believe that by allowing for different attitudes and approaches within the workplace we are better equipped to provide our clients with the best of service,” he said.

 

“Gender balance and diversity bring with them tolerance and cooperation, and in order to be able to have that competitive advantage we must absolutely rely on the many talents of our staff, specifically the high emotional intelligence quotient women bring to the work environment which is an indispensable asset to becoming a client-centric organisation and to ensuring success.”

 

Lesley Desport, WBN chair, said: “One of the impediments to gender balance and workplace diversity is the difference in communication approaches primarily between the genders. Similarly this difference exists between cultures and ethnicities. 

 

"Strong and effective communication skills are an essential attribute within any business environment, including the ability to engage in challenging conversations and to influence others for positive change. This WBN event provided a forum for improving our understanding of different communication approaches in order to build confidence and to support productive conversations.”

 

Atkins and Faithful+Gould are striving to create a good balance based on merit. The impact of this can be seen through their three-year Middle East Graduate Development Programme, the intake of which currently stands at 45 per cent female.

 

The Women’s Business Network was launched in August 2014 in order to retain and attract women into the business, to ensure it has a more positive gender balance in senior roles moving forward. 

 

It continues to garner strong support from internal and external stakeholders all looking to promote gender diversity balance in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

 

Some of the programmes launched through the WBN include: a buddy programme for welcoming new women into the business, a mentoring programme designed to provide guidance and encouragement, women's networking events created as a regional community for women to share their experiences, gain additional support across the business units, and most importantly harness the companies' resources towards creating a more fair and diverse workforce. - TradeArabia News Service