Inspiring Women – Company of the Year

This category is open to organisations that have made outstanding contributions to inspiring women within the construction and engineering sector. This prestigious award seeks to recognise the very best companies in the sector that have committed to providing an outstanding working environment for women and encouraging greater diversity and inclusion across their organisation.

A&B Engineering

At A&B Engineering, we are committed to empowering women in the construction and engineering sector through comprehensive diversity and inclusion policies. Our initiatives include unbiased hiring practices, flexible working arrangements, and targeted training programs such as the Women in Construction Leadership Program. Our Women in Engineering Mentorship Program pairs female employees with senior leaders to support career advancement, resulting in a significant increase in women in leadership roles. Employee Resource Groups and events like Inclusion Week foster a culture of inclusion and support. Our efforts have led to a 25% increase in female workforce participation and a 15% reduction in the gender pay gap. These achievements demonstrate our dedication to creating a supportive and equitable workplace, making us deserve of the Women in Construction and Engineering Award.

Amey

EDI is core to Amey’s business model, embedded in the Amey Code and our ESG Strategy, which explain how we work and behave. Ensuring the wellbeing and resilience of all employees to enhance business productivity. An active thought leader, Amey advocates for diversity in the sector, sharing knowledge and best practice freely via industry forums and conferences and supporting industry partners. We focus efforts to recruit, retain, develop and support the women in our business, making significant progress against our gender representation objectives in 2023, seeing a 4% reduction in our Gender Pay Gap. Our networking events, mentoring programmes, progression framework, development programmes, recruitment practices, Challenge Cup, Women’s Festival and events, LeanIn Circles, Buddy Scheme, improved PPE provision and process, policies and training modules are all focused on increasing female representation across the business, and elevating our women to grow with Amey.

Hive Projects

Hive Projects proudly champions gender equality, founded by two industry professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a 'people-first' approach, we've cultivated a culture of inclusivity and diversity at every level. Our 50/50 director gender split, and senior leadership team reflect our commitment to breaking barriers. We maintain a zero gender pay gap, ensuring fair compensation for all. Our directors, having experienced pay disparity firsthand, prioritised transparency in our pay structure. We provide mentorship and opportunities to support women into leadership roles and offer inclusive working conditions. Beyond our walls, we drive positive change through charity and partnership initiatives, ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are at the forefront. At Hive Projects, diversity isn't just accepted; it's celebrated.

McLaughlin & Harvey

McLaughlin & Harvey, guided by their Responsible Business Strategy, is dedicated to inspiring women within and into the industry.We aim to achieve a 30% female-workforce, ensuring representation at all levels by 2030; supporting the UN-SDGs (4,8,10,11,13,17), framed by ISO26000 Social Responsibility and our company values -We Collaborate Commit Care. These values are deeply embedded in our company culture and purpose of Building Together: Unlocking Potential. Our journey toward an equitable industry is driven by the Board. Defined by stakeholder engagement and ESG materiality. Our social impact pillars articulate our priorities: Building-Futures, Good-Employer, Shared-Prosperity, Communities-Matter, Sustainable-Green. Our dedication to continuous improvement, evidenced by workforce-engagement, equity-initiatives, sustainable-procurement, industry-partnerships/collaborations, improved female promotions (employment ratio) and outreach are all communicated in our ComMs-strategy, aimed to raise the aspirations of women. Our commitment to an inclusive environment, led by strong leadership, governance, and collaboration, has helped us address challenges including the skills and gender-pay gaps.

Mine Environment Management

Mine Environment Management Ltd. (MEM) is a small and innovative environmental engineering consultancy which emphasises sustainability and ethical performance within the mining sector. In 2023, MEM grew to ten employees, comprising a 70:30 female to male split. Women hold Principal, Senior and Intermediate Geoscientist, Director, Operations Manager and Project Manager roles within MEM. The company is keen to continue to support the progression of women in STEM subjects, with the Company having fully supported two team members through the Women In Mining Mentorship Programme, and offering MSc placements (nine since 2019, of which seven were female, six nationalities). Over the same period MEM generated 19 publications, with an 8:11 female to male split of lead author. MEM organises regular team gatherings, including weekends away which are open to partners, to make them more accessible for young families.