Built environment firms shouldn’t do anything about improving the diversity of their workforces if they don’t truly believe in it, a leading construction industry diversity champion has said.
Amos Simbo OBE told the latest edition of the BESA (The Building Engineering Services Association) ‘Behind the Built Environment’ podcast that firms would be better off doing nothing if they were just responding to pressure from their clients. “If you’re faking it rather than actually doing it, you’re just wasting your time,” said the founder of the Black Professionals in Construction (BPIC) network. He added: “You might as well use your resources properly, because, what’s the point of investing in something and then just going halfway?”
The diversity advocate told podcast host, David Frise, the BESA’s CEO, that companies who only acted on diversity because their clients forced them into it would not see any benefit. He said: “[Then] what will happen…companies would employ people, but they're just not empowered to do anything. So…you're [just] wasting money on employing those people. In that case, it would be better to do nothing at all because you won’t get anything out of it.
“For companies of all sizes, authenticity matters…so go all in, make it real. Inclusion isn’t a trend; it’s good business. And even if you don’t want to go all out, try and do the bare minimum properly, at least. Then you can say, you know what, we’re not doing everything, we're just doing this, but we're doing it properly…we’re committing.”
BESA says that currently, just 7% of workers in construction and related fields are from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community in the UK, despite it accounting for over 18% of the overall population. Amos Simbo told the podcast people from BAME backgrounds were often unaware of the industry and the opportunities available, and that they often didn’t see ‘success stories” from their own communities.
He added that a shortage of mentors and role models also led to more people from BAME backgrounds being encouraged by their parents to become doctors or lawyers instead. “[They don’t see] people progressing, and then they end up leaving,” he said. “So, you’re losing a lot of leaders, and role models. This is such a people-oriented industry, but you often end up with people [staying] in their groups and cliques.”
Simbo, managing director of the independent construction consultancy, Winway Group, said a more inclusive approach should lead to greater innovation, business growth and staff retention. He warned that companies also needed to be wary of getting sucked into the political debate around the issue, particularly with the current climate in the US where President Donald Trump is waging war on the ‘woke agenda’.
He urged employers to make their business a place where ‘[all] people feel welcome, and talent can thrive’. “We focus on ethnic minority inclusion, but [it] should be for everyone – women, older people,” he said. “It makes a good business, and makes good business sense, and that translates into growth and people retention – values come first, and then growth comes from that.”
