Kath Moore, managing director and founder of Women Into Construction has been awarded an MBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to the construction industry.
Moore trained as a carpenter 37 years ago and worked on construction sites across London where she was always the only woman on site.
She taught carpentry at Camden Training Centre and the College of North East London.
Often there would be one or two women in a class full of men but they would struggle to find work despite being highly motivated and producing great work, Moore found.
In 2008, she was appointed by the Olympic Delivery Authority as project manager of the Women’s Project, which aimed to improve diversity in construction of the Olympic Park and Village.
Research shows that less than 1.5% of site workers in construction are women, and 50% of women who train in construction are unable to get paid work in the industry.
The Women’s Project offered training and advice to women who wanted to work in construction, as well as giving a tailored service to building contractors wishing to increase gender diversity.
In 2014, the Women’s Project became Women Into Construction, an independent community interest company, and it now helps women find work on sites across London, Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The organisation has given advice and guidance to more than 2,000 women, construction-related training to 1,500, and supported more than 700 into work.
It helps major projects such as Crossrail, the Thames Tideway tunnel and HS2, and is now working on the gender pay gap in construction.
The MBE also recognises Moore’s work for the UK charity Positive Women. In 2013, she took four London trainees to Swaziland to teach HIV-positive women carpentry.
Moore said: “I feel very honoured to receive this award. But it isn’t just for me. It’s for the wonderful WIC staff team who support our trainees so well, the amazing contractors and clients working with us who feel passionately about increasing gender diversity in construction, the CITB who have sponsored us and continue to believe in the importance of the work we are doing, and – of course – the wonderful women we place within the industry.
“It’s particularly time to be recognised in 2018 as we celebrate 100 years since the first women gained the vote in the UK, and 50 years since the Dagenham and Halewood female Ford workers went on strike for equal pay,” she said.
