A new campaign has been launched to recognise the contribution that women have made to construction projects in England, and is being backed by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The #builtbywomen campaign will investigate the role women have played in listed buildings; with anyone whose female ancestors were involved in shaping historic places urged to submit their evidence.
The initiative was launched by Historic England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on National Women in Engineering Day (June 23) with an announcement that London’s Waterloo Bridge is to be relisted. This is significant to the campaign as female construction workers were brought into work on the bridge during the Second World War, but the CITB says the part they played has been largely forgotten until now.
Gillian Econopouly, head of policy at CITB, said: “We want to see more women in the construction industry, which is why it is so important to highlight the role of women on iconic projects such as Waterloo Bridge.
“The construction industry is growing, and has a huge variety of jobs available for people of all backgrounds to have rewarding, fulfilling careers.”
Commenting on the new campaign, heritage minister Tracey Crouch said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to ensure our great female engineers are properly recognised.
“This project will show the remarkable achievements of the women who broke conventions to help build Britain and inspire the next generation of female engineers, architects and builders.”
Campaigners are calling on individuals and groups across England to send in evidence they have about the role women played in listed buildings. The information can be shared on social media by using #BuiltByWomen hashtag, or by submitting it via Historic England’s website.
