Accelerating Action for Women in Construction

Alan Manuel, Chief Executive Officer, Currie & Brown

 IWD 2025

At Currie & Brown, we’re committed to make building a better future possible.

A crucial element of this is the promise to ensure equity of opportunity for everyone - from hiring and retaining our people, to training and development. This is why the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, Accelerate Action, is key – it calls for tangible action from all of us. Not just on March 8th, but every day.

Here are some of the ways we’re committed to accelerating action for women:

Representation where it matters

We’ve established Diversity, Equity and Inclusion groups across our geographical regions, with a focus to promote inclusive culture, remove glass ceilings, and support women in our business. Since we established these groups in 2022, we’ve increased the total number of women in director positions globally from 10% to 14%. Women now make up 32% of our workforce, and whilst we still have work to do, we’re pleased to be well above the construction industry average.

Removing barriers

At Currie & Brown, we want to create a culture of opportunity, by tackling the barriers that prevent women from both entering and progressing within the industry – and our policies are essential in supporting this. For example, we’ve invested in recruitment screening software to reduce unconscious bias across our recruitment process. We also offer miscarriage leave for those who need it in every country we operate in.

Learning and development

We have mentoring programmes established to ensure that women in our company have access to advice from senior professionals who can support them in their career development.

In the construction industry, we’re operating in a traditionally male-dominated space. I do feel, however, that things are changing. I'm a father of two daughters, and although they've chosen different career paths, I’d confidently recommend the construction industry to them today. Over the years, I’m glad to see it has evolved into a more inclusive and supportive space for women.

The fight for true gender parity must be a shared responsibility, in our industry and beyond. International Women’s Day is an opportunity to recognise the steps needed at an individual, company and global scale. It’s also a chance to celebrate the trailblazers who are accelerating action for women. We are proud to play our part.