'˜Property firms must destroy barriers that are stopping women from reaching the top'

The RICS is calling on property firms to make their female role models more visible as part of a strategy to encourage diversity.

An RICS spokesman said: “Women are expected to make up more than a quarter of the construction workforce by 2020, up from its current level of about 14 per cent, but last year it was revealed there were fewer than 21 women on the boards of the top 20 UK contractors.

“To add to this, latest figures from RICS reveal that just 14 per cent of chartered surveyors in the UK are female, which is an improvement on previous years, but still demonstrates that the surveying profession has a long way to go in attracting senior female role models.”

To help address these issues, RICS has developed an initiative known as the Inclusive Employer Quality Mark (IEQM) which is designed to help firms of all sizes in the land, property and construction sectors gain a more diverse and inclusive workforce. The RICS provides support in areas where improvement is needed.

For further information about the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark visit www.rics.org/diversity.