Gender pay gap increases at Laing O’Rourke

At the same time, weekly paid workers (predominantly male) were less affected – as frontline construction work continued after only a short pause, it said.

In April this year, the company announced targets including a commitment to address gender balance and ensure equal numbers of men and women across the global staff population by 2033.

Laing O’Rourke said it was also committed to recruiting more women and to provide additional opportunities for them to develop into senior roles. In the UK, the company’s graduate intake this year was 56% male and 44% female, the summer Industrial Placements cohort was 50:50, and the professional apprentices 2021 intake was 45% female.

But it warned that due to the reporting format in the UK, the impact of more females joining the business may actually widen the pay gap in some years.

Josh Murray, group people director, said: “We have committed to a 2033 benchmark where we will have equal numbers of male and female staff within the business, and a new platform of belonging that shifts the style and inclusivity of how we, and our supply chain partners, operate our sites, projects and offices.

“Our action plans to attract and retain more women into our organisation continue to develop – and we can demonstrate significant improvements in our executive population, senior women on projects, and equality around entry-level talent. This has given us great energy to go further.”