About the project
This was a Thames Tideway Tunnel project, £26,200, 2014–2015, with the University of Loughborough as a subcontractor.
This research project for the Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) Project was intended to help increase the number of women employed. TTT is building a major new sewer, intended to help tackle the problem of overflows from the capital’s Victorian sewers and protect the River Thames from increasing pollution for at least the next 100 years, creating approximately 9,000 indirect and direct job opportunities. The project started in 2016 and is estimated to complete in 2024 at a cost of approximately £4.2bn. Construction activity affects 14 London boroughs, including four main drive sites from which boring machinery are operated. The London-wide scale of the project and envisaged construction period of seven years allows for a range of innovation practices, with the added opportunity to develop processes and policies which focus on the recruitment and retention of women in order to address acknowledged inequalities in the construction sector in the UK.
As a major infrastructure scheme, TTT has offered an unparalleled opportunity to set a new gold standard for the employment of women in construction. Previous major projects in London, including the Olympic Stadium site and Crossrail, have made incremental positive changes but TTT aims to ‘raise the bar’ and create a radical shift in employment policy and practice to enable women to participate fully at all levels within the project and present a clear business case for diversity and quality in the workforce. The legacy of these positive changes will be ensured at strategic level via TTT’s legacy committee.
The research project began with a literature review, seeking to benchmark different initiatives across the globe including the exemplary Vancouver Highway Project which made a great effort to include more women. A survey of all those currently employed on the project has also now been completed.
Contact
For further information, email:
- Professor Emerita Christine Wall at [email protected]
- Professor Emerita Linda Clarke at [email protected]