The Chartered Institute of Building People (CIOB People) has announced that the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) has mandated a new requirement for the provision of inclusive PPE for women.
The policy covers all CCS annual registered sites across the UK.
This new requirement for gender-inclusive PPE follows the CIOB’s #PPEthatfits campaign that called for better provision of inclusive PPE.
The initiative which was launched in 2022, also aimed to highlight the experiences of construction professionals and addressed widespread inequalities in PPE across the construction industry.
It has been truly eye-opening to identify the scale of the need
The #PPEthatfits campaign is in collaboration with quantity surveyor and equality advocate Sinéad Clarkson, who campaigned for the availability of female sanitary products and gender-inclusive PPE on construction sites.
According to CIOB People, at the time, the CCS rejected changes to the Code of Considerate Practice relating to female PPE as the organisation decided that there were sufficient legislative protections in place.
However, following the launch of CIOB’s #PPEthatfits campaign and research published by NAWIC Yorkshire on the availability of PPE for women, the CCS agreed that more work needs to be done in this area.
Following the launch of CIOB’s #PPEthatfits campaign and research published by NAWIC Yorkshire on the availability of PPE for women, the CCS agreed that more work needs to be done in this area
Philip Sayer, Head of Assurance and Challenge at the CCS, said: “The Considerate Constructors Scheme is committed to improving inclusivity and diversity in the construction industry and helping to address its skills gap. Improving access for women in the industry is integral to this, and we are delighted to play our part by promoting the provision of female-specific PPE on sites that sign up to our Code of Considerate Practice.”
CIOB President Sandi Rhys-Jones said: “When the decision was taken in the summer of 2023 to hold a workshop to exchange experience and knowledge around the provision of properly fitting PPE, none of us in the CIOB Working Group expected the topic to take off in the way it did. It has been truly eye-opening to identify the scale of the need, and to see an ever-expanding network of committed individuals and companies, here and around the world.”
To read more about this new requirement please follow this link.
