WIC Georgina and Sophie-3 – Georgina McCrae and Sophie Kendal from Allison Homes East
This International Women’s Day (Saturday 8th March), regional housebuilder Allison Homes is inspiring change in the construction industry and helping women build careers in the sector.
International Women’s Day is an annual awareness campaign, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women across the globe, all whilst advocating for gender equality. This year the theme is Accelerate Action, which is a call for increased urgency in addressing the barriers and biases that women face.
Allison Homes is supporting the mission and ensuring women are aware of the career paths available to them in housebuilding.
In 2024, the developer sponsored Women in Construction in Lincolnshire, an event hosted at Stamford College promoting the opportunities available for women in the sector.
Head of HR at Allison Homes, Zoe Evans, said: “We have hired women into many roles across the company, both out on site and in senior head office roles, and have hired female apprentices. We are looking to support women studying T Level exams who need work experience by offering them a chance to come to Allison Homes in a variety of departments, to help them with their career decisions. Our goal is to make sure that all the roles we have within the business are visible to women at a young age, so they are aware of the opportunities.”
Two employees at Allison Homes helping to inspire women are Georgina McCrae and Sophie Kendal. Georgina, Planning Director and Sophie, Land and Partnerships Director both work within the housebuilder’s East region.
Georgina graduated from Newcastle University with a degree in Geography and an interest in the built environment. She joined Allison Homes East in December 2023, with over 10 years’ experience in the industry.
Georgina said: “As a woman in the industry, at any level, it’s important to accept that you can often be one of a few, if not the only woman in the room, but to recognise you have as much right and ability to influence discussions as anybody else. I make a point of empowering younger females in those situations.
“We work with several female architects, landscape designers and engineering consultants, and have a good proportion of women in the Allison Homes land, technical, commercial, sales and production teams who feed into the planning process.
“My advice to women looking to build a successful career in construction would be to take every opportunity, don’t be afraid to fail, put yourself in daunting situations and most importantly, enjoy them.”
Sophie commented: “I graduated from Leeds Beckett University after studying Human Geography and Town Planning, and this is where I got my passion for homemaking. Very quickly after joining Allison Homes in 2023 as Land Manager I was promoted to Head of Land, and in May 2024 I was promoted again to Land and Partnerships Director.
“The industry used to be very male dominated, but now more and more women are entering, which is amazing to see. Exposure to key roles in the industry is fundamental for young professionals starting their careers. There are a lot more Women in Property events, which is a great forum for women in all aspects of the industry.”
John Anderson, CEO of Allison Group, said: “We are a designer, manufacturer and retailer of beautiful homes so it’s very simple – statistically 50% of our buyers are women, so it follows that at the very least, 50% of the influence on all key decisions should be from the female perspective.
“38% of our team are women, which is very high by comparison to many equivalent homebuilders. By investing in an environment and culture that will encourage more women to join Allison Homes and stay with us, we will enjoy the benefits of the influence women can bring.”
For more information on Allison Homes and starting a career with the housebuilder, visit https://allison-homes.co.uk/careers/.
To find out more about International Women’s Day, head to https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
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