BESA (the Building Engineering Services Association) is the latest organisation to sign a diversity pledge launched by the Mayor of London.

The Mayor has stated that diversity is the capital city’s “biggest asset” and will be increasingly important as the city looks for a competitive edge internationally in the wake of ‘Brexit’.

The ‘Future of London’ pledge seeks to address the fact that many decisions on housing, regeneration, transport and infrastructure are still led by traditional voices despite the increasing diversity of London’s population.

In addition, BESA is committed to creating a more diverse building engineering services sector, which is better equipped to reflect the society it serves and to attract a broader range of talent and new ideas.

Planners and developers have also signed the pledge, which asks signatories to sign up to at least two of the following:

• Holding public-facing events which include under-represented demographic groups (by gender, ethnicity, ability, age, etc.) as speakers;
• Putting forward speakers from under-represented groups to represent our organisation, including at senior levels and across disciplines;
• Encouraging organisations we work with to host diverse events;
• Avoiding participating in sessions which feature only one demographic group;
• As a speaker/chair, joining the Future of London Diversity Speakers’ Network to help increase the pool of voices.

BESA president Malcolm Thomson said diversity is a vital issue for the building engineering industry, particularly at a time of acute skills shortages: “We must help engineering firms improve their recruitment policies so they can attract new entrants into our profession from all backgrounds and sweep away unhelpful stereotypes”.

In addition, BESA and the ECA (Electrical Contractors’ Association) are organising a diversity seminar for the building engineering industry at London South Bank University (LSBU) on Tuesday 25 October at 4pm.

Speakers will include Danna Walker, chair of Architects for Change and Jan Peters, past president of the Women’s Engineering Society. They will address the range of business benefits a diverse workforce can help to deliver as well as providing advice on supporting workers with disabilities; discovering ways to encourage and retain female engineers; and gaining insight from recent industry success stories. 

To book a free place visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/besa-eca-lsbu-diversity-seminar-tickets-27144082682