Member Article

Housebuilder champions diversity at Women in Property Annual Summer event

Local housebuilder, Barratt Developments Yorkshire West is encouraging more women to consider a career in the industry by sponsoring this year’s Women in Property Summer Networking Event, which took place at the Oracle in Leeds last week.

As part of its dedication to diversity in the construction industry, Barratt Developments Yorkshire West contributed £1,500 to sponsor the annual event, which was arranged by the housebuilder’s Strategic Land Manager Jennifer Winyard.

Jennifer is a former Chairman for Women in Property in Yorkshire and the North East and the current mentoring co-ordinator. Her role as Strategic Land Manager at Barratt Developments Yorkshire West, sees her identifying land opportunities across the region and leading the promotion of sites and multi-disciplinary teams to secure planning consent for residential developments.

Women in Property is an organisation dedicated to helping create opportunities and inspire change for women working in the property and construction industry through networking and mentoring. Jennifer, who has been a member of the group for 12 years, oversees the mentoring programme by matching women from different backgrounds and encouraging them to work together.

Jennifer commented: “Women in Property is thrilled that Barratt Developments chose to sponsor this year’s summer event! It was an excellent opportunity for both women and men within the property and construction industry to come together to raise the profile of women working within the sector and encourage others to follow suit. It was fantastic to welcome so many people to the event and we look forward to seeing more women expand their careers within the industry.”

The summer event, which took place at The Oracle in Leeds on Thursday 11th of July attracted over 100 male and female property and construction professionals including surveyors, town planners, architects, engineers, interior designers, construction managers and property lawyers.

Ian Ruthven, Managing Director of Barratt Developments commented: “We’re really proud to have supported Women in Property and their Summer Event this month. Barratt Developments is dedicated to working with the very best talent in order to deliver much-needed homes and communities within West Yorkshire. We hope that this sponsorship will increase awareness of the opportunities available within the industry and that it will encourage more women to consider the numerous career paths that are available in property and construction.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Savage .