UK: BTR developer and operator Moda Living has partnered with campaign group Part W to encourage young women to pursue careers in the property and construction sectors.
Moda will fund an educational outreach programme by Part W to reach its target audience, which it announced on International Women’s Day.
Part W was founded by architect Zoë Berman in 2018 and works to encourage women from diverse backgrounds into real estate sectors.
The partnership between Moda and Part W is set to launch with a film about the range of careers available across the built environment sector. It is also calling for women in the property industry to highlight the struggles women face working within the design and construction industry.
Lydia Eustace, director at Moda Living, said: “The Moda team is passionate about the role our female colleagues play in the success of the business, and 40% of the Moda workforce are women, a figure we intend to keep growing. However, we recognise that there is still a long way to go in our business, and the sector more widely, before women are headhunted for senior leadership roles in high profile corporations.We believe that the solution is education, and we are so excited to be working with Part W in driving an educational outreach programme targeting young people. There are not enough females looking to build careers in the property space currently, and to keep gender equality at the forefront requires a continued effort in changing this. It is our duty to empower the next generation of female leaders with the exciting opportunities that can be seized within this sector, and in BTR specifically, acknowledgement of the meaningful impact women can make to the way that residential neighbourhoods are created and operated.”
Part W founder Zoë Berman added: “Together, Part W and Moda share an aspiration to see more built projects being instigated, planned and delivered by women. We are impatient for equality, and our work includes us calling out instances of gender discrimination in an industry that routinely excludes – alongside our developing positive and proactive solutions that can support bringing about change. We are pushing for intersectional thinking and are developing a series of actions intended to support women from diverse backgrounds, ethnicities, across generations and with different experiences. We are excited to launch this project – our first formal step in UK-wide educational outreach work this year – which will make a significant contribution to supporting young women and early career professionally in their considering a future role in the built environment and property sectors. We want to see more women joining the sector in the future, and this first project, supported by Moda, will help us to engage with and support young people’s learning. We are a volunteer-lead group, and Moda’s sponsorship is invaluable in helping us take this step.”
