How to survive in the competitive construction world when you are perceived as some sort of strange creature that is tender, caring and given to breaking down in tears? Chloé Clair will illustrate her career to date, which has brought her to her current role of Chief Technical Officer of VINCI Construction, trying on the way to avoid the usual gender stereotypes (and realities…)

In this session, you'll hear Elin's perspectives on how Sweden is tackling the skills shortage. Even though the landscape is changing, in Sweden 98% of construction workers are men. Learn how employers within the Swedish construction industry are taking action to solve the skills shortage by challenging gender inequality and stereotypes within the industry.

Mike will share his practical experiences on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI); from recognising the ethical and business case to the role of employee networks, and the part played by unconscious bias awareness. Mike will conclude with thoughts on the responsibility of senior leadership as advocates and agents of real change.

We can sometimes dwell on the more negative statistics and perceptions with regards to diversity in our industry. While there has been a lot of progress in promoting “Women on site and on the tools” in recent years, with articles in Vogue, the Guardian and many others, the Construction “Executive Path” is still often overlooked. This can create a perception that women still don’t feel like they will ever “sit at the table”. Ceri will provide a much more positive and uplifting perspective on how we shine a light on women who have already smashed through the glass ceiling. She will share her own inspirational journey, the invariable obstacles encountered and how leaders can help promote the right cultures and behaviours in our business and our industry to shape Women in Construction to be ready for the Boardroom.

In this seminar, you'll hear from Loretta sharing her experiences and perspectives on what we need to do to repaint the industry. You'll listen to what makes it so difficult for certain women to enter the industry, the role of organisations in supporting new comers and discuss how we can realistically address this issue which may be a puzzle piece in solving the skills shortage.

We all want to work in and be part of an industry that is inclusive and provides everyone, not just women, with opportunities to work, develop and build careers. What can we do to help foster a more open-minded and inclusive approach? How can you come to work and bring your true authentic self? Hear from Sandra sharing her insight, experiences and understanding of value we bring when we are ourselves, enabling you to maximise your contribution to your firm, your clients and our industry.

To create real change and pursue true inclusion, we need more powerful men to stand up to advocate. Hear from David's journey of pushing for greater diversity, his understanding of some male's reservations towards championing diversity and reviewing the importance of having everyone advocate for equality and inclusion.

What does a female leader feel in a male-dominated industry, in the world's third most equal country? Norway is celebrated for equality in many ways; however, the apathy attached to construction still hinders women. Hear from Ausra sharing her personal experience of smashing the glass ceiling and what it means to stand on broken glass while striving for excellence. Learn how to challenge the norm and push for greatness.

"Inclusion is not bringing people into what already exists; it is making a new space, a better space for everyone.” At Hilti, we applied the inclusion lens when developing our D&I strategy; everything we do for minority groups should improve the workplace for all. Here, we share practical nudges on how to create an inclusive environment.

One of the most important trends which we observe currently on the market is PropTech and ContechThech, which will have a significant influence on the property & construction industry. During this presentation, we will present how the technology and innovation solution has the impact on cooperation with the client, improvement of the efficiency on all the project life cycle, improvement of the quality and the communication among all the parts & risk management, H&S. Anna will focus the attention on solutions such as application, digital geophysics, green technology, drones, AR, VR, BIM, Robotics, IoT. Followed by real examples of the projects realised by Skanska.

Isla will be talking about her role, her learning curves and the ways in which she believes young women in the industry can reach their professional and personal potential by building the right networks and taking the right opportunities to build a positive, influential wave of new leaders.

Join DPR Construction for an interactive workshop that focuses on inclusion and the commitment each of us will make to build a more inclusive environment in the industry.

We know that as an industry we need to address one of our biggest challenges, sustainability. Have you heard about the green shift? Join this session to listen to from Hege on how we can create sustainable change, sharing her insight on the many struggles but the many more successes of pushing for sustainability. Let’s discuss the abundant opportunities for women to be a part of this transformation, and learn the role and responsibilities of all of us in the construction industry.

The most important parts of a project manager’s job are problem solving, passing on information to all parties, documenting everything and ensuring all work is being done exactly to the specifications.

You will hear from Inola sharing her experiences as a project manager in the male-dominated construction industry. She will discuss how the power of interpersonal and social skills can put you ahead of the game.

If the pink elephant popped up on some English suits, it has sadly been ignored by the vast majority of the last MIPIM attendees. Join Barbara’s session to hear how the concerns of women, at all stages in the industry, are far from being limited to only how many ladies’ restrooms there should be in the prefab. By seriously tackling Health, Safety and Ethics, it could improve the business much wider than just for what is considered ‘women’s concerns’.

In this session, you'll hear from an inspiring young engineer, Kelly, sharing her perspectives on working as a female on 3 different continents, both in an office environment and on a construction site. Learn how to navigate working in different cultural environments, how to take control of your own career path and challenge the stereotype of females in construction.

While we often focus on innovation in the products and services we develop, Stephanie will showcase how to engage in what she calls 'sustainable innovation', which requires complementing products innovation with the innovation of process. If we ever hope to create a inclusive future in construction, it is inevitable that we change the way we work, how we collaborate and the processes we engage in. Stephanie will share the three mental shifts that we all need to embrace right now, the key to innovation which is interactions and the step-by-step process she created years ago. To create an inclusive future, we need to innovate our processes, through interaction.

Skanska recognises that diversity and inclusion are vital in attracting and retaining talent, and in driving innovation. In a decentralised organisation like Skanska, leaders are crucial for building an inclusive culture. This presentation highlights successful ways of developing managers to be inclusive leaders, and how this results in measurable business benefits to the organisation.

Why is finance important in construction? How to create good relationships between finance and operations - and anywhere else? How can finance help create value for the client? What will a digital future bring? How does this change the foundation of good relationships?

While the construction industry is naturally multi-cultural, little thought and discussion is given to the importance of navigating issues of cultural sensitivity and diversity in managing international projects and disputes. During this session, Rena L. Scott, Of Counsel at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, will share her insights and expertise on how the industry can better manage its projects and disputes by applying simple techniques to address common issues in managing multi-cultural (but often times male dominated) teams.

The World Economic Forum published in there ‘Global Risk Perception Survey 2017-2018’ the 5 risks that will have the biggest impact in the next ten years. The risk is: Weapons of mass destruction, Extreme water events, Natural disasters, Failure of climate mitigation and adaption and Water crises.

When we look at extreme water events, failure of climate mitigation & adaption and water crises, we see – at least - 3 out of 5 big risks with an enormously impact which have a link with our specialization. Our sector. How do we cope with these risks within our organizations? How do we cope we these risks as it comes to an feminine way of working. Can make a feminine way of thinking and working make a difference? Should it make a difference?

Cecilia works with innovation within the framework of construction projects. In this session, she vill introduce you to three “trolls” that she regularly has to battle in her everyday work – trolls that may be particularly noticable in the construction sector. Cecilia will draw on her personal experiences during twenty years as an innovation process manager as she explains the nature of these trolls, and will discuss with the audience which swords we may use to fight them! This session is an opportunity to look at innovation in a different way!

Have you ever walked into a meeting, and you didn't get that welcome you would expect? Are you cautious about how you work with others and present yourself? In this hands-on seminar, you'll hear best practice strategies and techniques to assert yourself and command the room and what happens in the hall ways. Making sure your voice is heard for your and the companies benefit.

In this workshop, we will be sharing how we select and develop our future leaders. A core skill in our global leadership development program is to develop and promote inclusive leadership skills. This objective can only be met with the right individuals with a diversity of experiences. We will share our way of reaching this goal.

Are we hard coding biases into machine learning, or will it provide the opportunity to change the industry towards inclusion, diversity and greater gender balance? AI is only as good as the data it learns from and to a certain extent, relies on bias to make decisions. Hear from Janne’s insight and understanding on how the construction industry can take full advantage of AI, for the better.

From humble roots as a graduate engineer in the north east of England to Project Design Manager on award-winning technically complex projects, Paula’s journey within the industry has been studded with inequality, unfairness and unconscious bias but she didn’t let that stop her! Join Paula to explore the Gender Pay Gulf debate, where we are, how we got here and what we should be doing to fill in the gaps.

During the workshop we will present the functionality of the Industry 4.0 ecosystem on how it will influence business activity and the process of executing the projects in all its life cycle. We focus our attention on the chosen technology which is crucial for the Industry 4.0, which were implemented on the Skanska’s pointed projects. Attendees will learn how to create a road map of key technologies which has influence 4.0 Industry, which will be accompanied by a live demo.

Simply being exposed to diversity can change the way we think. Diversity is needed to create teams capable of genuine innovation and modernisation, as it amplifies creativity and encourages imagination and the search of the new. Diversity is so robust that it can improve performance and lead to breakthrough discoveries. To truly innovate we need to see everything we do through a different lens that will put us outside of our comfort zone until we reach a new normal.

Without negotiation skills, you might simply give in or give away more than was necessary. It’s an important skill not limited to boardrooms or million-dollar deals - on any given day we are negotiating all the time. Learn how to build collaborative relationships as you successfully negotiate deals, disputes, new initiatives, and even a raise or promotion.

Construction needs to update and repaint its industry image to address some of the most significant industry challenges. Inspiring the next generation is a job for all of us, all of the current professionals working now. Join this session to hear the importance of motivating yourself and colleagues to advance the industry's progression.

The floor is yours and this is your moment! To end the conference, we will have a facilitated Q&A with our chairperson, where our audience can share a burning question or seek advice from fellow attendees!