Breastfeeding rooms needed on construction sites to attract women into jobs

Breastfeeding spaces and sanitary products should be provided at construction, engineering and manufacturing sites to attract and retain more women into such industries, a cross-parliamentary report has said.

Female employees should also have access to safe changing rooms, places to express milk, and well-fitting PPE, the research found.

The Women and Work All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) 2025 Report, based on a series of sessions carried out last year, was launched in parliament today to deliver key recommendations on addressing gender balance in the UK economy.

It noted that women in construction, infrastructure and other non-office workplaces face a number of practical barriers, including “inadequate facilities”, that undermine their participation and wellbeing.

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“These basic shortcomings contribute to feelings of exclusion and hinder retention,” the report said.

It recommended embedding gender inclusion standards into public procurement, so that companies hoping to win government infrastructure or energy contracts are forced to demonstrate inclusive facilities and practices.

The report also stated that employers must have independent reporting mechanisms for workplace harassment with clear accountability standards, so women feel safe enough to report incidents without risk to their career.

“Encouraging women’s participation in work is not only a matter of fairness, but of economic necessity,” said Baroness Karren Brady, co-chair of the Women and Work APPG, in the report’s foreword.

“Women bring talent, leadership, innovation, and diverse perspectives that strengthen organisations, drive productivity, and underpin sustainable growth.

“Failing to fully harness this potential is a loss not only to women, but to the wider economy and society as a whole.”

The government should set out a women’s skills strategy ensuring access to expertise needed in AI, digital, and engineering professions, the report advised.

It stated that early exposure to STEM subjects was essential to attracting women and girls to such professions, and recommended funding early intervention programmes to create access to female role models, mentoring, and hands-on experiences from primary school onwards.

Almost 70% of STEM students in higher education are male, recent data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows.

The report also stated that gendered abuse poses a growing threat to female participation in public life, with women encountering abuse online and offline across politics, media, business and sport.

It called for stronger regulation of social media, as well as accountability from the platforms where abuse takes place.

Christine Flack, the mother of presenter Caroline Flack who took her own life in February 2020, spoke about the devastating impact online and media abuse had had on her daughter.

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