Gentoo celebrates female-led team in Women in Construction Week

To mark Women In Construction Week, Sunderland's biggest housing association Gentoo is highlighting the achievements of its female-led Homes and Development team.

The team aims to deliver new, affordable and private sale housing across Wearside.

Between March 3-9, Women in Construction Week celebrates and promotes the role of women in the construction industry.

This week also sees International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, which shines a light on women’s achievements and to promote equality and diversity. This year’s theme is #InspireInclusion, a campaign to create environments that are diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Gentoo's Development team is led by Homes and Development director, Joanne Gordon, who oversees the delivery of affordable homes plan and the sale and development of private homes through Gentoo Homes, the organisation's profit-for-purpose private housing building arm.

Since 2007 it has built over 3,500 homes across the North East. It generates a surplus which is then reinvested back into Gentoo’s housing services to support affordable rented homes across Sunderland.

They currently have seven developments with 189 new homes sold in 2022-23. The Development team was established in 2019.

The team has created a range of house types, with 160 homes under construction within one year. Since then, they have successfully delivered more than 250 affordable homes have been delivered.

They currently oversee work across five sites, comprising around 400 units.

All are keen to underline the important contribution of women in the industry and encourage others to consider career options in this field.

Joanne Gordon, Homes and Development director at Gentoo said: “It’s really important that we have diversity in the construction industry to ensure we approach projects with a variety of ideas and influence from both men and women.”

Ali Johnson, Gentoo's head of Land and Development, added: “For any women considering working in construction, I would say ‘go for it’. No day will be the same, every day is different, you are always continually learning. If you want a real challenge and are ambitious and want to make a difference, it’s definitely an industry I would advise people to consider.”

Gentoo is led by female chief executive officer, Louise Bassett, working alongside Gentoo chair, Emily Cox. In addition, more than half of Gentoo’s Senior Leadership team are female.