We’re celebrating and supporting Women in Construction Week 2023, and throughout this week, we’ll be publishing interviews and articles from our own people; showcasing their own journeys and stories about moving into the construction space and talking about why initiatives like Women in Construction is important to drive equity, equality and relevance.

In this article, we wanted to understand more from 2 of the BBA’s Senior Leadership Team, Emma Wiles (Sales and Marketing Director) and Tara Deller-Hoy (Operations Director) and what led them to move into the construction space. 

Q1: You haven’t always worked in the construction sector, so what attracted you to this space?

“When I first heard about the role here at the BBA, I took a look into the sector and immediately I could see a lot of scope for positive change. For me personally, I value a role where you can make a difference and I could see that construction has that opportunity. Equally, I have a wide range of experience that I can bring to the sector, in rail alone there is a similar journey that the sector undertook a few years back that construction now faces.” – Emma Wiles

“I was looking for a challenge – and this industry is certainly a challenge, but I also wanted the opportunity to move into an industry that I could have some influence on, bring my learning from another sector and ultimately see how I can support a new one. There are lots of transferable lessons and synergies from Rail which attracted me to this space.” – Tara Deller-Hoy

Q2: Where did your career start?

“After university I was offered a role at Specsavers Head office in Guernsey as a Local Marketing Manager. Specsavers is a franchise business, and I was responsible for spending the money of the franchise owners. This essentially, they saw as their own cash, so I learnt very quickly to clearly demonstrate plans and ensuring marketing spend provided a return on investment. This set the tone for my career to date as a commercial marketeer. The theme from there onwards has been commercialising marketing for both customer and business benefit. From retail to rail, to care homes, logistics, bid consultancy, a (fair) bit more rail than here in construction! Each of these sectors have their nuances and are at different stages. I truly believe that for me the variety and exposure to many types of businesses, and organisations has helped me with my own career development and has kept my working life very interesting!” – Emma Wiles

“I started my career some 24 years ago in rail, I joined firstly in customer services and moved over to operations some 6 months later to become a train driver and worked my way through operations, in resourcing, safety and assurance, training and competence development and  train crew management. A year after I started in the industry we had the Ladbroke grove and Southall crash in which colleagues and the train companies I worked with were directly involved, it changed the industry significantly both from a safety and competence perspective and I hoped to bring that experience and knowledge to both the BBA and the industry, especially following Grenfell.” – Tara Deller-Hoy

Q3: This year’s theme for women in construction is ‘many paths, one mission’. Talk us through the path that led you here.

“Pretty much every sector I have worked in has been male dominated. For me I see, and have benefited from female leaders at the top, but these have been few and far between. Whilst at South West Trains, I was mentored by the Safety Director, a lady called Sharon. She helped show me that being more myself and not trying to ‘fit in’ and trying to adopt male leadership behaviours was ok. In fact, that female leaders can and do bring something else to the table, especially in sectors that have not yet found that balance. As part of this mentoring, I read up on a few female influencers – such as Sheryl Sandberg and Brene Brown. Very aspirational ladies who helped put my working experience to date into context. Including hints and tips as to help shift the balance, lots of ‘leaning in’.” – Emma Wiles

“As soon as I started to manage people, I have tried to use this as the opportunity to support other women in their careers. From being a working parent, to finding confidence, speaking up and giving others their opportunity to shine. There is a lot of benefit for organisations to have a blended organisation of people and styles, and to build a culture that embraces them. For me this is important for women in construction and many other sectors.” – Tara Deller-Hoy

Q4: What has been the biggest learning in making a change to the construction industry?

“Many of the challenges in construction are similar to other sectors and a change of industry brings with it a change of the lens in which you view things. One of the biggest learnings I see is that there is a long way to go in construction, and that the sector has much to do to change for the better and for the future. The sector needs to pull together to tackle these changes, so that we can move forward together and at a good pace.” – Emma Wiles

“It is very much in the place that rail was some 20 years ago, rail is now heavily legislated against and with the change in the building safety act I see the construction industry going the same way, however construction has a long way to go and there is a LOT to do, but it’s also exciting with many opportunities.” – Tara Deller-Hoy