For those that did not see it at the event, or in the weeks following on social media, one of the exhibitors at this year’s UK Construction Week chose to include scantily clad showgirls as part of their Vegas themed stand. Even though they were as part of a wider Vegas theme [Added for clarity: the stand was Vegas themed the event was not], this is still wrong. The use of women as decoration objectifies them and singles out women who work in the industry as ‘other’. The fact that no one from the company in question pointed out how inappropriate the showgirls were ahead of time is obviously disappointing. However, much more disheartening has been industry leaders’ reactions – or lack thereof – to the inappropriate spectacle. Despite fiery posts amongst individuals on Twitter, and a very involved LinkedIn discussion, the industry’s press and institutions have failed to fully recognize, let alone condemn, the inappropriateness of using severely under-dressed women at an event in an industry that has historically struggled with both equality, diversity and image issues. UK Construction Week even decided to condone the company’s actions by giving them the Best Stand Award. This sends a clear message that not only was the use of the showgirls acceptable, but they were also approved of and even lauded. And from our industry leaders? Silence. It is this that I find incredible, and the reason for writing this post. As an industry we talk a lot about improving equality and diversity, specifically the serious need to attract and keep women in built environment professions, but when something takes place that goes directly against these aims, our publications and institutions do and say nothing. The CIOB, RIBA, RICS, ICE and CIAT, were all partners of this event. Through Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or by actually attending event, representatives from each surely must have seen the stand in question. In fact, I tagged them all in a tweet, and the only institution to respond was the CIAT noting: “CIAT is a supporting partner of @UK_CW only. We do not endorse this representation in any form and await a response from the organisers also.” Although this is better than the silence from the other institutions (RIBA did respond when I emailed for a quote – see below) it still goes no-where near far enough. While there was a lot of discussion on Twitter and LinkedIn, UK Construction Week did not make a statement until two weeks after the event – even though they were made aware of people’s opinions while the showgirls were on display. The lack of publications and institutions directly calling them out potentially lead to a view that this would blow over or wasn’t a big deal. Unfortunately, many of the industry’s leading magazines are partners of the event, and a cynic could view this as commercial interest trumping diversity. Non-partner magazines, on the other hand, are owned by companies that compete with Media 10, and potentially wimped out at the thought of publically criticising a competitor. Still, is it too much to expect coverage and conversation from these publications that often talk loudly about their commitment to diversity? Of all the industry’s leading publications, only Dezeen has written about this issue [EDIT: CM's sister publication GCR did also cover the apology - see their article here - and circulate it as the lead story in their daily email]. Are they now the conscience of the industry? No longer CM, CN, AJ [UPDATE 10/11: AJ have now covered this here, which is great news) , RIBAJ, BD or Building? As for the institutions, this is exactly the sort of thing that they should be leading on. All have diversity programmes and are more and more voicing the opinion that more needs to be done, but none actively came out and said this was wrong. I directly contacted both the RIBA and the CIOB. Disappointingly, I have yet to hear from the latter. A spokesperson from RIBA said: “We are working hard to combat sexist behaviour across construction and to promote an inclusive industry. As a current supporter of the Build Show we will be seeking reassurances about the organisers’ future guidance to exhibitors on these matters.” While this is welcome, it is still not enough. If our institutions aren’t willing to lead by example and strongly call out very clear cut objectification then it makes their other diversity drives seem like lip service.
This year 's UK Design Week event , held at the Birmingham NEC between 10 and 12 October , provoked criticism on social media after young women dressed as Las Vegas showgirls were featured on a company stand . Tom Smith , the editor of The B1 M , commented in a LinkedIn post that he found it " incredible " that organisations did not speak out at the time . The Chartered Institute of Architectural Architects later said in a statement : " We do not endorse this representation in any form , " while RIBA said : " We will be sending reassurances about the event ’ future guidance to exhibitors on these matters . "