Topic People
Date 11 Mar 2026
As part of our series to celebrate Women in Construction Week and International Women’s Day, we speak with members of our social value teams Dawn Jevons, Regional Community and Social Impact Manager for Building West Midlands and South West, and Keeley Russell, Senior Customer and Social Value Manager for Infrastructure, to discuss the value of role models and the important work they carry out themselves, and the opportunities they are creating for girls and women.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
Keeley: For me, International Women’s Day represents the unique lens women bring to industries that have traditionally been male-dominated. I was raised by an incredibly strong woman who showed me that the world can feel different depending on how you experience it. That upbringing shaped how I see leadership, resilience and collaboration.
Working in the construction industry, I believe we bring something truly valuable and a very different way of thinking, communicating and solving problems. Diversity of perspective strengthens teams, challenges long-standing norms, and drives innovation.
International Women’s Day is not just about celebrating women, it’s about recognising the impact of our voices, our experiences, and our leadership in shaping industries for the better, especially the construction industry.
Dawn: For me, it’s less about a single day of recognition and more about ongoing social accountability and how to create genuine pathways to opportunity. Social mobility is still a significant challenge in the UK. Supporting women, particularly those from working-class backgrounds goes beyond social responsibility; it is also essential to economic resilience and long-term growth.
Tell us more about the work that you are involved in at Galliford Try?
Keeley: Over the past 12 months, we have established a cross-sector Employment & Skills Roundtable that brings together around 40 decision-makers at each session, from commissioners to funders and delivery partners, from council, contractor, supply chain and prisons, with the aim of being aligned around a shared goal, to improve employment outcomes for priority cohorts including:
- NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training).
- Hard-to-reach individuals.
- Long-term unemployed people.
- Prison leavers.
- 18-24year olds.
An example of success is the launch of a Traffic Management training pathway for our prison leavers from HMP Norwich. In partnership with City & Guilds and our supply chain partner HW Martin, we are now training 12 individuals from the prison three months prior to release. This initiative has taken over two years of collaboration, negotiation, and design, and seeing it move from concept to real life delivery is incredibly rewarding. Once trained, these individuals will be offered employment opportunities in the region, enabling them to step straight into work immediately upon release.
This programme not only provides life-changing opportunities for the men, but also directly supports skills shortages in our industry and strengthens the region’s employability pipeline.
Dawn: Currently, I am working with a girls’ school in Birmingham with a high Pupil Premium cohort — Government funding designed to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state schools.
After initially delivering a careers session at the school, we were pleased to welcome students on to site during National Apprenticeship Week so they could see construction in action.
We’re now looking forward to building on this relationship further by developing Mentoring the Next Generation with the school.
These partnerships are incredibly important in helping us reach the next generation and ensure construction is seen as an accessible and exciting career path for all.
If others would like to help support, how can they do this?
Keeley: There is growing recognition across our industry that social value is no longer a “nice to have”, it’s now a contractual requirement with some of the bids requiring upwards of 25% of the bid. Clients are setting ambitious expectations for Galliford Try and the wider sector.
We’re genuinely excited about the opportunity to lead and continue developing our social value team. We encourage you to come and speak with us, learn more about the meaningful work we’re carrying out, and see first-hand the positive impact being created across all of our business.
There is a huge opportunity ahead. We can be industry-leading — not simply meeting standards, but setting them and celebrating the successes.