The Global Cement and Concrete Association celebrates International Women’s Day

London, (6 March 2020) – The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) and its member companies around the world are marking International Women’s Day (IWD). IWD is a global awareness day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and a call to action for accelerating women’s equality. This year’s IWD theme is drawn from the notion of ‘Collective Individualism’ with #EachforEqual trending on social media. The message IWD want to promote is that our individual actions, conversations, behaviours and mindsets can have a greater impact on wider society if we collectively help towards creating a gender equal world, all year round.

Building on last years launch of the ‘Global Cement and Concrete Industry Women’s Network’, the group is now launching a network of ‘Lean in Circles’ to provide a global framework for support whilst encouraging local activity. Lean in Circles provide a place for small groups of women, who work for GCCA members and affiliates, to collaborate and offer support to each other about challenging gender bias and building confidence; with the mission of increasing diversity in the cement and concrete industry.

The activity is intended to promote the role of women in the sector to share thoughts, ideas and to advocate for cement and concrete as the sustainable building material of choice. The network has also launched a formal GCCA Think Tank.

Benjamin Sporton, GCCA Chief Executive, said “equality is not a women’s issue, it is a business issue. Gender equality is essential for economies and communities to succeed. At GCCA, we strive to create a gender equal workplace and celebrate the inspirational work that the women in the concrete industry do.”

Claude Lorea, GCCA Cement Director and one of the industry leaders of the Women’s Network added, “entering the cement and concrete industry in the first place is often a big challenge for women. GCCA is committed to encouraging and increasing the number of women in the industry and the GCCA Women’s Network is an important part of this. I am excited for the next chapter of the network to see how GCCA, and its member companies and affiliates can continue to further promote diversity across the industry.”