(exceeding its target of 132) and placed 195 women into employment (exceeding its target of 110). Around half of placements and jobs were in the manual trades, and the other half in professional construction roles (Author a 2014, table 4.2). The majority of WiC participants are from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the greatest number (36%) describing themselves as black or black British, which is reflective of the number of construction schemes in inner London boroughs that have high levels of BAME unemployment. The empirical evidence for this is drawn primarily from a small-scale study of the WiC project, conducted by one of the authors between October 2013 and July 2014. This involved semi-structured interviews and a focus group, in all comprising 21 women who had undertaken work placements or obtained employment through the project; seven representatives of employers of different sizes (all male, apart from one); and eight stakeholders (five female, three male), including the project steering group (made up of representatives from the bodies funding the WiC) and the two project managers (Author a 2014). As the focus of this paper is on the how far responsive legislation influenced the procurement process to effect action on equality, the following discussion draws primarily on the interviews with employers, with some evidence from the project managers and the steering group. In addition, WiC project reports were analysed, as well as documents concerning the ODA’s procurement and equality strategies, and outcomes. The following sections explore the WiC project as an example of how public procurement can be used to promote action to increase employment equality in construction, both through the London Olympic Park construction and subsequently. The analysis broadly follows the framework for procurement as an effective tool proposed by McCrudden (2012) in its first four headings: motivations for engagement; strategic planning; political context
(exceeding its target of 132) and placed 195 women into employment (exceeding its target of 110). Around half of placements and jobs were in the manual trades, and the other half in professional construction roles (Author a 2014, table 4.2). The majority of WiC participants are from ethnic minority backgrounds, with the greatest number (36%) describing themselves as black or black British, which is reflective of the number of construction schemes in inner London boroughs that have high levels of BAME unemployment. The empirical evidence for this is drawn primarily from a small-scale study of the WiC project, conducted by one of the authors between October 2013 and July 2014. This involved semi-structured interviews and a focus group, in all comprising 21 women who had undertaken work placements or obtained employment through the project; seven representatives of employers of different sizes (all male, apart from one); and eight stakeholders (five female, three male), including the project steering group (made up of representatives from the bodies funding the WiC) and the two project managers (Author a 2014). As the focus of this paper is on the how far responsive legislation influenced the procurement process to effect action on equality, the following discussion draws primarily on the interviews with employers, with some evidence from the project managers and the steering group. In addition, WiC project reports were analysed, as well as documents concerning the ODA’s procurement and equality strategies, and outcomes. The following sections explore the WiC project as an example of how public procurement can be used to promote action to increase employment equality in construction, both through the London Olympic Park construction and subsequently. The analysis broadly follows the framework for procurement as an effective tool proposed by McCrudden (2012) in its first four headings: motivations for engagement; strategic planning; political context