Her career continued growing and she became a development manager in 2018.

Sallyanne explained that it has not been the easiest ride being a woman in the construction industry since she started her career and credits her Lifestory team for being extremely supportive of her career growth and achievements. 

‘’Mike, who was the first director I worked with at Lifestory, has been instrumental in helping me grow and achieve so much in the construction industry. Despite being a very busy person, he has always been there to listen and explain matters to me properly — even on the smallest issue. He has been one of my inspirations of how a true leader should be, encouraging everyone to optimise their strengths and minimise their weaknesses. I would have to also credit my current director Simon Broomfield as an inspiration, he is also an all-rounder leader who goes above and beyond to ensure everyone works well as a team, in a wonderfully unassuming manner.

•   DFT X Adair - Spotting common risks in property development and how lenders can protect themselves
•   There is a lot more that needs to be done at an education level to get more women into the construction industry
•   'The construction industry is still viewed as inaccessible for many women'

‘’Working in construction, which is well-known to be a male-dominated industry, has brought its fair share of challenges, especially when there are only a few other women holding development manager or similar roles across the industry. It can be quite tough to change the mentality of some of the inherent gender inequality on a building site, but I am really proud that Lifestory, as a company, is committed to providing training and opportunities to all women across the business to progress in their roles. We strive to have a team of mixed genders across our different business areas and it is so refreshing to see change and women taking on more senior positions in the business.”

Sallyanne is a firm believer in fostering equality in the workplace and explains that sometimes some people do not realise that their actions might be gender biased and it is always best to speak up in these situations and resolve the issue at that particular time.

‘’Over the last few years in particular, I am really glad to see that positive change has happened in the construction industry to make it a more gender equal industry. I hope more can be done to encourage more female talent across the board and hope that perceptions will change, and that gender inequality will be a thing of the past in the next 10 years.”