THIS International Women’s Day, recent, shock statistics reveal that just one in eight construction workers are female. Now, local housebuilder Barratt Developments North East is encouraging more women to consider a career in the male-dominated construction industry by shining a light on one of its many leading ladies, Leanne Hardcastle. After completing her BSc Honours degree in Building Surveying in 2015, Leanne chose to kick start her career in construction with Barratt Developments through the Accelerated Construction Programme as a trainee assistant site manager. Within just four short years of joining the housebuilder as a trainee, Leanne quickly climbed up the ladder of success and has recently been promoted to her new role of site manager, where her daily responsibilities have evolved to include decision making when challenges arise within the technical and engineering teams, as well as managing the daily maintenance of site.