To celebrate International Women’s Day 2026, which took place on 8 March, BE News is running a series of interviews with inspirational women who work across the built environment sector
Name: Syreeta Robinson-Gayle
Job title: Head of affordable housing at Barratt London
What I do: I identify opportunities to provide affordable housing across London, working across the business from land purchase to the completion of the homes. Once we have agreed on the appropriate level of affordable housing, I work to build partnerships with affordable housing providers, building a thorough understanding of their needs and customers. Following that, I work with them and their legal teams to put the right terms in place and offer the homes for rent or to the market for discounted private sale. Last year we built 445 affordable homes in total across all our sites.
Why I got into the property industry: I have always been interested in architecture and construction. I grew up in London, one of the most architecturally interesting cities in the world. I always asked myself the question, how does it work, and what is holding this up?
My first proper job: Façade engineer at Buro Happold.
My first big break: Being accepted into the engineering doctorate programme while working at Buro Happold.
My Inspirations: Joseph Balazgette. I love that although the understanding of how cholera was transmitted was incorrect, the development of the sewage system resulted in better health for Londoners for the following century. He designed the right thing for the wrong reason.
The biggest challenge I have encountered to date: Working with teams outside of your own organisation can be challenging. First, we have to spend time understanding their motivations and making sure we are aligned, and then we have to find a way of working effectively together. Last year we found ourselves having to complete the sale of 311 homes in a matter of weeks. It was an intricate dance that required the input of an affordable partner, the GLA, the local authority, landowners and multiple sets of lawyers. Every part of the deal was contingent on another part being completed, exhausting but great fun.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment: I love practical completion, I like the moment where you handover the keys and know that someone will have a new home. The majority of my work is delivering housing. When I am driving my mother around London, she will ask who built this or that, and sometimes the answer is, “me, I did that!”
The biggest misconception about the property industry: Whenever I mention that there is a skills shortage in the construction industry, people assume I only mean on the tools. But in reality, we are under resourced at all levels, across the board. This is an industry with plenty of opportunities for young people with or without degrees to become housing and construction professionals.
My biggest bugbear about the industry: My biggest bugbear about the industry is how often contractual risk is passed down the supply chain to the smallest trade contractors, who are typically the least able to absorb it. It’s a structural issue that needs addressing if we want a healthier and more sustainable industry.
Why I am so passionate about DE&I: As we deal with the demographic changes in our society it will become increasingly important to include more of us in the conversation about how, where and what we build. When we think about bringing more people in, we’re also creating room for fringe benefits, new things to explore and try. I love celebrating other cultures in and outside of work. I get to eat all of the tastiest treats from everyone else’s traditions and cultures without doing any of the hard graft in the kitchen!
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Mansa Musa (he would be paying).
What I do in my downtime: I love sustainable fashion, and as a result, I make most of my clothes. I enjoy the process of selecting fabric, designs and sewing them, even if there are variable results.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: If I was not working in construction, I would be involved in materials research. I am particularly interested in the inclusion of smart materials into façade design.
My advice for someone just starting out: Be as flexible as you can, and be open to opportunities, they come from the most unusual places.
My motto/mantra: Onwards and upwards.
