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Cost-of-living pressures and a trades shortage push homeowners toward DIY

The rapid spread of DIY content on social media in the UK in recent years is also shaping consumer behavior in home maintenance and renovation. Examples cited by BBC Business show that women, in particular, are increasingly taking on small and medium-sized jobs themselves, driven by budget pressure and a lack of available tradespeople.

Thirty-three-year-old former marketing professional Jasmine Gurney, who lives in Bedfordshire, has shared a wide range of projects on her social media account over the past year, from removing partition walls and replacing flooring to installing fences and insulating her attic. Gurney says her account grew rapidly during the Covid-19 period, when households struggled to access professional services and the need to do things themselves increased.

Figures show demand is rising faster among young women

According to a 2024 study published by B&Q, nearly three-quarters of the Gen Z women surveyed said they enjoyed DIY work. That figure stood at 60% among all female respondents.

  • 82% of Gen Z women said seeing women on social media take on more complex home renovation projects encouraged them to try more themselves.
  • The same figure was measured at 60% among all female respondents.

The data shows that social media content is not only generating views, but also influencing how home improvement spending is planned. In an environment where professional labor costs are rising, consumers are choosing to build their own skills rather than outsource some jobs.

As demand for women tradespeople rises, the workforce balance changes slowly

Platform demand and sign-ups picked up

TaskHer, a platform that connects customers with women tradespeople, was praised by 28-year-old Bliss Cunneen, who left anthropology studies at university in South London and retrained as a plumber. Cunneen said the career change was positive because of the flexibility her own business provides. Anna Moynihan, the founder of TaskHer, said applications on the site this year were more than double the level of 2025, while the number of women tradespeople signing up to the platform has risen nearly fourfold.

Women still account for a small share of construction

Even so, data from the Federation of Master Builders shows that women make up only about 4% of the UK construction workforce. There has still been some progress on apprenticeships: in the 2024-25 period, one in every 10 people starting a construction apprenticeship was a woman, compared with around one in 14 five years ago.

Experts say the trend is being reinforced by three economic forces: cost-of-living pressure, a chronic skills shortage and a shift toward trades seen as more resilient to the impact of artificial intelligence in white-collar jobs. That is increasing the share of women consumers in the home improvement market while also creating a new labor pool for craft and renovation services.

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