Australian State Promises to Triple Women in Construction

A recent report suggests that progress finding suitable female construction workers had been slow. Sergey Tinyakov/Shutterstock

The government of New South Wales (NSW) has committed to tripling the number of female construction workers to dismantle gender norms and move towards equality.

Treasurer Matt Kean said the government is allocating $10 million (US$6.7 million) towards reaching a target of 15 percent of women on work sites by 2030.

“This grant program will support industry-led initiatives to break down the barriers stopping women from considering a career in construction,” Kean said in a statement.

NSW Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean arriving for the opening of the African Savannah precinct at Taronga Zoo on June 28, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“We’re inviting eligible organisations to apply for grants of up to $300,000 to deliver projects that ensure these workplaces are safe, flexible and inclusive.”

Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes said that the government’s record $112.7 billion infrastructure investment, coupled with a skills shortage, means that now is the perfect time to push gender training programs in schools aimed at raising awareness of biases based on gender.

“This grant program will support innovative solutions that encourage women to work in construction, such as more carer’s support initiatives, education programs in schools to change gender stereotypes, and gender bias training,” Stokes said.

Victoria Struggles With Gender Quotas

The Victorian government—the first in Australia—made a similar promise earlier this year when they announced that government-contracted projects would need to employ a minimum of 38 percent of women by 2024 or face penalties.

It also requires women to make up at least three percent of trade roles such as bricklayers and carpenters, seven percent of non-trade positions such as concreters and forklift operators, and 35 percent of management and specialist labour roles on construction sites.

Work is done on the roof of a building under construction in Sacramento, Calif., on March 3, 2022. Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

The incoming chair of Tradeswomen Australia, Kit McMahon, fears the construction industry will fail to meet the quotas enforced from 2024.

“If you just add up the numbers of all the projects that have got women going through them at the moment, there is no way it’s going to meet the target,” she told The Age.

“You can have all the programs in the world about attracting women to trades—and I call it another pink boots campaign—but that’s actually not the challenge. The challenge is getting women to stay.”

Promoting gender equality is an obligation under the Australian government’s Commonwealth Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012.