Women in Construction Strategy
The Victorian Government has developed the state’s first Women in Construction Strategy: Building Gender Equality in conjunction with the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC).
The BICC is a forum for dialogue between Government, employers, industry associations and unions on significant economic and industrial relations issues in the building and construction industry (Victorian Government, 2020).
The focus of the Strategy is on women in trades and semi-skilled roles who currently make up just 1% of trades and technician positions in the construction industry. The Government has invested $500,000 to create a strategy to diversify the male-dominated construction industry. The Strategy is based on three key themes:
- Attract: women need to be aware that construction is an attractive and viable career option.
- Recruit: Women must be proactively recruited and have access to strong career pathways.
- Retain: Workplaces must be inclusive and adaptive to ensure women want to stay.
According to industry stakeholders, the strength of this Strategy lies in its comprehensive Work Plan, which will deliver on a range of tangible positive outcomes which are industry-led and will lay the foundation for lasting change.
This research project responds directly to two points of intervention outlined in the Strategy: women’s wellbeing and communities of practice, both of which are outlined under Priority 3: Retain.
| Point of Intervention | Action |
| 3.3: Map the wellbeing of women employed in trades and semi-skilled roles in the industry. | Support provided to assist in the rollout of the Resilient Women in Construction project commissioned by the CFMMEU. |
| 3.2: Provide opportunities for women to create communities of practice and share experiences. | Create new (and engage with current) networks, structures and forums for women to come together to discuss their experience of working in trades and semi-skilled roles within the industry. |
Establishing an evidence-base
To date, much of the research on gender inequality in the construction industry has focused on women in professional and management roles. Consequently, there is very limited research on women in trades and semi-skilled roles. According to key industry stakeholders, lack of an evidence-base has acted as a barrier to action for this group of women. This report helps to establish an evidence-base informed by the voices of women in trades and semi-skilled roles, founded on a rigorous and robust research design. Findings outlined in this report enable a move from anecdotal evidence to a strong evidence-base which can be used to inform targeted interventions aimed at improving gender equality in construction.
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