Women in construction

BUILDING UP WOMEN

IN CONSTRUCTION

THIS YEAR, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED TO AUSTRALIAN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS TO DRIVE THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY POST COVID-19. WITH WOMEN COMPRISING A MERE ONE PER CENT OF BUILDING TRADES, ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SPEAKS TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION CHAIR AND THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER TO FIND OUT WHERE FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN IN CONSTRUCTION LIE.

Master Builders has found women only make up one per cent of the construction workforce in building trades. Furthermore, women are only represented in 11 per cent of the entire industry.

To begin economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has been working to create stimuli to boost the economy and produce jobs for those out of employment.

The construction industry has been a major beneficiary of this initiative over the past few months, with every state and territory being allocated significant federal funding for infrastructure projects.

This funding, and more allocated by the states themselves, is expected to create many jobs, while providing communities with safer and more advanced infrastructure.

However, with women making up such a small percentage of the construction industry, they may not benefit from these job opportunities.

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency Australia found that during May 2020, women’s labour force participation rate decreased 2.9 per cent, with men’s participation rate decreasing 1.9 per cent.

With women disproportionately affected by job losses during COVID-19, construction and building could hold the key to getting these women back into work.

While women may be well represented through affectionate names for the Tunnel Boring machines used to build the Melbourne Metro Tunnel and others, experts believe more work is needed to steer women into construction work.

Roads & Infrastructure explores the possible opportunities for women in construction that are available now, through transferable skills and clear pathways.

WHERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY? When asked what the immediate opportunities were for women in construction Kristine Scheul, Chair of the Board of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), says in theory there is plenty of opportunity.

“I say in theory very intentionally. When there is an emphasis on speed, the industry reverts to easy and fast solutions as that is what they know,” Ms. Scheul says.

“What is easy and fast is to retain the six day working week model with long hours and while for a lot of women that’s fine, for many, including primary carers it isn’t.”

She says when COVID-19 hit and the economic downturn began, the association heard from lots of women who had lost the flexibility of their jobs in construction.

“Flexibility is the key to making working in construction easy for women. You can look at what many of us have been doing in these past few months of COVID-19, working from home, and make that viable as an option for many construction jobs going forward. We don’t need to be on-site or at an office to be productive or to get the work done,” Ms. Scheul says.

One solution with the potential to help women get into more time intensive careers is subsidised childcare.

In Australia, seven out of 10 primary carers are women, meaning there are often more extensive childcare demands on women at home.

Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack says the Federal Government’s Child Care Subsidy (CCS) supports female workforce participation by providing access to childcare and financial assistance.

The CCS benefits eligible families that are balancing work and parenting responsibilities.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government has relaxed the activity test which determines eligibility for the CCS. This means if a person’s activity has decreased because of COVID-19, then the family will receive the maximum amount of subsidised care,” Mr. McCormack says.

Another avenue that can be explored within industry is a shift in the expected work hours of employees with family responsibilities.

Ms. Scheul says one NAWIC member company in NSW recently changed their construction work model down from a sixday work week to five days to enable families to be together on the weekend. She says it is believed this will make a huge difference for the mental health of all workers.

“Flexibility doesn’t mean it has to be part time, or you can only work between certain hours, it’s having the conversation about what will work for the individual,” she says.

When picturing women in the construction field now, Ms. Scheul challenges the traditional image of women in construction as being only on the tools, meaning on-site work is not the only pathway for a construction career.

“There are so many different roles in a construction project and those roles do not require extensive re- training,” she says.

“If you have been working in COVID-19 affected industries like hospitality many of the skills you have gained, like managing stock and time, are skills that could translate into the construction industry and the re-training involved would be minimal. Though if you want to get into a trade that is different.”

SETTING TARGETS FOR THE FUTURE Post COVID-19, Mr. McCormack says economic security for women is a key focus of the Federal Government’s plan for economic recovery.

“As part of this focus, the Government is refreshing its Women’s Economic Security Statement, to build on the $158.3 million package from 2018,” he says.

“The Australian Government’s Infrastructure Investment Program is also delivering partnerships with state and territory governments, which work directly with construction contractors to deliver our jointly-funded projects.”

Mr. McCormack says the Women Building Australia Program, delivered by Master Builders Australia is an important tool to encourage more women into the industry and to upskill those already working in it.

“The Women Building Australia Program supports career pathways for women in this industry through a range of initiatives, including helping women find jobs through careers fairs and other job matching tools,” he says.

Mr. McCormack cited state government’s such as Victoria and Queensland who have strategies in place to directly increase the employment rates of women in the construction sector.

The NSW Government also has a target within its Women’s Strategy 2018-2022 to increase the number of women in nontraditional trades on NSW Government infrastructure projects from one per cent to two per cent by June 2023, through the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program.

A NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet spokesperson said the NSW Government will continue to support contractors to increase the number of women employed on major government infrastructure projects through the Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program.

“It is also committed to encouraging young women at school or university to consider roles in traditionally maledominated trades and STEM careers,” the spokespersons said.

Through its Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen (SALT) program, the government runs trade workshops and mentoring for girls in rural, remote and regional schools in traditionally male dominated trades.

“It is part of the NSW Government’s continued commitment to raise girls’ aspiration and support their interest in a full range of careers.”

Mr. McCormack says the industry itself has a role to play in ensuring it is investing in the capacity of its workforce, including through the greater participation of women.

“The Australian Government commends the initiative of employers who recognise the significant benefits of improving gender parity in their workforces,” he says.

Although it is important to get women into these transferable skill jobs now, Ms. Scheul says women could be deterred by the established culture of the male dominated construction industry and this is something to be worked on into the future.

“We are still hearing about worksites that don’t have lockable doors on toilets or showers. What woman would want to use a toilet that you can’t lock?” she asks.

“It’s as simple as creating workplaces that will attract and retain women, where women feel safe, valued and comfortable. This is some of the low hanging fruit that can be easily achieved and affect real change right now.”

Ms. Scheul says although there is low hanging fruit to address, the cultural change will take longer and it will also require buy in from industry and government.

“We are the peak body for women in construction and cultural change is what we are striving to achieve through our work but we need a little more help from our friends.”