Be it back in the 40’s when women weren’t allowed inside a workspace to addressing visible pay gaps within most industries, the discrimination women face at work is not a newly discovered problem. It is an ongoing fight as there as many hurdles to overcome. Despite this, slowly but surely, things are changing, and the gap is starting to close for women within the construction industry.
Back in 2021, Queensland witnessed a new record with more and more women enrolling as construction apprenticeships. The state had the highest record in Australia with more than 1000 women currently in-training in the Sunshine state. The numbers are increasing but at the same time, a few workplace measures need to be established to ensure women are treated equally, ensured safety, and get to work on par with their coworkers; men.
Why is this a concern?
This comes to light as there are so many cases and complaints being reported as women are not treated equally on site. Minister for Training and Skills Development, Di Farmer stated that women are often made to feel unsafe and how this isn’t okay.
Hence, it is super important that these barriers are looked into so that women can complete their respective training and work with confidence and coexistence.
On this note, there are few things to look forward to for all women in the construction workforce.
Recently, as per reports published by Queensland Training Ombudsman, new recommendations were laid out of which majority of the matter focuses on improving the working conditions for female apprentices. To top this, the current government has announced that it has accepted all the recommendations listed out by the Ombudsman Report. This is a positive shot at making real, long-term changes in the workplace for women.
The recommendations mentioned in the report aim to increase the participation of women and engage with key players in the industry such as Construction Skills Queensland, Energy Skills Queensland, the Furnishing industry, and more to collaborate and work together on creating efficient strategies for the employment of more women.
Minister Farmer also stated that services will be available for apprentices who are seeking individual support with the notion of narrowing the gap in completion rates between male and female apprentices.
To know more about this, check the link below
Report helps break down barriers for women on work sites – Build Australia
