Minister for Industrial Relations Tim Pallas launched the “She Built It” digital, radio and print campaign at Built’s social housing construction site in Ascot Vale where women are taking lead roles and excelling.

Despite changing attitudes and increased opportunity in some areas, women still comprise fewer than three per cent of building and construction trades workers in Victoria.

Some 200 social and affordable homes are being constructed at the Homes Victoria site in Dunlop Avenue, Ascot Vale, where half of the trainees, apprentices and cadets are women. Women make up more than 40 per cent of Built’s project team at Ascot Vale.

The campaign will complement the Andrews Labor Government’s Building Equality Policy which applies to large government projects and requires the representation of women in at least three per cent of each trade role, seven per cent of each non-trade position and 35 per cent of management, supervisor and specialist labour roles.

The Building Equality Policy also requires that four per cent of labour hours for apprentices and trainees be performed by women. In the first half of this year, 14 projects worth $15.8 billion have implemented minimum female representation in their respective workforces.

The Government has invested $3.5 million to support the implementation of the Building Equality Policy and a further $1.5 million to implement the Women in Construction Strategy.

Initiatives include the creation of the Building Futures: Women in Construction job-matching website, a respectful workplaces code of practice, and tools and resources.

This article was first published as Campaign Backs More Women To Build A Career In Construction by the Premier of Victoria on 23 September 2022 and has been republished with their permission.