Why Gender Diversity in Construction Benefits Everyone

In the Victorian construction industry, the introduction of the Building Equality Policy (BEP) has set training and employment targets for women and bolsters Tradeswomen Australia’s mission of supporting women who want to work in trades into secure careers.

For the last 25 years the number of tradeswomen in construction – those on the tools, not in the office – has hovered at around 2%. Meeting the BEP targets will involve a culture change in the companies and the industry to ensure that tradeswomen can thrive on site.

However, increasing the gender diversity in an organisation can result in some key company wide benefits. Diverse workers bring new and different perspectives and can lead to better quality products and services, improved customer experiences, greater profits, and happier workplaces.

Organisations understanding the importance of gender diversity and inclusion in a workforce can look forward to:

• Improved culture and workplace mental health leading to higher talent attraction and retention.
• A boost to the business bottom line through innovation new ideas.
• Reduced absenteeism and presenteeism because of a happier workplace.
• Decreased costs due to low staff turnover.

Tradeswomen Australia work with employers to foster cultures of safety, respect, and inclusion for all genders, enabling everyone to feel safe and comfortable participating in their chosen trade. Our Workplace Readiness program (WRP) is designed to establish best practice in alignment with the Building Equality Policy (BEP) in Victoria and we are available to consult with any size construction company about delivering on their plans and reporting.