Case study: Building the foundation for women in construction

July 2021 marked a milestone for the construction industry with the completion of a 5-storey, 20-apartment social housing complex in Brisbane where almost a third of the workers on site were women.

The exemplar construction project at Cannon Hill, led by QBuild, highlighted the opportunities for women in construction and sets a wonderful example of breaking down the barriers to gender equality in the construction industry.

Female trades participation in Queensland reached almost 5% but on this work site female involvement was 31%, with 22% of the frontline workforce including women in trades like plumbing, electrical, fencing and painting.

A growing number of women continue to showcase their ability and skills as project managers, architects, quantity surveyors, construction managers and tradespeople such as painters, carpenters and electricians.

Increasing the visibility of women in construction will encourage other women to take up a trade.

High female participation rates on this project demonstrated major benefits to the construction workplace, safety standards as well as project delivery and social outcomes, reinforcing the vital role that women play in construction. The exemplar project was delivered through a partnership between the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Construction Skills Queensland, the Department of Energy and Public Works and the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy.

This has led the way for wider government and industry adoption of female participation targets in construction.

The Department of Employment, Small Business and Training has a 15% target for women in frontline construction roles on the $100 million 'Equipping TAFE for our future' capital infrastructure program.

A second Queensland Government social housing exemplar project in the Hervey Bay region also aims to have a 15% female participation rate and will use QBuild female tradies and apprentices wherever possible.

This is above the 11% target set by NAWIC, who aims to have an industry workforce that is 25% women by 2025. Queensland is leading the way for women who want to be part of the $46 billion building sector.