In theory, the gender pay gap does not exist. In practice, however, there is still a gap between what the average woman and average man earns.
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For some, it's about career progression. For others, it's the number of hours worked. And different types of work have different earning potential, with more men doing some things and more women doing others.
A solution for individuals can be choosing a career path that will pay better and always be in demand. Industry sectors that want more women doing their valuable work need to make these career paths more attractive and remove any barriers to entry and progression for these women.
On International Women's Day 2024, Master Builders Australia released its multifaceted policy platform, Breaking Ground: Women in building and construction.
"As one of the biggest sectors in the economy, the building and construction industry employs over 1.3 million Australians, but a female participation rate of 15 per cent with only 3 per cent on the tools is simply not good enough," Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said.
"The industry is on the right track with growth in recent years, but there is more to do. Workplace shortages are putting immense pressure on our ability to meet housing targets, and Master Builders believes women will play a vital role in rectifying that.
"Increased female participation has many benefits; it lifts productivity, boosts the economy, facilitates financial independence, assists in developing an inclusive and diverse culture and meets the much-needed workforce shortages the building and construction industry is facing."
The 30-page policy document also spelled out what attracts women to any given career path (and there is some obvious overlap with what draws men in, too). It categorises these as social, emotional and rational.
The social covers things like connecting with others and working in a team. Emotional rewards relate to the sense of achievement from helping create something physical and meaningful. The rational includes the daily job satisfaction from engaging with work that is often cognitively challenging.
As for the data, half the women in the building sector are aged 30 to 50, so encouraging and supporting more young women to start is really important.
Interestingly, 10 per cent of the women in this sector are business owners, which is higher than the figure of 8 per cent for all other industries in Australia. Master Builders would still like this to increase as well though.
One way Master Builders has identified it can reduce barriers for young women is through how maternity is managed.
Two of the solutions put forward in their policy document were:
- Providing pathways for women in trades to easily transfer to low-risk roles during and immediately after pregnancy and
- Enabling part-time or reduced hours to facilitate child-caring responsibilities which is currently limited in industrial awards and enterprise bargaining agreements.
Another barrier is based only on perception.
One of the female participants quoted in the report said, "I think society treats a trade or a TAFE education as a second-class thing as opposed to going to university. And it was always considered the less successful option. Ironically, now we have tradespeople earning more money than many white-collar jobs."
Other solutions put forward include enhancing existing programs that:
- Provide mentoring, networking and support.
- Better promote building and construction careers to young women of early high school age.
- Provide parents with a comprehensive understanding of what a building and construction career might look like for their daughter/s so they can provide early support.
- Give young women considering a career in the industry access to female mentors.
- Take male counterparts along on the journey to female inclusion.
