NSW Women in Construction 

Executive Women’s Leadership Scholarship  

We are so proud to be partnering with the National Association of Women in Construction – NSW to sponsor the 2025 Executive Women’s Leadership Scholarship!  

The scholarship will recognise a woman who is making an impact within the construction and building industry and support them in growing their leadership skills. The $30,000 scholarship can be put towards an executive leadership program of the successful applicants choice. 

Interested? Submissions are open now and will remain open through to Friday 31 January, 2025. Full terms, conditions and more information on how to apply can be found on the NAWIC NSW website. 

Women in Construction Year 2 survey report  

In October, we released our Women in Construction Year 2 survey report. Building on last year’s inaugural survey, the 2024 results expand the understanding of key challenges when it comes to culture and diversity on site, as well as opportunities to drive change.  

The survey received over 1,000 responses from NSW construction workers and businesses.  

Key findings reported by both men and women:  

• lack of work-life balance (62%) 

• lack of flexible working hours (51%) 

• insufficient mentoring and leadership training (47%).   

The survey findings also included sobering statistics in relation to discrimination and sexual harassment. Of those surveyed: 

• 69% of women had experienced gender-based discrimination in the workplace in the past 12 months. 

• 33% of women experienced workplace sexual harassment in that time.  

The survey also highlighted that women not yet working within the industry - but who were interested in joining - expected to face a high number of challenges within the industry.  

Each of these key findings reiterates that considerable steps need to be taken to create a welcoming work environment for women. 

You can view the full survey report here on the Women in Construction website. 

Women in Construction Forum 

Earlier this year, we held our inaugural Women in Construction Forum, bringing together industry leaders, unions, Government agencies, Ministers, and onsite influencers who are committed to driving cultural change in construction.  

The theme of the day was ‘see the change, be the change’, asking attendees to model inclusive behaviours and be the change they want to see in the industry.  

Attendees on the day walked away with inclusion and diversity strategies that can be implemented within their workplaces, and were also asked to commit to gender diversity through the below actions: 

• Create safe and respectful workplaces  

• Champion gender equity in both policy and practice 

• Promote diverse leadership 

• Enhance training and support professional growth for all employees  

• Set measurable goals by developing and tracking targets for gender diversity and inclusion within your organisation. 

You can learn more about the commitments and how to introduce them into your workplace via the link below.  

NAWIC Awards 

The NSW Women in Construction team were fortunate to attend the NAWIC NSW Awards for Excellence last week. The Awards recognise the exceptional contributions made by women to the construction industry.

Women in Construction Program Lead, Margot Brassil, was nominated for the prestigious Crystal Vision Award, which celebrates the achievement of individuals that actively promote and encourage participation and career progression of women in the construction or related industries.  

A big congratulations to all of this year's winners and finalists, you should all be extremely proud of your achievements.  

Program Achievements - 2024

• Awarded $2.2 million in grant funding to 13 industry initiatives that will encourage the participation and retention of women in the construction industry. 

• Launched the Women in Construction newsletter to ensure our stakeholders have the latest updates. 

• Hosted the NSW Women in Construction Forum with three ministerial sponsors and over 200 attendees from across the construction sector. 

• Developed and launched the Women in Leadership video series to showcase examples of inspiring women and different construction careers. 

• Supported the NAWIC NSW’s International Women’s Day event and held a networking event with over 400 attendees during Women in Construction Week. 

• Released the Women in Construction Year 2 Industry Survey and survey report, providing a critical evidence base for the program. 

• Announced the Bank Street Park initiative which will call on industry to achieve a stretch target of 50% women on the project. 

• Expanded the number of Government projects trialing increased targets (4% women in trades and 7% women in non-traditional roles), this is now up to 23 projects across NSW. 

• Held 29 briefing sessions with members of industry and Government.