Building Women's Careers Program

Overview

The Building Women's Careers (BWC) Program will establish partnerships to drive structural and cultural change in the construction, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and digital and technology industries and sectors. The BWC Program seeks to sustainably address structural and cultural barriers to women’s participation in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and employment. The intended outcomes are: strong, diverse and enduring partnerships to develop and deliver innovative, scalable partnership projects to drive structural and cultural change in women’s participation in VET and the workplace increased access for women to higher-paying and skilled VET-based careers in male dominated occupations as measured by: the availability and use of policies and strategies to implement and embed gender equality in VET and the workplace improved availability and use of employment conditions and arrangements that support people to balance work and caring responsibilities reduced and removed structural and cultural barriers, (for example poor access to ‘good flexibility’ or employee-oriented flexibility, an excess of ‘bad’ flexibility or employer-oriented flexibility, gendered occupational and industry segregation, and disrespect and discrimination) that prevent women from accessing and participating in VET and the workplace an increase in the recruitment, promotion and retention of women in male-dominated occupations an evidence base of practical changes that can be implemented across the broader economy to reduce occupational gender segregation and increase women’s participation in VET and male-dominated industries, sectors and occupations. The BWC Program is informed by the Employment White Paper, Working for Women, A Strategy for Gender Equality, the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce Report and extensive stakeholder consultation undertaken by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.