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This report focuses on careers' exploration practices and programs for girls and young women in Australian schools. It emphasises strategies that promote active exploration of, and engagement with, study pathways in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and careers in non-traditional occupations and industries, and identifies how career choices and long-term economic outcomes can be improved for Australian women. It includes a range of innovative practices in Australian secondary schools that aim to assist young women to convert their school success to career success in STEM and other non-traditional occupations and industries. Consultations for this research focussed on identifying best practice approaches to careers' exploration for young women.

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The Victorian Government has developed the state's first 'Women in Construction Strategy: Building Gender Equality' in conjunction with the Building Industry Consultative Council (BICC). The BICC is a forum for dialogue between Government, employers, industry associations and unions on significant economic and industrial relations issues in the building and construction industry (Victorian Government, 2020). The focus of the Strategy is on women in trades and semi-skilled roles who currently make up just 1 per cent of trades and technician positions in the construction industry. The Government has invested $500,000 to create a strategy to diversify the male-dominated construction industry.

The Strategy is based on three key themes: Attract: women need to be aware that construction is an attractive and viable career option; Recruit: Women must be proactively recruited and have access to strong career pathways; Retain: Workplaces must be inclusive and adaptive to ensure women want to stay. According to industry stakeholders, the strength of this Strategy lies in its comprehensive Work Plan, which will deliver on a range of tangible positive outcomes which are industry-led and will lay the foundation for lasting change. This research project responds directly to two points of intervention outlined in the Strategy: women's wellbeing and communities of practice, both of which are outlined under Priority 3: Retain.

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This report results from a study undertaken to: review experience to date in Australia and some overseas countries in programs to improve women's participation in technical and further education (TAFE); analyse current participation of women students in TAFE colleges and, through visits and consultations, identify issues which affect that participation; and make recommendations to improve women's participation in vocational education. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. This overview report describes the conclusions and recommendations of the research and provides a brief background to the recommendations. The contents are: Background to the report; Women, work and training; A summary of women's participation in vocational education in TAFE; The TAFE system: its implications for women; Australian initiatives to improve women's participation in vocational training. Show less

The report examines the likely impact of an open training market on women's participation in TAFE. The first section examines the key features of an open training market, as well as central components of the Training Reform Agenda and the origins of both. The second section of the report gives an overview of women's current participation in TAFE in terms of patterns of participation and barriers to participation. The final section draws conclusions about the likely effects of an open training market on women's participation by relating current participative features to the components of an open training market. The concept of a training market implies that competition will provide the defining impetus for Australia's vocational education system. One of the central concerns to be addressed in a move towards an open training market is the need to maintain access and equity as a linchpin rather than an unnecessary cost. Show less

This Strategy lays out the Australian Government's roadmap to meet its target of reducing the gap in participation rates between women and men (aged 15-64) by 25 per cent by 2025. Meeting this target will mean that, on top of current projections, an additional 200,000 Australian women will need to enter the workforce. The Government has identified five areas which require continued action over the next decade: (1) Ensuring affordable, accessible and flexible child care; (2) Improving workplace diversity and flexibility; (3) Supporting women to innovate, succeed as entrepreneurs and thrive in jobs of the future; (4) Strengthening women's economic security; and (5) Enhancing financial incentives to work.

The Strategy identifies six groups of women who experience different or greater barriers in participating in the labour force: (1) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women; (2) Culturally and linguistically diverse women; (3) Mature age women; (4) Rural and regional women; (5) Women with disability; and (6) Young women. For these groups, factors such as language, geographical distance or isolation can reinforce existing barriers. Government policies must also take into account women's personal preferences, including their own and others' attitudes to work and family, because these are critical factors in the decisions women make about working.

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This background paper argues that women are under-represented in the Australian manufacturing industry, making up just 27 per cent of the manufacturing workforce as of February 2015. Not only are women not employed in traditional manufacturing roles, they are also not employed in the higher paid, higher skilled occupations that are needed in a modern Australian manufacturing industry. The majority of female employees are employed as clerical and administrative workers (27 per cent) or labourers (20 per cent). The paper notes that Manufacturing Skills Australia (MSA) considers women to be an under-utilised resource in the manufacturing industry. It begins with a snapshot of women in the manufacturing industry and then reviews Australian statistics on employment of women by industry, barriers to employment of women in manufacturing, Australian and international research, and government policies and funding programs, and industry programs aimed at encouraging women to enter non-traditional occupations.

The paper concludes that the successful attraction and retention of women into the manufacturing industry and also into the engineering trades is vital for the sustainability of Australian manufacturing and the future of engineering. However, the majority of initiatives in Australia continue to focus on the construction and resources industries. It is argued that there continues to be a real lack of research around women working in the manufacturing industry in Australia and in particular the 'traditional trades' within manufacturing. Areas where research continues to be needed are recommended.

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This report argues that increasing female workforce participation is one of the biggest economic opportunities for governments. Australia's female workforce participation rate is above the OECD average, but Australian women are much more likely to work part-time. A typical Australian woman with pre-teenage children works 2.5 days a week. This report identifies a range of policy and social barriers facing women who would prefer to work more paid hours. For example, a combination of tax, welfare settings, and childcare costs means some second-earners take home little or no extra pay for additional hours of work. This 'workforce disincentive rate' can be particularly punishing for the fourth and fifth day of work for the primary carer, still generally a woman. Key recommendations from the report are to: (1) reduce the barriers to paid work; (2) improve childcare availability and quality; and (3) enable shared caring. A key example is for the Commonwealth Government to boost the Child Care Subsidy and improve its design so that second-earners take home more pay from additional hours of work.

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