Australia: Women Are Entering A Male Dominated Industry

The tables are turning on the proportion of female tradies joining Australia’s workforce. A record number of tradies, including carpenters, mechanics and electricians are now women, new research by local online business directory ‘hipages’ reveals.

Australia is clearly throwing its support behind the revolution - with home and business owners revealing that they more than happy to commission female labour and theMinister for Skills, John Barilaro recently stating that “we have to change the way we attract women into the construction sector and campaign to raise the awareness of women in trades.”

The emergence of so many female tradies in recent years has certainly given the industry something to talk about. Tradies are renowned the world over for not quoting on time, turning up late and leaving a mess behind them - but it appears that as women bring their desirable traits to the Australian marketplace, it’s giving them a chance to seize new opportunities and generally shake things up a bit. If you want a trade job done professionally, on-time and with great communication - it’s time to get a woman to do it.

“It’s always really exciting when we see female tradies joinhipages” said David Vitek, CEO and co-founder of hipages Group. “They always get great feedback scores on completed jobs. The female tradies we have come across score higher for communication, punctuality and professionalism than the general population of trades. “We love seeing women tradies take on work that is traditionally male dominated. For us, we get so excited to see them doing a great job, and getting recognised for it.”

The refreshing change in attitudes has the potential to encourage changes in the way Australia trains its workforce, and even widen the opportunities offered to girls in schools. Researchshowsthat increasing female recruits to the construction industry has the potential to boost Australia’s GDP by 11% and economic growth by a staggering $25 billion over the coming ten years.

There’s no denying that entering a male dominated industry can be tough for women, but it’s not without it’s benefits. Offering far more in terms of job satisfaction, work opportunities - not to mention the increased earning potential - it seems that more and more traditionally skilled women are changing their intended career path, and retraining to take a more hands-on approach by learning a trade.

And as for conforming to the tradie stereotypes – today’s female tradie wouldn’t dream of it. Hard work and knowing your limits seems to be the most successful route forward. Adjusting to life in a man’s world doesn’t seem to have put anyone off yet, with 2016 set to be another record year for tradie sign-ups. The only thing that has held women back until now, is the lack of training, encouragement and opportunity to try their hand at a trade. With an eagerness to succeed and an eye for detail, most trades are crying out for a woman’s touch. By increasing the number of female tradie role models, Australia is set to empower its female workforce, to help them take on a trade and pass their practical skills onto their offspring - so that this current shift in mindset benefits Australia for decades to come.