Women in Construction Program

The Women in Construction program is delivering real outcomes for women across the sector with the aim of shaping a more inclusive construction industry.

Men and women walking together on a construction site

About the program

The Women in Construction program commenced in July 2022, supported by an investment from the NSW Government. 

The aim of the program is to attract and retain more women into the construction industry, with a focus on increasing the number of women in trade and non-traditional roles.

In 2025, the program reached a key milestone with the initial three-year timeframe completed and an extension granted to continue this important work.

Stephanie is standing on a construction site with a tractor in the background.

Priority actions

The future of the program will build on learnings from the first three years and deliver across four strategic pillars.

Leveraging NSW Government procurement power

Using government projects and funding to drive industry change and increase women’s participation in on-site construction roles.

Attraction and retention

Building interest in construction careers and supporting women to enter, progress and stay in the industry.

Increasing women in leadership roles

 

Building a strong pipeline of women leaders through scholarships, career pathways development and targeted leaderships support.

Accountability

 

Keeping government and industry accountable to increase female participation in the sector and report on progress throughout the program.  

Initiatives in action

Artist impression of Bank Street Park showing a waterfront walking path, the dragon boat shed and people walking through the park.

Leveraging NSW Government procurement power

Bank Street Park

Infrastructure NSW has engaged BESIX Watpac as delivery partner for Bank Street Park, a NSW Government Women in Construction pilot.​

This project has an ambitious stretch goal of having 50% women across the project’s workforce.​

Find out more about Bank Street Park.

Embedded Project Officers

The Women in Construction program is funding project officer roles in key NSW Government delivery agencies, including Transport for NSW and Sydney Metro, to work across their respective portfolios to recruit and retain women in on-site roles to boost participation rates for both attraction and retention.​

Attraction and retention

NAWIC Leadership Scholarships

In partnership with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) NSW, the Program is supporting two scholarship offerings:​

  • Emerging Leaders Scholarship – valued at $15,000​
  • Executive Leadership Scholarship – valued at $30,000​

The 2026 recipients are Isabel Duffy and Nishmin Hallam.

Global Institute of Women's Leadership

The Program is partnering with the Global Institute of Women’s Leadership at the Australian National University to:​

  • Design a ‘career paths map’ to outline available career paths, case studies, and potential hurdles​
  • Develop recommended actions for government and industry​
  • Deliver an online event series in partnership with WIC for women looking to enter or currently in the construction sector.​

Increasing women in leadership roles

Women in Construction video series

The Women in Trades video series showcases real women in construction roles, highlighting the benefits of site work and challenging common misconceptions.

The Women in Leadership series aims to shed light on the stories of inspiring women in leadership working in the construction industry, focusing on their education, training, career progression and leadership journey. 

To explore these stories visit Women's stories.

Accountability

Industry advisory group

The purpose of the Industry Advisory Group is to create a structured, ongoing collaboration between government and industry leaders to embed accountability, transparency, and long-term cultural change across the construction sector.

Key objectives of the IAG:

  • Share responsibility for outcomes between government and industry
  • Ensure industry voices influence policy design and implementation
  • Translate commitments into practical, measurable action
  • Drive sector-wide change rather than isolated, short-term initiatives
Industry Survey

The NSW Government Women in Construction Industry survey seeks input from both women and men who work in the construction sector. This survey acts as a pulse check on cultural issues within the industry and the results have been instrumental in providing a rich evidence base.

The industry survey data is used to:

  • understand cultural and diversity challenges in the industry
  • identify opportunities to drive change
  • help address the issues that prevent women entering and staying in the industry.

Completed initiatives

Industry Innovation Program

Explore funded initiatives driving change for women across the construction sector.

WIC-focused Infrastructure Skills Legacy Program 

A pilot initiative aimed at increasing the number of women in trade and non-traditional roles in construction.

Communications and Engagement

Social media tile for the Women in Construction Gender Diversity Awareness Campaign. The images depicts a man and a woman working on a construction site. The man and woman are on a scissor lift which is surrounded by metal barriers. The slogan Hard Work Knows No Gender is written in white and is located on the left above the blue footer. The footer includes the NSW Government waratah logo justified to the right at the bottom. The tile is 1080x1080 pixels in size.

Hard Work Knows No Gender Campaign

Click here for campaign materials promoting gender diversity on construction sites. 

Women in Construction crane operator graphic.

Women in Construction LinkedIn

Follow us to hear about the latest industry updates and events.

Alyssa works as a builder for Lendlease at the Victoria Cross Station. She is bent down with a hammer and chisel on a worksite.

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