Women in Construction Forum

Left to right: Annabel Crookes (Laing O'Rourke), Alia Karaman (Sydney Metro), Raquel Rubalcaba (Transport for NSW), Georgia Coulston (AW Edwards) and Jenny Tseng (Mott MacDonald).
Group photo of Women in Construction (WiC) Leadership Panel at the WiC Forum
Left to right: Annabel Crookes (Laing O'Rourke), Alia Karaman (Sydney Metro), Tom Gellibrand, The Hon. Steve Whan, The Hon. Jodie Harrison, Margot Brassil, Raquel Rubalcaba (Transport for NSW), Georgia Coulston (AW Edwards), Jenny Tseng (Mott MacDonald).

In October, the NSW Government Women in Construction Program hosted their inaugural Forum at Sydney Modern Art Gallery/Naala Badu.

The event brought together industry leaders, unions, Government agencies and Government Ministers to discuss the gender imbalance in construction and how to create a more inclusive and diverse sector for all.

During the event, Infrastructure NSW Chief Executive, Tom Gellibrand shared findings from the Women in Construction Year 2 survey report. Building on last year’s inaugural survey, the 2024 results expand our understanding of key challenges when it comes to culture and diversity on sites, 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. 

Read the full survey report on the Women in Construction website.  

Women in Construction Year 2 Industry Survey Report

Data from the survey is used to ensure the success of programs and to help address the issues which prevent women from entering or staying in the industry.

Read the survey report