ABSTRACT
This chapter sets out essential legislative reform to address longstanding gender inequity in the Australian construction industries. For decades, the lack of female participation has been seen as an issue that the private sector needs to address. However, recent data highlighting that female participation rates for women in construction are going backwards demonstrates that a hands-off approach by government is not working. The Model Construction Gender Equity (Increasing Female Participation) Bill 2024 provides ambitious quotas for female participation that all contractors seeking to work on government projects must meet, along with a strict compliance regime to ensure that the goal is achieved.
