About the strategy

Discover Victoria’s strategy to attract and retain more women working in manufacturing by removing barriers and supporting employers to drive gender equality.

Our vision

This strategy is the Victorian Government’s action plan to encourage more women and girls to pursue a career in manufacturing, while supporting employers, unions and peak bodies to create a fair and accessible working environment for everyone.

It was developed in response to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into economic equity for Victorian women released in 2022, which highlighted the importance of women’s participation and equity in male-dominated sectors.

The strategy outlines:

what gender equity looks like in practice
how to address barriers that prevent women working in manufacturing
how to attract, recruit, retain and support women to thrive in Victoria’s manufacturing workforce.

What we aim to achieve

The strategy focuses on the following priority action areas:

clear and appealing pathways for women and girls
access to education and training for women and girls
support for economic equity and leadership opportunities
accountability for workplace safety, culture, diversity and wellbeing.

Victoria’s manufacturing industry

The manufacturing industry is critical to Victoria’s economy. It is a major employer, export earner and driver of new technology and innovation. However, women currently make up only one-third of the Victorian manufacturing workforce. Women are particularly underrepresented in trade-based, technical, STEM and leadership roles.

Meanwhile, many Victorian manufacturers are currently struggling to find enough people with the right skills, such as engineers, welders, fabricators and fitters. This strategy is a partnership with industry to address the underrepresentation of women in Victoria’s manufacturing sector and respond to skills shortages in this critical industry.

How we can work together to create change

The strength of Making it equal relies on continued commitment across the industry – everyone has a role to play, and everyone benefits from gender equality.

Open all

Industry associations and peaks

Partnerships: Develop and strengthen partnerships, including with primary and secondary schools, to promote manufacturing pathways for women and girls.
Increase visibility of women: Highlight the contributions, stories and achievements of women members currently in manufacturing.
Promote training opportunities: Give information about job and training opportunities using web, social and other channels.
Give information and support: Offer support services to women considering a career in manufacturing. Create resources for employers interested in getting more women to join their organisations.
Run programs: Encourage women to explore non-traditional skills and roles through programs and events.
Help develop networks: Give women in the industry formal and informal networking opportunities. This includes support for accelerated leadership programs to help women’s career development.
Website images: Review website and other communication materials to see if it includes a diverse representation of staff. Look for ways to make women more visible.
Support employer capacity building: Help small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) put in place fair practices around gender. Help build the capacity of organisations of all sizes in the sector.
Build the evidence base: Collect and analyse data on experiences of women and people from other under-represented groups in manufacturing. Track progress against key indicators over time.
Transport: Explore ride-sharing options to transport employees to and from work. Many manufacturing sites may be near each other but far from public transport. Ride sharing may especially help migrant women, who are less likely to have a driver’s license or private vehicle. It could also increase safety for women working nightshifts. Industry associations can connect local employers to help them share costs.
Support gender parity as business as usual: Commit to having gender balance on event panels, committees and boards.
Showcase leading practice: Highlight examples of leading practice on gender equality with networks. Include initiatives that help women facing compounding barriers.

Unions

Increase visibility of women: Highlight the contributions, stories and achievements of women members currently in manufacturing.
Showcase opportunities: Use trade demonstrations, industry introduction events and opportunities for hands on experience.
Advocate for flexibility: Look at options to give all workers access to flexible arrangements so that caring responsibilities can be shared. Ensure increased flexibility is not at the expense of job security, particularly for women at extra risk of exploitation at work, such as migrant women and women with disabilities.
Safe workplaces and suitable personal protective equipment (PPE): Make sure unionised workforces give women suitable PPE and facilities.
Health and safety representative and workplace delegate roles: Find ways to help more women take on these roles. This may help career progress and leadership goals.
Enterprise bargaining: Negotiate for clauses in enterprise bargaining agreements around:

flexibility
parental leave
pay equity
dedicated leave for menopause, menstrual and reproductive care
that support and protect workers who report bullying, discrimination or harassment
other mechanisms that advance gender equity.

Advocacy: Explore options for all workers for better prevention and responses to workplace sexual harassment and gendered violence.
Member data: Build the evidence base on women’s experiences in the manufacturing sector by surveying members about gender equity.
Support gender parity as business as usual: Commit to having gender balance on event panels, committees and boards.

Gender equality organisations

Subject matter expertise: Organisations with expertise in gender equity can give manufacturing businesses advice and tools on improving gender equity in the workplace. This is especially for women facing compounding barriers to participation. Relevant organisations include WGEA, Victorian Women’s Health Services and Our Watch.
Partnerships with training providers: Through partnerships, gender equality organisations can help build organisational capacity to drive gender equity outcomes.
Partner with employers: Partner with businesses to help build their capacity to achieve gender equity outcomes.

Employers

Inclusive and open-minded recruitment practices: Carefully consider where and how jobs are advertised to maximise reach. Work to remove biases in hiring and promotion processes. Make sure recruitment testing requirements are culturally appropriate.
Take on more women apprentices: More women in workplaces helps increase women’s participation and retention. It improves workplace culture, diversity and decision making. It may also build the pipeline of future leaders.
Transferrable skills: Look for innovative solutions to better harness the transferrable skills of women from other sectors.
Suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) and accessible facilities: Make sure work sites and PPE meet the needs of diverse women, including women with disabilities. Amenities include women’s and gender-neutral bathrooms and lactation rooms, prayer rooms, PPE and uniforms that fit. Offer culturally appropriate options when needed.
Recruitment: Review recruitment and promotion practices to make sure processes are fair. Consider where jobs are advertised and how interviews are conducted.
Actions to prevent sexual harassment: Employers have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and gendered violence. It is not enough to only respond to it when it arises.
Workplace policies: Put in place policies that support safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces. Policies should cover themes like:

flexible working arrangements and family-friendly shifts
paid primary and secondary caregiver or parental leave
job sharing
menopause, menstrual, gender-affirmation and reproductive leave.

Childcare supports: Employers can support working parents by assisting with childcare. This may include providing childcare at work, holiday programs for schoolchildren or access to caregivers, such as babysitters. This also helps attract and retain staff.
Agility to make change: Smaller companies can often make changes faster than larger ones, including introducing cultural safety and gender equity actions. With smaller workforces and fewer layers of management, the effects of such changes are often felt more quickly in SMEs.
Start small: Identify one area for improvement and take meaningful steps towards it. For example, do a pay equity audit or look for ways to give staff flexible work options. Build on progress from there.
Staff training: Run active bystander training for all staff to build skills to call out sexism, disrespect and harassment. Employers should also offer training on preventing sexual harassment and creating culturally safe workplaces for First Nations, migrant and multicultural women.
Develop inclusive leadership capability of leaders: Inclusive leadership means being able to lead a diverse group of people while respecting and valuing their perspectives and experiences. Inclusive leaders have the mindset, knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to make sure diverse employee perspectives shape and improve business strategy, work, systems, values and norms for success.
Track progress in achieving equal pay: For example, using the Pay Equality Toolkit and its self-assessment tool. For more information, see Pay Equality Toolkit.
Clear processes for reporting and responding to sexual harassment, bullying and other inappropriate behaviour: Make sure reporting takes a victim-centred approach. Give staff regular information on how to make a report.
Workplace audits: Conduct workplace gender equality audits to understand the organisation’s barriers and opportunities for improvement.
Action plans: Develop a workplace gender equality action plan.
Support systems: Create internal support systems for women. For example, peer networking groups, professional development opportunities and mentoring. Make sure there are pathways for reporting workplace sexual harassment. Create both formal and informal supports to address sexual harassment.
Targets: Set time-bound targets to improve the representation of women at all levels and in leadership. Include transparent monitoring and reporting.
Lead by example: Share leading practice on gender equality, including smaller companies in your supply chains. Consider including policies on gender equality in procurement contracts.

Training providers

Incentives: Consider scholarships or financial incentives to help women into pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and traineeships, particularly for women from marginalised backgrounds.
Roll out and promote gender equality initiatives: Promote existing TAFE initiatives like the Our Watch guide, Respect and equality in TAFE: building a TAFE environment that promotes gender equality and respect.
Support women’s learning needs: Identify approaches to education and training that support women’s learning. For example, women-only pre-apprenticeships.
Policies, procedures and staff training: Cover topics about gender equity in policies and training. This may include preventing and responding to sexual harassment, active bystanders and cultural safety.
Employ more women and gender diverse educators: More diverse teaching staff give students more opportunities to connect with educators to build their career potential.

Updated 30 October 2024

Economic Growth Statement

Mini vic.gov.au

About the strategy

On this page

Our vision

What we aim to achieve

Victoria’s manufacturing industry

How we can work together to create change

About the VIC Government

Grants and programs

Jobs and careers

Arts, culture and heritage

Business and the workplace

Communities

Education and training

Environment, water and energy

Finance and economy

Housing and property

Law and justice

Safety and emergencies

Science and technology

Sport and recreation

Traffic and transport

Working in the Victorian Government