Page 559 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 30 March 2021
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I will table a longer statement which provides a more substantial overview, but in this shorter statement I would like to reflect specifically on some of the achievements of 2020. Although this statement is about the status of women and girls, I would like to acknowledge that I am using these terms inclusively, referring to anybody who describes their gender as woman or female.
This year, for International Women’s Day, I wanted to recognise the hard work of women who have been on the front line of this pandemic. I had a gathering in my office with women members of the United Workers Union whose work in cleaning, hospitality and other industries keeps this community going.
In 2020 women were particularly affected by the impacts of COVID-19, due to their economic insecurity, the greater role they play in undertaking unpaid household and caring responsibilities, and the feminisation of the frontline education and healthcare sectors. COVID-19 restrictions and isolation measures have also posed a significant risk for women and their children in the community who are victims of domestic and family violence.
In 2020 I officially launched Equity Together, the Second Action Plan 2020-22, under the ACT Women’s Plan 2016-26, which recommitted the whole of the ACT government to working collaboratively with the community to support improved gender equality. After only one year of implementation, one of the 29 actions has already been fully delivered and an additional 27 actions are underway.
In Equity Together, we commit to action to support increased numbers of women in male-dominated industries, with a particular focus on the construction industry, setting a target of 10 per cent female participation in the construction industry, and aiming to increase that target from 2022. In support of this work, in 2020 the ACT government held a women in construction workshop, bringing together government, industry, unions, peak bodies, women’s community groups and women in the industry.
We launched a charter of procurement values. All government procurement must now consider diversity, equality and inclusion impacts and opportunities. We made it a requirement that companies which tender with the ACT government on larger scale projects articulate how they intend to deliver diversity outcomes. You may have seen the CIT’s great “Her Trade” campaign, encouraging women to “trade in the stereotypes and become a skilled tradeswoman”.
The ACT government are doing a lot of work in this space, but we are not working alone. There is so much engagement and passion coming from industry, unions, the women’s sector and the broader community to support the improved uptake and retention of women in the construction industry. This is a big job, and it is great to see so many people working together and pushing for improvements. This is a perfect example of what we mean by Equity Together.
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