Page 1536 - Week 04 - Thursday, 29 March 2012
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the best times in our history for women to make the most of employment and economic opportunities, with the skill shortage across trades and professions creating a new wave of prospects for women, and nowhere is this new age more explicit than in the trades, historically the area of male workers.
In May last year, 150 college and high school girls participated in the annual girls “try a trade day” hosted by CIT. This event is marked by an increasing popularity and the increasing numbers of women who can act as role models to the students, including Sam Sheppard, the licensed builder behind Queensland’s buildmore women into building housing showcase. This initiative, the first of its kind in Australia, brought together a team of women, ranging from architects to engineers, to tradespeople, to design and construct an environmentally friendly showcase house.
The ACT Building and Construction Industry Training Fund Authority continues to encourage the entry of women into the industry through the tradeswomen in building and construction campaign and associated events and activities and financial incentives to employers with female apprentices in non-traditional vocations. The tradeswomen in building and construction campaign was developed to increase the awareness and participation rates of females in apprenticeships in the building and construction industry.
We are beginning to see more young women like Michelle Tifan being acknowledged for their significant achievements in the building and construction industry. In August last year Michelle became the first electrical apprentice and second female to be named construction industry outstanding apprentice of the year at the 2011 ACT Regional Building and Construction Industry Training Council annual awards. Michelle also received an outstanding woman in a non-traditional trade award and an outstanding systems apprentice electrician award. Michelle’s outstanding achievements are a reminder that the so-called traditional trades are no longer the exclusive domain of men.
An integral component of delivering financial and economic independence to women is to create a society that promotes and safeguards freedoms and rights. For some women in our community, these freedoms and rights are significantly curtailed because of their experience of domestic and sexual violence. This type of violence is a breach of human rights and is absolutely unacceptable.
Last August, I launched the ACT prevention of violence against women and children strategy which was deliberately called “our responsibility”. It builds on our commitment to nurturing a culture that respects the rights of women and children to live free from fear and experience of violence. Our responsibility emphasises the need to work collaboratively and across disciplines to address the causes and consequences of violence against women and children because women and children subjected to violence need to be supported to continue to contribute to society so that they can reach their potential.
This government has delivered practical initiatives that support women’s economic and financial independence and target the needs of women on low incomes in the ACT. Access to meaningful employment opportunities is essential to ensuring women’s economic empowerment. As a community, we must continue to work
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