MBV members and other guests celebrated International Women’s Day yesterday morning at the 2022 Master Builders Victoria International Women’s Day Breakfast, with over 400 industry professionals in attendance, at Centrepiece at Melbourne Park.

MC'd by Leigh McClusky, the event included presentations from a panel of key speakers including; Rebecca Casson, MBV CEO, Lynda McAlary-Smith, Victorian Small Business Commissioner, Duncan Bryce, Head of Builders Solutions - Bunnings, Danielle Woodcock, Enterprise Acquisition Sales Manager - Southern TPG, Amy Sheane-Smith, Chair of the Building Equality Committee and Mark Little, MBV President.

Presentations were followed by a live panel discussion, focused on the importance of, and strategies for, working together to develop a workforce where inclusion and diversity are truly valued.

MBV have established International Women’s Day as an important event in Victoria's building and construction industry calendar, and one that provides an opportunity across our industry to share ideas and experiences about how we can continue to shift the dial on breaking down the bias.

Building and construction has always been a male-dominated sector. However, that needs to change especially if our industry is to reduce skills shortages and have a thriving and sustainable future.

While it is pleasing to see Victoria leading the nation in the number of women working in the building and construction industry, much more needs to be done.

Although more women are active in building and construction now than in the past. Women still only made up 12.7 per cent of all employees in the building and construction industry in November 2021.
 
And worse still, only 2.09 per cent of all construction trades workers in Victoria were women. We are making reasonable progress, but we need to encourage more women to become fully qualified master trades.

MBV will continue to work with others to increase the participation of women in the building and construction industry.

We fully support the Victorian Government's newly released Building Equality Policy which will create significant targets on Victorian Government projects.

We need everyone to choose to challenge gender bias and educate our industry. 

MBV believe that we need to continue the very important conversation and empower people in our sector to build a better future.

Again, thank you to all our guests and attendees who were able to join us for the event!

To see more photos from the event click here to view our gallery.

Together, we can #breakthebias, today and every day forward!

Special thanks to our Major Event Sponsors: Bunnings Trade, Multiplex, TPG Telecom, and Supporting Industry Partner: Incolink, and Supporting Sponsors: Built Environs, Cbus, and City of Melbourne.

For more information about women in construction, MBV events and career pathways, contact the MBV Team on (03) 9411 4555.