Submission to the Building Women's Careers Program – grant guidelines

The $50 million Building Women's Careers Program, as part of the Future Made in Australia initiative, demonstrates a commitment to structural and cultural change in segments of the workforce that have historically been male dominated. These industries will be critical to productivity growth and delivering the clean energy transition, and it is important that women have the opportunity to participate in and benefit from this transition. Supporting women to complete vocational education and training (VET) qualifications and transition into jobs that use these qualifications should be a priority of the program.

ATSE welcomes this program, noting alignment with ATSE’s commitment to inspiring and fostering the next generation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals and leaders. ATSE makes the following recommendations for the grant guidelines, to position the program for successful outcomes:

Recommendation 1: Release a large portion of the Building Women’s Careers Program grants upfront to enable effective, swift and large-scale solutions with potential for short-term growth and impact.

Recommendation 2: Allow and encourage consortia applications from industry, VET, academic and other sectors for Building Women’s Careers grants.

Recommendation 3: Address the need for inclusive and safe workplaces and educational institutions through the grant guidelines.