New Gender Impact Assessment Highlights Barriers Facing Women in Electrical Industry
Apr 24, 2026
We’re thrilled to announce that we have published the Gender Impact Assessment (GIA) Report as part of our Powering Women into Clean Energy Apprenticeships Project.
The report highlights why increasing women’s participation isn’t just an equity issue, but critical to addressing Australia’s clean energy skills shortages. Download the report now, or find out more below.
The Project, led by Future Energy Skills, brings together key organisations across the clean energy and electrotechnology apprenticeship and training sectors to address skills shortages by increasing women’s participation in the electrical industry.
If you are keen to employ a woman apprentice or already have a woman working with you as a 1st or 2nd year apprentice, you may be eligible to take part.
Find out more about the project and express your interest here.
From Research to Action
The first stage of the Powering Women Into Clean Energy Apprenticeships Project involved conducting applied research and developing a GIA on the structural and cultural barriers preventing women from entering and completing electrical apprenticeships. It was produced by Dr Paula Fernandez Arias,
Workplace Gender & Diversity Specialist, from Project Partner, Tradeswomen Australia.
The GIA report includes a rapid literature review, interview summary & findings, and a toolkit of policies and resources to support participating employers to make their workplace safer and more inclusive.
The interviews* reveal a unique insight into the everyday pressures women face on site:
“…the old time old saying of, ‘oh, you only got that because you’re a girl’. It cheapens what you’ve worked for, because you’ve only got that because you’re a woman, you know? So, yeah, all these little things that people say and do, those actions, it all just adds to that pressure to do better, be better, be perfect.” – Report Interviewee Juniper, A-Grade Electrician
*Participants were asked for permission to use quotes seen in this report and pseudonyms are used to ensure privacy.
Key Insights from the Gender Impact Assessment
Women remain unrepresented within Australia’s electrical trades despite advances in the overall percentage of representation within the last 10 years. While the causes are multifaceted, a cursory review of the literature suggests these causes can be summarised as follows:
- Persistent rigid gender norms within the electrical sector
- Lack of information about pathways and the resulting career opportunities
- Systemic issues relating to advertising of vacancies and recruitment processes
- Toxic workplace cultures
- A lack of sector wide engagement to improve the material conditions women work in
“… in my experience, employers [like that] are not single-issue chauvinist. If they’re against women in their trades, they’ll be against gay people as well. They’ll be against trans people too. They’ll be against non-white people as well. So, it’s not just changing that specific sexist culture. It’s changing the entire, if you even can, changing entire world views.” – Report Interviewee Charles, Mentor
The causes of women’s under representation in the electrical sector are well known and established by a substantive body of academic and non-academic research.
It is therefore important for projects such as this to reframe the narrative around low female participation not as a question of why this is happening but rather a call to action to make substantive improvements on the well-established barriers that women face.
“…Having a lot of women on site is incredible for being like, even if the men talk sh*t, I’m still going to have women around to support me. And like, you know, showing that you can work, and you know you’re good at your job and all of that.” – Report Interviewee Amelia, Apprentice
Download the Report
The publicly available GIA report includes a rapid literature review and interview findings. Participating employers will also receive access to the full tailored toolkit of policies and resources to support safer, more inclusive workplaces.
Read the Gender Impact Assessment Report to explore the evidence and lived experiences of those in the electrical industry.
Get Involved
This report is a call to action for the electrical and clean energy sectors. Addressing these barriers is essential to building the skilled, diverse workforce needed for Australia’s energy transition.
Are you interested in being involved? If you are keen to employ a woman apprentice or already have a woman working with you as a 1st or 2nd year apprentice, you may be eligible! Read more about the Powering Women into Clean Energy Apprenticeships Project and express your interest today.
