http://www.asu.asn.au/news/categories/women/130711-women-in-male-dominated-industries Recently
the Australian Human Rights Commission released a new resource to assist
women with entering male-dominated industries. The ASU has many members in this
situation, so we participated in the launch. We encourage our interested
members to have a look at the new Toolkit.
ASU Assistant National Secretary Greg McLean
attended the launch and raised the prospect of using work redesign to encourage
a broader group of workers to participate in the trades. By examining the way
work is done, adjustments (redesign) can often be implemented to make, for
example, heavy jobs easier, especially with the constant introduction of new
technology. He pointed out that the added value of work redesign processes was
diminishing occupational health and safety problems for the entire workforce,
not just women participants.
Greg also encouraged the consideration of training packages as part of the project. Wider participation at the training level would also help bolster participation on the shop floor, with the resulting benefits outlined by the AHRC in their media release below.
The ASU has a lot of experience in our
membership areas of gender diversity in traditionally male-dominated areas.
These include various divisions in local government (eg. parks and gardens,
garbage collection, road maintenance, cleansing, etc) and utilities (energy and
water companies). We therefore welcome the new toolkit and look forward to its
future development.
