With Australia staring down a deepening construction skills shortage that demands tens of thousands of additional workers over the next decade, the industry faces an uncomfortable truth: women are entering the trades in greater numbers, yet many are considering leaving over something as fundamental as access to a toilet.
National projections estimate another 90,000 workers will be needed by 2029 to meet housing demand, while the electrical sector alone requires 42,500 more electricians by 2030 to support the energy transition. Yet women remain stuck at roughly three to four percent of skilled trades, despite a sharp rise in female apprentices since 2019.
For many, the barrier is cultural. For some, it is painfully practical.
When basic facilities become breaking points
What appears minor on paper becomes decisive on-site. Tasmanian electrician Logan DeRuyter-Barnett recalls finishing a job at 17 when she discovered the site toilets had been moved for landscaping. The plumbers had not connected replacements. The work vehicle was unavailable. The nearby school was closed. She was the only woman on-site. With no alternative, she wet herself. DeRuyter-Barnett told the ABC, “It was one of the lowest moments.”
The experience left her dehydrating deliberately to avoid repeat humiliation, triggering headaches and anxiety that followed her through subsequent projects. Fellow tradie Jasmyn Smith has shared similar stories of portable toilets without running water or sanitary bins, facilities overflowing or repurposed as storage, and the stress of managing menstruation without basic hygiene.
Research from Tradeswomen Australia identifies inadequate amenities as one of the sector’s most persistent gender barriers. The issue extends beyond convenience. It signals who belongs.
Clea Smith, CEO of Tradeswomen Australia, describes inaccessible toilets and ill-fitting PPE (personal protective equipment) as a token of deeper structural inequality. A NSW-based study found 53 percent of women in construction had experienced sexual harassment at work, while 71 percent working in smaller businesses reported gender-based discrimination. The cumulative effect, she suggests, wears down resilience until women walk away.
The Electrical Trades Union has amplified the problem through its Nowhere To Go campaign, sharing images of worksites where basic facilities fall short. Gaynor Maree, the union’s national affirmative action officer, argues that inclusion begins with infrastructure. When facilities fail to support all workers, exclusion becomes embedded in daily routine.
Designing practical change
Determined to interrupt that cycle, DeRuyter-Barnett and Smith launched The GO Company, creating a compact GO bag stocked with sanitary items, hand sanitiser, seat covers and disposal bags, designed for unpredictable site conditions. Discretion shaped the design. The pair avoided stereotypical cues, aiming for a durable tool that fits alongside any other piece of kit.
The product has opened conversations with Tasmanian contractors and male site leaders who recognise that poor amenities affect everyone. Practical solutions can catalyse cultural ones.
Large contractors are also moving. Multiplex, which employs more than 1500 people nationally and is delivering projects including Western Sydney International Airport, has introduced sanitary provisions on-site and PPE suitable for pregnant workers, alongside graduate recruitment targets designed to balance gender intake.
Belinda Abbott, senior HR manager for Multiplex’s NSW and ACT branches, links attraction and retention initiatives to leadership culture. Facilities matter, yet sustained change depends on inclusive decision-making and visible commitment from the top.
“These attraction and retention initiatives really only succeed, in my mind, when they’re paired with a culture that is genuinely going to support women’s success in the business,” Abbott told the ABC.
Mentoring programs such as the Electrical Trades Union’s Big Sister initiative aim to strengthen retention through training and peer support in electro technology and clean energy sectors. The message from unions and major builders aligns. Women are essential to meeting workforce demand and driving innovation across the sector.
If the industry intends to secure its pipeline, everyday barriers require decisive removal. A functioning toilet may appear basic, yet in the lived experience of many tradeswomen it represents dignity, safety and belonging. Addressing that reality offers a straightforward starting point for a sector that cannot afford to lose talent over preventable neglect.
A version of this article first appeared in ABC News.
