Construcciones Yamaro: NAWIC grants back bright ideas in construction
The National Association of Women in Construction’s (NAWIC) Bright Ideas Grants are helping turn initiatives into action, making workplaces better across the sector.
By Cathryn Greville, CEO of NAWIC.
There is no better time than now to showcase and apply innovative ideas and initiatives to build better workplaces across the construction and built environment sector. And the most innovative solutions often come from those closest to the problems, who experience them every day. However, sometimes great ideas don’t see the light of day, and we all miss out on the potential impact they can have.
This is especially the case when it comes to women in entrepreneurship. Gender bias can influence women’s access to capital and the opportunities to see bright ideas come to fruition. Female founders in Australia, on average, receive 50 cents for every dollar raised by male founders (Australian Women’s Leadership Centre) and report greater difficulty in accessing capital and financial products (Workplace Gender Equality Agency).
In 2023, female-founded start-ups received only 7.2 per cent of total venture capital funding in Australia, reflecting a gender gap in entrepreneurship (2023 Cut Through Venture Australian Start-up Funding report).
Providing access to funding to get initiatives off the ground is critical, and NAWIC Bright Ideas Grants are designed to do just that.
NAWIC offers two Bright Ideas Grants – one for individuals and one for businesses – providing seed funding to support change initiatives aimed at attracting, retaining and advancing women in construction. With this funding, recipients can launch new business ventures, initiatives or ideas which have a positive impact on the sector, ultimately seeing innovation get off the ground.
2025 Bright Ideas Grant winners
This year’s NAWIC Bright Ideas Grants have been awarded to an awareness-raising careers website portal and a bold work experience initiative aimed at breaking down barriers. The grants serve as an important means of actively supporting projects that attract women to the construction industry and ensure they have a strong place in it.
Australia needs more than 400,000 new workers over the next five years, yet the industry is barely tapping into the full talent pool – with only 12.4 per cent women overall in construction and just 3.4 per cent in the trades.
Our focus must be on building a sector that people – of all genders, races, ages, strengths and abilities – choose to join and stay. To do so, we must tackle industry culture head-on. Embedding sustainable and widespread cultural change requires different perspectives and ideas to be brought to the table and involved in solution design and implementation. Contributions should be sought from across the sector and those impacted by it.
Sometimes, a bright idea just needs a bit of a leg up to come to fruition and generate positive outcomes. We see this time and time again with our Bright Ideas Grants.
Polly Britten from Victoria has earned the $30,000 Bright Ideas Individual Grant, which will fund the launch of her LinkUpCareers website directory. Stemming from Polly’s lived experience entering the sector and the challenge we face in attracting and retaining young professionals, this project focuses on:
- Raising awareness of the construction industry and its link to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers among educators and students;
- challenging gender-related job stereotypes;
- facilitating connections between educators, students and industry representatives; and
- providing a platform for women to share their career journeys and experiences with students.
According to Britten, at the root of attraction and retention issues is a lack of awareness about career pathways among educators and students.
“Gender-related job stereotypes are deeply ingrained, but educators can have a significant influence on their students’ career decisions. It’s about encouraging young minds to see that science, technology, engineering and maths don’t always wear lab coats — sometimes, they wear hard hats,” said Britten.
“I’m delighted to receive the Bright Ideas Grant to establish this networking directory so educators can easily invite women in construction into the classroom to promote those ‘lightbulb moments’ about career pathways.”
Asphalt paving company Amarapave, also based in Victoria, has been awarded the $20,000 Bright Ideas Business Grant to support the rollout of Pathways into Paving. This purpose-led program offers real, paid experience to individuals often overlooked due to a lack of industry exposure or prior experience.
The program aims to break down barriers for women and non-binary people entering the asphalt paving industry. Through hands-on, site-based placements, supported by one‑on‑one mentoring and wraparound care, the program offers an entry point into the asphalt paving trade.
Amarapave managing director Jenika Stubelj said this initiative not only addresses the access gap faced by underrepresented individuals but also demonstrates how targeted, values-driven programs can support workforce development and social procurement goals across major infrastructure projects in Victoria.
“Having the opportunity to help someone get their foot in the door in our trade gives them that ability to combat the standard knock-back comment of not having any experience for the role,” said Stubelj.
“Participants will be guided and supported throughout the process to build the confidence, skills and connections needed to pursue long-term employment.
“I’m thrilled to receive the Bright Ideas Grant. I’m excited to see the long-term impact that this grant will have through enabling women and non-binary people to enter our industry.”
Awarding these grants to worthy recipients is one of the highlights of NAWIC’s work, and we are excited to see their innovative projects come to light – turning their commitment to improving the experiences of women entering the construction industry into reality.
NAWIC is the peak membership body for women working in the construction industry and supporting sectors across the built environment. A national not-for-profit association dedicated to the attraction, development and retention of women in the construction industry, NAWIC has local chapters in every state and territory and forms part of a global NAWIC network. NAWIC connects like-minded people focused on driving gender equity. You can find out more about NAWIC through its social media channels @nawicau or on the NAWIC website, nawic.com.au
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