In an Australian-first Building Equality Policy (BEP), the Victorian government has announced that the country’s most male-dominated industry will need to employ a minimum number of women by 2024 or face penalties. Aimed at “disrupting gender stereotypes,” women now need to make up at least 38 percent of roles in government-contracted projects to help more women enter the construction, infrastructure, and civil engineering sectors. It also requires women to make up three percent of trade roles, which currently sits at 2.5 percent, seven percent of non-trade roles, and 35 percent of roles in management, supervision, and specialist labour. All government projects valued at more than $20 million, including the state’s North East Link, the largest road project investment in Victoria’s history, will be included. But the matter needs to be addressed at a grassroots level, such as in classrooms and workshops, Empowering Women in Trade founder Atherton Hacia says. “We can …