A recent forum has taken stock of the role of women in Australian technical and trade industries, and found numbers are far too low.

The Fifth International Community, Work and Family Conference and the 25th Women, Management and Work Conference were on in Sydney over the weekend, featuring an address from the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Ged Kearney.

Ms Kearney says an entrenched division between male and female dominated industries is perpetuating gender inequality in the Australian workforce, and must be dealt with.

“Women’s and men’s work is being clearly separated in many sectors, and we know that so-called women’s work remains much lower paid than men’s,” she said, “we need to recognise the value of the work many women do in caring roles and service industries but we need to provide more opportunities for women to enter male dominated industries that tend to be better paid and have more opportunities for training and promotion.”

The annual Conference this year has sought to destroy the assumption that particular jobs should belong to a certain gender. According to the ACTU president, equality can come from sympathy for people’s needs; "We need to recognise the value of the work many women do in caring roles and service industries but we need to provide more opportunities for women to enter male dominated industries that tend to be better paid and have more opportunities for training and promotion," Ged Kearney says.

New legislation will likely level the playing field with the introduction of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency reporting obligations this year.