Ten projects will receive funding through the Building Women's Careers Program, announced on Monday, to provide education, partnership and networking opportunities in the fields over the next three years.
The announcement came as government figures showed women took up fewer than one in three trade apprenticeships and fewer than one in 10 apprenticeships in traditionally male-dominated industries.
The funding announcement, which is the first stage in a $60.6 million program announced last year, will deliver projects run by a wide range of industry groups, unions, and businesses.
Future Equity Skills' project, called Transforming Gender Equity, will research barriers to women's participation in clean energy apprenticeships, for example, while a project from Master Builders Australia will focus on mentoring programs and education campaigns to address bias in the construction industry.
Helping women to enter and stay in these industries could help to close looming worker shortages in critical areas, Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles said.
"Boosting women's participation in the workforce is fundamental to addressing skills shortages," he said.
"These projects are tackling the structural and cultural barriers that often stop women from considering careers in these industries."
Figures from the Department of Employment show women take up less than one third of all trade apprenticeships, make up less than five per cent of apprentices in the construction industry, and 8.2 per cent of apprentices in traditionally male fields.
The gender gap in these industries was particularly stark in Australia, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said, and required urgent attention.
"Australia has one of the highest rates of industry segregation among advanced economies, which is why projects like these are so important," she said.
"For too long, the focus has been on fixing women instead of fixing the barriers that hold women back."
Skills shortages in fields including engineering and technology could pose a significant threat to Australia's development, Girl Geek Academy founder and chief executive Sarah Moran said, unless more women could be recruited, trained and supported to fill those roles.
Girl Geek Academy teamed with organisations including TAFE Queensland, Professionals Australia and the Telstra Foundation on the FemTech project funded by the program.
The project is designed to develop vocational, best practice and leadership courses in technology, and train more than 700 women over three years.
Tech training for girls in high school and women entering university, as well as support for women in male-dominated fields could deliver vital opportunities, Ms Moran said.
"This is about creating practical, accessible pathways into tech careers to address Australia's critical skills shortage," she said.
"It's about making tech careers accessible to people, no matter where they come from."
