AWRA research and project adviser Elspeth Meredith wraps up the Gender Diversity Capability education campaign aiming to help resource employers boost women’s participation in the workforce.

THE Australian Women in Resources Alliance has successfully conducted ten Gender Diversity Capability workshops in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Darwin and Newcastle over the past month, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Participants of the workshops were given the proactive coaching needed to increase the gender diversity of their respective organisations, allowing them not only to gain a competitive edge within the resource industry marketplace, but also to become an employer of choice.

The workshops covered a range of topics, such as why gender diversity is a business imperative, how to develop a diversity strategy, specific strategies to attract and recruit women to their organisations and the importance of a well-articulated Employee Value Proposition.

Organisations in the resource, related construction and allied industries were represented at the workshops. Many of those organisations have expressed positive thoughts on the educational campaign and extended support for AWRA’s ongoing goal to improve women’s participation from just 15.5% in the resource industry to 25% by 2020.

The workshops were based on the series of AWRA Way Forward Guides which provide straightforward and practical information to assist employers in the mining, construction and allied industries to increase the participation of women in their workforce. They have been developed in consultation with representatives from the industry, and offer ideas and solutions that are specific to Australia’s mining, oil and gas sectors.

AWRA can help your organisation to improve gender diversity in your workforce and gain positive returns of productivity, strong workforce culture and access to a wider talent pool. Please contact the AWRA team on 1800 627 771 for more information.