INCREASING the number of women in the workforce is the target from a new strategy launched by the Minister for Employment and Minister for Women Michaelia Cash.
A reduction in the gender participation gap of 25 per cent by 2025 has been outlined in the Turnbull Government’s roadmap, titled Towards 2025: An Australian Government strategy to boost women’s workforce participation initiative.
In announcing the strategy, Minister Cash said getting more women engaged in work is an economic and social priority.
“It’s good for women, families, business and our economy,” Minister Cash said.
Boosting women’s workforce participation is essential to raising living standards and securing Australia’s future prosperity, Minister Cash said, outlining it had the potential to add up to $25 billion to the nation’s economy.
A number of factors critical to create the change needed to improve women’s workforce participation and economic independence are addressed in the strategy.
Labour force figures released in June show that under the Coalition Government women’s employment is at a record high of 5.6 million.
“The workforce gender participation gap is narrowing, but more work needs to be done if we are to achieve our target of reducing the gap by 25 per cent by 2025,” Minister Cash said.
Incorporating many of the initiatives outlined in the 2017–18 Budget, the Towards 2025 strategy aims to deliver significant outcomes for Australian women and the economy.
Currently women comprise 13.2% of the Australian Resource Industry[1].
This statistic disappointedly indicates that the resource industry has gone backwards from an average of 15% female workforce participation to 13.2%.
The following table provides a breakdown of the percentage of women in occupations within the resource industry.[2]
| Occupation | Women |
| Managers | 7.5% |
| Professionals | 24.0% |
| Technicians/Trade workers | 5.0% |
| Community and Personal Services workers | 15.4% |
| Clerical and Admin workers | 60.0% |
| Sales workers | 38.0% |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 8.0% |
| Labourers | 8.3% |
Minister Cash’s announcement is a timely reminder of the support available to resource employers in their efforts to lift gender diversity. Through AREEA, the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) provides support to build employers capability in the area of inclusion and diversity.
To find out more about the support available please visit www.awra.org.au or get in touch via [email protected]
References
[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, Cat No 6291.0.55.003 February 2017 (released March 2017).
[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly, Cat No 6291.0.55.003 February 2017 (released March 2017).
