AREEA was very pleased to be joined by a group of passionate member representatives last Tuesday to celebrate the enormous role of women in the resources industry at the Queensland Resources Council / Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) annual International Women’s Day Breakfast.
Based on the theme of #ChooseToChallenge and sponsored by Anglo American, the event included a keynote address from Dr Xiaoling Liu, who had a long and inspiring career in the resources sector during which she broke many barriers and achieved many “firsts”, prior to becoming Chancellor at the Queensland University of Technology.
AREEA congratulates all recipients of the QRC / WIMARQ Resources Awards for Women, which were also presented at the event.
AREEA especially congratulates Anglo American’s Culture and Inclusion Manager Liz Hansen (pictured) who was the recipient of the 2021 Award for Gender Champion in Queensland Resources.
Over the past four years Liz has been heavily involved in AREEA’s diversity and inclusion strategy, initiatives and activities. She is a member of the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) Advisory Board and has been instrumental in the success of AWRA initiatives including Bright Future STEM Primary Schools.
Liz has more than 20 years’ experience in the mining industry and has seen genuine changes in the industry towards diversity and inclusive workplaces.
“It’s a privilege to be recognised for a program that I have been passionate about and I would like to thank all of the people at Anglo American who have supported it over the years. Our industry continues to make big strides towards fair and equitable workplaces, and I congratulate all the finalists at this year’s awards,” she said.
“There are career-changing opportunities available in the mining industry for women and I would strongly encourage women to consider what our industry can offer.”
You can also hear Liz talk all things diversity and inclusion in this edition of the Resource People Podcast.
Congratulations also to Glencore – Maryann Wipaki (Exceptional Women in Resources), Thiess’ Ange Daley (Exceptional Trade / Technician / Operator) & all other award winners, including:
- Exceptional Young Woman in Resources – Ashleigh Turner, Brisbane (Hastings Deering)
- Exceptional Woman in Technological Innovation – Sharna Glover, Co-Founder and CEO, Imvelo.ai, Brisbane
- Excellence in Diversity Programs and Performance – TransCoal, Brisbane.
- Exceptional Female QMEA Student – Caitlin Boothby, Biloela State High School, Biloela.
Photos from Queensland Resources Council / Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) annual International Women’s Day Breakfast
AREEA also congratulates recipients of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of WA’s (CME) Women In Resources Awards, announced earlier this month (March 5).
A crowd of nearly 1000 people gathered at the Perth Exhibition and Convention Centre to see five inspiring women from Cube Consulting, Fortescue Metals Group, South 32 and Woodside Energy recognised in the individual award categories.
BHP was recognised in the company initiative category.
AREEA congratulates the winners of the 2021 awards:
- Women in Resources Champion: Rebecca Prain, Managing Director, Cube Consulting
- Outstanding Woman in Resources: Sara Braund, Vice President- Digital Technology, South32
- Outstanding Young Woman in Resources: Pooja Haria, Reliability Engineer, Fortescue Metals Group
- Outstanding Operator/Technician/Trade Woman in Resources: Laura Allen, Process Owner, Woodside Energy
- Technological Innovation Award: Alison van Lent, Commercialisation Manager, Woodside Energy
- Outstanding Company Initiative: BHP, Office creche and family-friendly workspaces – Perth and Newman
- People’s Choice Award: Pooja Haria, Reliability Engineer, Fortescue Metals Group
Celebrating important role of women in resources
On International Women’s Day, resources and energy employers celebrated the critically important role of women to the industry’s present and future success.
To celebrate the occasion, Australian Resources and Energy Group AREEA was proud to highlight its ongoing work to assist mining, oil and gas, and allied sector employers to attract and retain more female employees, managers, and c-level executives. These initiatives include:
- The Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA): In its ninth year, the industry’s leading national diversity and inclusion initiative facilitates programs, support and guidance to assist employers in building their diversity and inclusion capability (learn more here).
- AWRA Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board: A passionate committee of senior industry leaders who assist with diversity and inclusion program design and improvement; identify new priorities and facilitate engagement between AWRA and wider industry.
- AWRA Knowledge Centre: Providing employers with the latest industry information, tools and best-practices for diversity and inclusion policies and workplace cultures.
- Bright Future STEM Primary Schools Program: In its third year of building awareness amongst primary school students of the industry’s diverse and rewarding careers including through hands-on STEM activities and female role model presentations.
In addition, AREEA regularly delivers its Appropriate Workplace Behaviours training to member company employees, with a strong focus on discrimination, sexual harassment and inclusive workplace culture.
With technology and innovation transforming the industry, AREEA Director Operations Tara Diamond said it was important to highlight exciting new opportunities for highly skilled women to enter the resources and energy workforce.
“AREEA is proud to guide and support resources and energy employers in their commitment to increase female workforce and leadership representation,” Ms Diamond said.
“Many employers are looking to fully realise the wide-ranging benefits of increased female participation and have developed industry-leading policies and initiatives to attract and develop women in the resources and energy industry.”
Ms Diamond said the concerted efforts of employers were among a range of factors transforming the industry to be more attractive to female demographics.
“Technology is also dramatically changing workforces in our industry, opening up more opportunities for women through long-term and more flexible career options,” she said.
“This is why celebrating the role of women in Australia’s resources and energy sector is so important. We need to promote the broad career opportunities in high-skilled, highly paid roles, to attract and retain the best female talent.
“To this end, AREEA congratulates and commends nominees in the various state chamber women in resources awards – such as the CME’s Women in Resources Awards announced last week in Western Australia, and the Queensland Resources Council’s Resources Award for Women to be announced on Wednesday.
“These women, and thousands more around the country, play a crucial role in making our industry tick.”
