First published in Workplace Express on 23 August 2012.

Increasing the number of women in the mining industry – from its current 16% to 25% of the total workforce – is being promoted as a way of meeting predicted jobs growth over the next five years.

The Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA), which is a jointly funded initiative of the Australian Government and AREEA, met in Melbourne yesterday to discuss ways to attract more women in the industry.

AREEA chief executive Steve Knott said the Alliance was working to develop mentoring programs for women and an industry-wide education campaign to showcase the opportunities that existed, particularly for those with specialised skills.

“Industry forecasts are that more than 90,000 new jobs will be created on major mining, hydrocarbons and related construction projects by 2016. This is being driven by over $680 billion of investment either underway or slated for Australian resource projects,” he said.

Attracting and retaining more women, he said, had been identified as a key strategy in meeting the industry’s increasing workforce requirements.

Knott said the Alliance would develop practical advice to provide to employers about how they can make their workplaces more conducive to gender diversity.