IN light of International Women’s Day, resource industry employers have been urged to take inspiration from leading workforce initiatives among their peers to raise the bar on gender diversity within the mining, oil and gas sectors.

In support of the annual event on 8 March 2015, resource industry employer group AREEA highlighted some of the industry’s leading organisations in women’s participation and encouraged others to follow suit.

“In recent years, gender diversity has emerged as a key priority for resource employers, triggering new and innovative initiatives to up the ante on women’s participation,” said AREEA chief executive Steve Knott.

“With the latest ABS stats showing our direct resources workforce comprises just 13.7% women, it is clearly in the interests of our productivity, sustainability of skills, and contribution to the national economy to improve gender balance within our industry.”

Mr Knott said many resource industry companies were already demonstrating excellence in gender diversity policies and practices, including:

• Mineral sand miner Iluka Resources, which dramatically increased women’s participation with a new recruitment strategy, resulting in productivity and safety outcomes;
• Gold miner St Barbara, which reduced its gender pay gap and aims to boost women’s workforce participation from the already above average 24% to 30% by 2018;
• Oil and gas group ConocoPhillips, which engages a flexible work policy to aid women in continuing to participate in the workplace when they are the primary caregiver in their families;
• Aluminium producer Alcoa of Australia, which maintains 25-year commitment to diversity and has gained recognition as an ‘employer of choice’, building 20% women among senior executives.
• Offshore maritime operator Farstad Shipping, which utilises the Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) ‘Recognised Program’ to develop policies and practices to attract and retain more women.

“Many resource employers are clearly prioritising gender diversity to build the skills, ideas and innovations that will drive greater productivity and competitiveness,” Mr Knott said.

“As the resource industry transitions into a long-term production and export era, women will play a critical role in ensuring Australia’s resource future is as prosperous as its past.

“It is important that we bolster the effort to break down long-held perceptions to transform our male-dominated industry.”

AREEA’s own gender diversity initiative, AWRA, has gained momentum as a leading aid for employers in attracting, recruiting and retaining female workers.

“Farstad Shipping is an excellent example of how diversity-focused employers across the mining, oil and gas, and related service sectors are engaging with AWRA to lift women’s participation in male-dominated roles,” Mr Knott said.

“AREEA was chosen by both the current and previous federal governments to roll out this initiative and its suite of practical tools, workshops and programs which include AWRA Recognised and AWRA e-Mentoring.”

AWRA’s goal is to see women’s participation in the resource industry reach 25% by 2020.

Read more about how the resource industry is addressing gender diversity in the latest Resource People magazine.