Purdon has been nominated in the Gender Diversity Champion in Queensland Resources Category while Banham is a finalist in the Exceptional Young Woman in Queensland Resources Category.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the awards played an important role in recognising leading women and diversity champions, while providing role models and ambassadors for the coal and resources sector.

“They also encourage our member companies to improve their gender balance, and ensure that they benefit from the well-documented cultural and business advantages of a diverse workforce,” he said.

“I particularly congratulate BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are finalists in the Excellence in Diversity Programs and Performance category for their outstanding efforts towards increasing the proportion of women in their businesses.

“These awards, presented at our annual International Women’s Day breakfast and webcast live from Brisbane to women in remote and regional resources communities, are an important element of our Women in Resources Action Plan. Since its introduction in 2006 the proportion of women in non-traditional roles in our sector has increased from 6% to 12.5% in 2016.

“We are confident that with the sector again on the upswing, we can reach our goal of at least 20% women in non-traditional roles by 2020, particularly when companies like BHP have a 50% goal by 2025.”

 

Women make up just more than 15% of Queensland’s total resources workforce.