WIMNet, a sub-committee of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, last month made a submission to the federal inquiry into pay equity and female participation in the workforce.

The group said in its submission the issue of equity in the mining industry had been a persistent one.

The group’s submission included statistics and comments taken from a survey of 700 professionals in mining, 68% of which were women.

The survey found a number of issues still plagued women in mining, alongside all workers, men included, with caring responsibilities.

These issues included a lack of flexibility, managing career breaks, and stereotyping about the commitment of women and carers to their work.

And there is a danger those workplace commitments to flexibility and equity, which have been developed in the industry in recent years, could go out the window as the downturn sees jobs and salaries fall away.

WIMNet chair Donna Frater admitted the slowdown would bring challenges but said experience and professional development were extremely valuable for companies seeking to improve their productivity.

AusIMM’s policy and advocacy manager Monika Sarder agreed, and told MiningNews.net there were concrete benefits for companies that dealt with gender equity issues.

“Before the downturn it was all about increasing throughput and putting more and more people on operations… [productivity and efficiency] mattered but weren’t critical,” she said.

“Now the industry faces a cost-pressure environment, and companies are looking at making adjustments to operations where there is most likely to be cost savings and efficiency improvements.”

Companies that fostered staff could also reduce expensive turnover, and have a more engaged workforce.

And with the complex and dynamic nature of mining operations, having staff on hand who knew the operation could make all the difference in eking out those all-important productivity gains, Sarder added.

“The people who have the knowledge and the initiative to make those calls are going to be the ones who are loyal to the company and have a deep corporate knowledge,” she said.

And one way of keeping experienced workers is having a flexible workplace, according to WIMNet.

Despite the work done by organisations like WIMNet and AusIMM, women are still in the minority in mining, around 18%, compared with 42% of the total Australian workforce.

According to AusIMM, the numbers of women in operational roles in mining is particularly small, with women making up only 7% of the technical professional workforce and 3% of the site-based workforce.

This means women are largely employed in parts of the industry that are seen as “softer” and less skilled, further compounding issues around job opportunities and pay scales.

While these numbers have remained static for a decade, Sarder told MNn the industry was waking up to the benefits of a diverse and engaged workforce.

“Last week at Melbourne mining club lunch … Andrew Forrest was talking about the importance of maintaining the commitment to indigenous employment as well,” she said.

“The medium to the long-term outlook for the industry is still very strong, China and India are still urbanising and industrialising, and forecasts say the industry needs 58,000 more people by 2020.

“So there are also benefits for companies in retaining people and maintaining continuity of employment on that basis.”

Major issues for women and carers

WIMNet’s submission to the government detailed not only workplace matters affecting women – regardless of whether they had caring responsibilities such as children – but also looked at issues for both men and women with caring duties.

The biggest problem raised in the survey was that women in particular, and men, faced a lack of workplace flexibility which made juggling caring responsibilities difficult.

Women also struggled with managing career breaks after having children, while a lack of childcare places was a problem for both men and women, especially in regional and remote mining centres.

A third, and worrying, issue for women was stereotyping, with women mining workers still facing questions about their lack of ability and commitment, especially if they have children.

Sarder said another major point that came through the submission for companies is that in bigger organisations, and at the top level, there is a commitment to flexibility, although this doesn’t always filter down into workplace practice.

“Companies can be committed to flexible workplace solutions at the top level, but you wind up with line managers frustrating that. And sometimes [this] doesn’t amount to anything more than an equal opportunity induction,” she said.

Companies needed to put structures in place to consider requests for flexibility, and how these requests might be responded to, while also tracking exactly how many workers were looking for additional flexibility.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t monitor it,” Sarder added.

Practical measures

While WIMNet is pushing mining organisations to commit to workplace flexibility, the group has also called on the federal government to make childcare a major priority, especially in regional areas.

“If you don’t get childcare centres in regional areas which reflect the hours those people actually work, then you really tie the hands of people who want to work or you force them to pay for in-home care,” Sarder said.

“Childcare centres are focused around group-focused care from 9-5, which has nothing to do with mining hours.

“To work full-time in mining and pay for full-time care can mean paying up to $30,000 plus – that’s a huge disincentive.”

Executive women can also work longer hours than childcare, meaning this is not just a matter affecting employees on mines but is also one that could hamper the progress of women through the upper levels of an organisation.

Beyond that, women can also focus on their own professional development and on joining bodies like WIMNet, which can provide networking and mentoring opportunities.

Sarder said it was also important for women to support others in the industry and also for men to remain positive about diversity and flexibility, not just for women’s sake but also for their own quality of life.

“[In our study] the majority of men in the mining industry were really positive and wanted to talk about what they and their company were doing to increase diversity,” she said.

“The previous paradigm in the mining industry in the 1970s and 80s was long rosters, and men who were absent from their families for long periods of time.

“This generation of fathers don’t want to miss out watching their children wake up the world.

“Fathers want to be their and their partners often work… so it is a quality of life issue for men with caring responsibilities as well.”

To view the WIMNet submission to the federal government, click here. http://www.ausimm.com.au/Content/docs/employment_workplace_relations.pdf