The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) launched the Women in Resources Action Plan in a bid to double the proportion of women working in the industry, from the current 6% to 12% by 2020.
QRC chief executive Michael Roche said it made sense to tap into this potential new source of employees and encourage women to view the resources sector as a long-term career prospect.
He said the plan had been developed in response to both the skills shortage and the failure to date by the sector to effectively promote itself as a serious career option for women.
“It also responds to the needs of women already working in the industry, which were expressed to us in our survey of more than 100 women throughout the sector,” he said.
“The resources sector provides exciting career prospects, but we need to increase awareness amongst females of the opportunities available and women already working in the sector are our best ambassadors.”
Roche said the survey gave QRC an insight into how to improve the industry's appeal to women.
It showed that 90% of women already working in the industry would recommend the sector to other women.
Key features of the plan include:
Introduction of a set of leading practice principles for retention of women by QRC member companies;
Promotion of careers for women in the resources sector through networking functions for careers advisers, senior teaching staff, senior female high school students and women working in the industry;
Expansion of QRC’s range of networking events for women in the resources sector;
Highlighting the achievements of women working in the resources sector through Australia’s first ever Resources Awards for Women; and
A much greater emphasis on resources sector opportunities for women in QRC’s wide-ranging careers awareness campaign.
QRC president John Pegler said while companies had individual commitments to women’s employment issues, a consistent whole-of-industry response to the retention of women would enhance these individual programs.
He said the study would support QRC’s long-term campaign to increase the pool of skilled workers in Queensland’s mining industry.
