CME diversity report finds gaps remain

A report from the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia has revealed a drop in the number of women in management roles for the latest study period compared with 2019 figures.

CME today released the latest edition of its report into diversity and inclusion in the Western Australian resources sector, which provides a snapshot of diversity across the mining and resources sector.

The report revealed that women accounted for 20.7 per cent of management roles in 2021, which was down from 22 per cent in the previous report in 2019. 

Women held 24.4 per cent of board roles in 2021, up from 20 per cent in 2019.

Meanwhile, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accounted for 0.9 per cent of board roles and 18.3 per cent of management roles.  

Across the sector, women represented 21.5 per cent and Indigenous people accounted for 5.2 per cent of the WA resources workforce in 2021.

The gender pay gap in the sector was 16.5 per cent, according to the report.

More than half of the 40 resources companies surveyed had recruitment policies and strategies to support Indigenous employees.

CME chief executive Rebecca Tomkinson said the report was a valuable indicator of the progress industry had made so far and the work that was still to be done.

From a gender diversity perspective, she said, the data showed progress in comparison to previous years.

“Since 2013, the proportion of women in the mining and resources workforce has increased from 18.8 per cent to 21.5 per cent,” Ms Tomkinson said.

“But those numbers are still not high enough, and the vast majority of the boards in the WA resources sector still comprise of more than ninety per cent men.

“Our ultimate aim is for our workplaces to reflect our community and that means gender parity, we need to keep working towards that and increase the speed at which we get there.”

Ms Tomkinson said the report was an important step in helping the WA mining and resources sector improve diversity and inclusion in all forms.

“It’s pleasing to see that the participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has risen by 0.5 per cent since our 2019 survey, now making up 5.2 per cent of our workforce,” she said.

“That’s a higher figure than the all-industry average but it’s a figure we know we can improve on, particularly as it relates to management roles.

“While the data in this report shows some pleasing aspects of progress, we don’t shy away from the fact that there remains much work to be done.”

In consideration of International Women’s Day, BHP today announced its Pilbara South Flank iron ore mine was its first site to reach “gender diversity”.

At the country’s largest iron ore mine, women now make up 40 per cent of the workforce and 60 per cent of the management team.

Across the company, BHP’s workforce comprises of 33.6 per cent women, up from 17.6 per cent in 2017 when the company announced its gender balance target of 40 per cent women by 2025.

In the past five years BHP has conducted 6,000 pay adjustments to help reduce pay gaps.

BHP site improvement manager Miammi Leadbitter, a Wagyl Kaip woman, said having more women at the site across all levels made it a more respectable and productive workplace.

“For me, as an Indigenous woman in a leadership role, I know that working at South Flank I am treated with respect and measured on what I do and who I am, not how I look,” she said.

“I have worked hard to get here throughout my career, working from the ground up.

“The leadership team at South Flank has made a conscious commitment to diversity, we know that it will not happen just because we want it to happen, we have to be deliberate in our pursuit of it.”

Western Power announced it was making progress on its equity and diversity targets, with women now holding 10 per cent of engineering roles and 20 per cent of engineering leadership roles.

The company has also increased the percentage of women in leadership roles to 31 per cent and senior leadership roles to 46 per cent, while four out of the six board members are women.

Chief executive Sam Barbaro said the organisation was committed to advancing women in the energy sector.

He said while improvement had been made there was still significant work to do in achieving gender parity within its traditionally male-dominated workforce.

“Western Power is working towards the goal of ensuring that everyone at work has the right to feel safe, valued and respected and that includes equal opportunities in the workplace,” Mr Barbaro said.

“And while we’re making significant headway, the reality is, regardless of gender, we all need to advocate to ensure we have the right culture and opportunities to enable our people to achieve their full potential in the work environment.”

Meanwhile, Coles today announced 40 per cent of its leadership roles were now held by women, ahead of its scheduled target.

The supermarket giant also revealed its company-wide gender pay parity gap was less than one per cent.

Coles chief executive Steven Cain said he was proud of the progress Coles had made to achieve greater gender equity after setting commitments.

“These achievements are a testament to the dedication of our gender equity steering committee and wider leaderships team,” he said.

“Their important work has led to Coles being a place where team members with diverse skills and backgrounds feel like they can feel confident with their opinions, thrive in their roles, and become leaders of the organisation.

“I am also delighted that my successor, Leah Weckert, will be the first woman to be CEO of Coles in our long 109-year history.”