G L O B A L B R I E F I N G R E P O RT AMMA A D V E RT O R I A L
Australia’s resources industry tackles the gender gap By Tara Diamond, Director Operations, Australian Resources and Energy Group
Australia’s resources and energy industry remains a key pillar of its economic success, ensuring our nation of 25 million people punches well above its weight in the global marketplace. In FY2020, Australia’s resources and energy export earnings reached a record $290 billion, underpinned by historic highs for iron ore ($97b), coal ($65b) gold ($24b) and copper ($10b). While the sector has not been unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has fared better than most and presently accounts for around 10.4 per cent of national gross domestic product (GDP) – the largest industry share overall. So too are the benefits of Australia’s strong resources and energy industry shared through employment opportunities. The industry directly employs around 240,000 people in Australia, but when factoring in mining, oil and gas, and all the related service and supply industries, the Reserve Bank of Australia has estimated the true flow-on employment impacts to
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be well over one million jobs. Despite the clear success of the Australian resources and energy industry, there is one area in which the industry continues to lag behind others – female workforce representation. At present women comprise just 16.4% of the Australian resources and energy workforce. This makes the industry the worst in the country in terms of female participation, with construction (18.3%) the only other to fall below 20%. By contrast, 27.3% of jobs in the Australian manufacturing industry and 34.4% of jobs in agriculture, forestry and fishing, are occupied by women. The dismal performance of the resources and energy industry in this area is not unique to Australia – for example both the United States and Canadian resources and energy industries have similar female workforce participation levels as Australia at around 13-15 per cent. The benefits of gender diversity It is also not through lack of recognition or awareness. Increasing female workforce participation across all industries has been recognised for a long time as a global challenge. In 2014, a collective agreement was made at the G20 to reduce the gender employment gap in respective nations by 25% by 2025. In Australia, there is a consensus that this push will add billions of dollars to the country’s economy. Research shows that increasing the number of women in the workforce correlates strongly with increased financial performance, better governance, stronger risk management and increased innovation. For example, a global study of
AMMA’s Bright Future STEM program inspires schoolkids about STEM and how it applies to resources and energy careers.
almost 22,000 companies across 91 countries found those with 30 per cent female executives obtained as much as six percentage points more in profits. In an Australian context, data suggests reducing the gender gap could boost national GDP by 11% and increasing the number of women in leadership positions would increase the level of economic activity in Australia by 20%. Further, it is well known that having a more diverse workforce has a positive impact on organisational culture. A diverse and inclusive workforce can generate tangible benefits, such as increased efficiency, productivity, innovation, creativity and employee engagement. Reversing the workplace trend So why is it, despite the benefits being clear and well accepted, that