Women in the workplace
IMPROVING culture and conditions in the workplace was a central theme of the Women in Mining and Resources Summit held in Perth in August.
Organised by the Women Leaders Institute, in partnership with the Minerals Council of Australia, the event showcased women leaders in the industry, their experiences and suggestions on how to improve diversity in the workforce.
Creating a sense of value and belonging was a key theme by speakers, with BHP mining engineer Stacey Hannam stating that ensuring women received equal opportunities to grow and develop in mining and resources roles was one way of being inclusive in the workplace.
“In recruitment, have a look at job ads, to see what words we are using that are potentially gendered,” she said.
Ms Hannam suggested taking job ads out to the team who the new employee would be working with to determine what skills were critical to the role.
“The reason I applied to work for BHP in the first place is because they used these strategies in the job advertisement for a mining engineer,” she said.
“I’m not a mining engineer, I’m a chemist and I would never have applied for a mining engineer role if the job ad said that a mining engineering degree was required.
“That’s the only reason I had the confidence to go into a discipline that I wouldn’t necessarily have considered before.”
In her roundtable workshop on developing and maintaining a diverse workforce, UGL Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander coordinator Gningala Yarran Mark noted that often mining companies would place lengthy job advertisements and applications in English – presenting a barrier to indigenous applicants.
Instead she suggested video advertisements with an interpreter to explain the job requirements to applicants as a way to encourage Indigenous workers to apply.
Finding females for apprenticeships was an issue raised by FMG group manager Fortescue people Linda O’Farrell, who said the company had noticed that, while it was hard to recruit 17-year-old girls fresh out of high school to become boiler makers, existing female staff in other roles with other skills could be interested in further education.
Ms O’Farrell said that FMG needed to provide lifelong learning opportunities to see change and innovation in the business.
“If you’ve got women who are working on mine sites already who actually have a whole range of skills, why not offer apprenticeships to people a bit further down the line?” she said.
And then, once a more diverse workforce has been hired, there is the issue of retention.
FMG offers flexible working arrangements, casual child care and even residential child care support for staff in Port Hedland.
“I couldn’t do my job unless I had the benefit of working in a company that basically focusses on what’s important — which is outcomes — not whether you sitting at a particular desk at a particular time,” Ms O’Farrell said.
“You’re going to retain fantastic people if you allow flexibility.”