11 September 2018 – Queensland’s leading women in resources will be in Canberra this week (Thursday) vying for top honours in the Women in Resources National Awards.
They were the winners of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC)/Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) state awards presented in Brisbane in March and will join finalists from all other states and territories at the presentation event at Parliament House in the nation’s capital.
The awards will be presented by The Hon Kelly O’Dwyer, Minister for Jobs, Industrial Relations and Women and the Chair of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Board of Directors Dr Vanessa Guthrie.
More than 20 federal parliamentarians will attend the awards breakfast in the Mural Hall, including Hon Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology.
“It’s testament to the importance of gender diversity in resources that so many federal parliamentarians are attending this event,” said QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane.
“I am proud of all our Queensland finalists who are great examples of people and companies who have championed the cause of improving diversity in our resources sector.
“Here in Queensland our sector is creating a job every hour and it needs all hands to the pump to ensure we have the skilled workforce to match demand.
“That means we can’t afford to be missing out on the talents of half our population.
“Currently, women make up 15 percent of our workforce and I’m confident that through the efforts of our finalists, and our sector in general, we will reach our goal of at least 20 percent women in ‘non-traditional’ roles by 2020.
“Once we’ve reached that number, with the innovation and technology around today there’s no reason why we can’t aim for gender parity in our sector.
“I wish all our Queensland finalists well, but whatever the result, all remain winners and will continue to be our best ambassadors for our sector in Queensland.”
WIMARQ Chair Maria Joyce said the awards not only recognised achievement, but also the finalists’ dedication to creating workplaces that better reflected society.
“It’s been well documented that better gender balance leads to more innovation, improved safety and profitability for companies so it’s a no-brainer that we should be attracting and retaining more women in our sector,” she said.
“It’s notable that when these awards began in Queensland in 2006 the proportion of women was just six percent, and now it’s 15.”
“Our finalists, and those who came before them have shown exceptional leadership in our sector’s efforts to increase gender diversity, and I wish them well.”
Queensland’s finalists: (see bios online)