Madeleine King, Minister of Resources in Northern Australia has urged the authorities to do more in order to encourage higher participation of females in the resources sector. She hosted a round table meeting with industrial experts in Brisbane to discuss job opportunities in the mining sector.
“With the mining workforce already around all-time highs and projects worth tens of billions of dollars coming through the development pipeline, there will be a significant need for more workers.This challenge is already here. Industry must find a way to attract the next generation of mining workers in order to continue flourishing,” said King, whilst proposing to open more job opportunities for women in the mining sector.
She also mentioned that there was rapidly increasing demand for Australian sourced minerals, and with that came the intense demand of miners. According to collected studies, only 52,000 women were employed in the resources sector as a whole which is barely 10% of the 270,000 men in the industry.
“It is critical that governments and industry work together to ensure we have safe and inclusive workplaces that welcome and encourage women to have rewarding careers in the mining sector,” said King, immediately making arrangements for more inclusive workspaces within the mining industry.
The Brisbane Jobs and Skills roundtable conference included representatives from peak industry bodies including the Minerals Council of Australia, APPEA, Queensland Resources and NSW Minerals Councils, senior indigenous representation from the Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, community representatives, mining skills organisations, local government, and representatives of the mining equipment, technology and services sector (METS).
