Are miners doing enough about the gender pay gap?

Do you think the mining company you work for is doing enough to close the gender and equality pay gap? Take our poll and tell us what you think.

Do you think the mining company you work for is doing enough to close the gender and equality pay gap?

Perhaps you’re a woman forging a career in the mining industry, experiencing firsthand the policies and innovations designed to close this gap. Or, on the flip side, perhaps you feel not enough is being done and are frustrated that the roadblocks you see to achieving this goal are not being removed.

Or, perhaps you’re a man working alongside your female colleagues, witnessing the mining industry’s efforts to close the pay gap. What have you seen? And how well do you think it’s working?

A snapshot of women in mining

Last month the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’s Women in Mining Survey 2020 was released, giving us a snapshot of women employed in the mining industry. The study looked at everything from participation levels to pay rates.

The findings were fascinating. Here are a few facts and figures of particular interest:

• 61% of women who work in mining commute daily to a workplace in a metropolitan area
• 18% of women who work in mining are in FIFO or DIDO positions
• Almost 80% of women who work in mining are working full-time
• 94% of the women who work in mining have an undergraduate university qualification or higher.

The gender pay gap in mining

The AusIMM report found the average age of women in the resources industry was close to the whole-of profession average of 40 years old, as was the broad annual income of between $100,000 and $150,000. It found women have generally been working in mining for slightly less than the resources industry average of 15 to 20 years.

“More comparative research is required to understand the link between women’s remuneration and time in the sector, and how this compares to the industry average,” the report authors said.

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