Mining Industry Progresses in Closing Gender Pay Gap
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s (WGEA) ‘Employer Gender Pay Gaps’ report for 2023–24 shows progress in reducing pay disparity in the Australian mining sector.
WGEA defines the gender pay gap as the difference between the average and median earnings of men and women, expressed as a percentage of men’s pay. This differs from comparing wages for the same job.
The report includes data from 7800 private sector employers and 1700 corporate groups across various industries.
Mining Industry Pay Gap Figures
The mining sector’s average employer gender pay gap mid-point was 19.8 per cent, above the national average of 12.1 per cent. However, mining remains the highest-paid industry in the report, with an average salary of $195,141.
Progress has been steady. 57 per cent of mining companies improved their gender pay gap over the past year, slightly above the national improvement rate of 56 per cent.
The industry’s mid-point of median gender pay gap decreased by 1.6 percentage points, far exceeding the national decrease of 0.2 percentage points.
Challenges and Industry Commitment
Despite these improvements, men still outnumber women in mining. Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia (CMEWA) chief executive officer Rebecca Tomkinson acknowledges that change takes time.
“Closing the pay gap in a traditionally male-dominated industry like mining will not be achieved overnight but women are increasingly voting with their feet to join a sector that has demonstrated its commitment to boosting female participation,” she said.
Tomkinson highlighted greater flexibility in FIFO rosters and enhanced parental leave as key factors attracting more women to mining.
“Women remain the predominate caregivers for their children and in many instances stop working for a period to raise young children,” Tomkinson said.
“This can contribute to the pay gap for women across all industries, but the resources sector has some of corporate Australia’s most accommodating policies and practices in place to encourage retention and to create a more family-friendly work structure.”
Long-Term Industry Growth
The WGEA report follows CMEWA’s ‘2024 Diversity and Inclusion in the Western Australian Resources Sector’ report, released last year.
That report revealed a significant increase in female representation. Over the last decade, the proportion of women in mining and resources has grown from 18.8 per cent to 24.8 per cent.
While there is still work to be done, the mining industry’s efforts in gender diversity and equal pay are making a measurable impact.