Diversity in the Mining Workforce

by St Barbara

(Business)

A Global Compact member

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To remove barriers for women’s workforce participation and support gender equality.

Project implemented: 2010

Project goal

To be a national employer of choice for gender equality

delivering on

why is this project important?

Achieving gender equality is linked to a country’s overall economic performance. Workplace gender equality is associated with improved national productivity and economic growth; future-proofing the Australian economy; increased organisational performance; enhanced ability of companies to attract talent and retain employees, and enhanced organisational reputation.

Key steps to make it happen

1Diversity as a strategy

Diversity was integrated into St Barbara’s business strategy

2Holistic program

Paid parental leave, return-to-work incentives and flexible working arrangements.

3Improve career pathways

Investing in targeted career advancement programs.

4Close the pay gap

Monthly organisation-wide pay gap analysis and annual like-for-like analysis with real-time changes when necessary.

5Gender safety audit

Gender safety audit tool to improve women’s experience at work.

impact to date

25 per cent
of St Barbara’s leadership team are women
100 per cent
of women returned to work from paid parental leave between 2009- 18
WGEA recognised
St Barbara is a Workplace Gender Equality Agency Employer of Choice.

St Barbara is now nationally recognised as a leader in driving gender diversity across the resources industry and, increasingly, the broader community.

St Barbara formalised a strategy to address gender inequality within its workforce in 2010. It aimed to remove barriers for women’s workforce participation and embed women’s empowerment within a five pillar People Strategy: talent, diversity, leadership, engagement and performance.

St Barbara’s approach was made part of the core business strategy, approved at Board level and supported by strong leadership from its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer and Executive Leadership Team. This approach extended beyond site-level actions and embraced a holistic approach to gender equality including:

  • A focus on female recruitment through innovative and targeted recruitment
  • Retaining talent through paid parental leave, return-to-work incentives and flexible working arrangements
  • Investing in career development pathways
  • Addressing the gender pay gap by introducing monthly pay gap analysis

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