AMMA hosts AWRA

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Image credit: flickr.com User: Anglo American Pic

National resource industry employer group AMMA yesterday hosted the The Australian Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) Forum that brings together organisations to explore workforce diversity and inclusion across multiple forms including gender and culture. 

Image credit: flickr.com User: Anglo American Pic
Image credit: flickr.com
User: Anglo American Pic

“It was very encouraging to see women’s workforce participation become a global economic priority at the G20 Summit, specifically to reduce the gender employment gap in leading economies by 25 per cent by 2025. As one of the key pillars of Australia’s economy and with more than $500 billion worth of major projects either under construction or in the investment pipeline, the resource industry will play a key role in Australia meeting this objective,” said AMMA Executive Director Tara Diamond in a media release.

“Since AWRA was launched in 2011, the resource industry has been working to increase women’s employment from the national industry average of 15 per cent to 25 per cent by 2020. As governments around the world commit to policies that will support the greater participation of women in the global workforce, the Australian resource industry is already doing its part by continuing to focus on innovative and practical strategies at a workplace level.”

Australian resource employers met in Perth to discuss the strategies to increase women’s participation in the resource industry, with  the AWRA Recognised Program pointed out as one initiatie that is truly helping the resource industry to improve the way it attracts, retains and develops women employees.

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“AWRA Recognised assesses how well workplace policies and practices support workforce diversity and inclusion. The program provides resource employers with a roadmap to improve the way they attract and retain women across all levels of their organisations,” said Ms Diamond.

“This includes practical strategies such as changing the language used in recruitment campaigns, targeting female graduates, reviewing pay equity, and mentoring and professional development support for women.Resource sector organisations including Farstad Shipping, BHP Billiton Manganese Australia and Caterpillar Australia have stepped up to take part in the pilot round of AWRA Recognised as part of their commitment to secure the benefits of more gender diverse workforces.”