Inspiring women in mining
Glencore is filled with trailblazing women.
Such as Tristah Allen, Glencore Coal Australia's first female apprentice who is a great example of how more women are carving out successful careers in mining.
Tristah’s journey started 18 years ago but you don’t have to look far within our coal business to find many great examples of women excelling.
Just like Jenny Park, Process Engineer, who recently won the 2025 NSW Exceptional Young Woman in Mining award or Kayla Crow who holds a practising certificate of mechanical engineering for open-cut coal mines.
At Glencore, our merit-based recruitment approach ensures equal opportunities for everyone. Exceptional women, such as Tristah, Jenny and Kayla are great examples of this commitment. Here are their stories.
Persistence pays off
Tristah began her mining journey 18 years ago and is now Glencore Coal’s first female statutory electrical engineer, and one of the first within the New South Wales coal mining industry.
She chose engineering because she wanted to be able to give back to mining.
"I did my trade first so that I had hands-on experience and was able to apply technical engineering expertise in practice," Tristah says.
"When I asked someone to do something, I wanted the experience to know what I was talking about, and the credibility, especially in what was then a very male-dominated industry."
Tristah went straight from school into an apprenticeship and then a traineeship, adding advanced diplomas and graduate certificates as her career progressed, all supported by Glencore.
She won the NSW Mining Young Achiever Award in 2022, and says it is still a challenge finding her work/life balance.
"I have four of my own children and a stepdaughter, so it's hard to mother like I don't work, and work like I don't have a family,” Tristah explains.
“But I've got a good support network at home and at work. Management here is fantastic in terms of work flexibility."
Tristah advises any women considering a career in mining to have persistence and resilience, but not just because it's mining.
"I don't think it's harder for women in mining. I've always had the attitude that I'm employed in my position because I've earned it," she says.
"Things have really improved; it just comes down to the individual. I know a lot of young women think STEM is typically for their male counterparts who love science, but the beauty of female brains is that we can bring a slightly different perspective.
"I'm part of the Women In Mining Net NSW Mentoring Program, and my sister is a fourth-year apprentice at one of our sister sites, so if I had any negative feelings about mining or my company, I wouldn't have encouraged her to embark on that."
The growth continues
The number of women employed in Australian mining has increased significantly in recent years, with the overall percentage - at 22 per cent - higher than the global average.
Process Engineer Jenny, who claimed the 2025 NSW Exceptional Young Woman in Mining award, has seen more women entering the industry in recent times.
"With graduate process engineers, I would say it's about 50:50 male to female, but yes, earlier in my career there were less women," Jenny says.
"These days, more women are interested in hands-on learning at sites. I see the interest when I go to networking nights and talks at high schools - once they've had tours of the pit and prep plant, we're able to convert them onto summer vacation programs."
In fact, it was a vacation program that clarified Jenny's interest in mining.
While studying chemical engineering at university, she spent 12 weeks in an office as her placement, which made her realise she didn’t want to be confined to a desk.
She joined Glencore's Graduate Program, worked as a Process Engineering and Logistics Coordinator, and moved to her current role as Process Engineer in 2020, making her the first female to join Glencore's corporate processing team.
She now oversees coal quality, production, and costs across Glencore's NSW Coal Handling Preparation Plants, driving operational efficiencies.
She also spends most of her time on different sites, and not in the office.
"Over the years, and especially after I joined corporate, I have seen the change of us having more female engineers within the business. That's been rewarding to see; the industry has been so welcoming for me," Jenny says.
No two days are ever the same
Support Mechanical Engineer Kayla began her trade straight out of high school with Hunter Valley Operations (HVO), a joint venture between Glencore and Yancoal.
Having completed a four-year apprenticeship, Kayla jumped at the opportunity of an engineering traineeship and now holds a practising certificate of mechanical engineering for open-cut coal mines.
"I was always attracted to engineering and mechanics, and when the opportunity to go into engineering came up - well, that was always the end goal,” Kayla says.
“The three-year traineeship also gave me the opportunity to rotate to a heap of different sites - open cut and underground placements - and through that, I saw a lot of different parts of the business and how the sites operate. It was good networking as well.”
Kayla believes there are more opportunities in mining compared to a lot of other trades, especially for a mechanic.
As a female, Kayla feels there is still an element of having to prove yourself at first.
However, it’s also one of the reasons she likes working at Glencore.
She also enjoys the variety and opportunities available without having to leave the company, especially now she has her statutory engineering qualification and is looking to advance her career.
"It would still be nice to see a lot more females come into the trade side and get through engineering or statutory qualifications,” Kayla says.
"I think some people are a bit scared. I've even heard people say they wouldn't want their daughters working in mining, but it's different to how it used to be. It's a safe industry for women these days."
Interested in a career at Glencore? Visit our careers webpage for more information.