Resourceful women working hard in the North West
Media release
Women from all walks of life came together this morning to celebrate the achievements of women and their contribution to the community at the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) International Women’s Day breakfast.
Around 150 people from across the community attended the International Women’s Day event, proudly supported by Glencore’s Mount Isa Mines and Alliance Safety Equipment, at the Buffs Club in Mount Isa.
The annual breakfast provides an opportunity for women working in the resources sector to celebrate International Women’s Day with their industry peers and the broader North West Queensland community.
Karlyn Rogers, Convenor of WIMARQ – North West Queensland, says it’s a day to reflect on the journey towards equality and gender parity in the workforce as well as a chance to network and be inspired by other females being recognised for their achievements.
“The resources sector has taken massive strides towards greater gender diversity over the past 20 years, but there’s still much more progress to be made,” says Karlyn.
“Through WIMARQ North West Queensland, we provide leadership, mentoring and a network of support for women forging careers in the sector, and these are powerful and important factors in progressing the industry’s work towards gender balance.”
Local Mayor Joyce McCulloch shared her story and insights on the challenges faced growing up, and as a female community leader, in regional Australia, while International Tradeswoman of the Year 2019 Amy Chetcuti captivated the crowd with her experience working as an expedition mechanic at the Mawson Research Station in Antarctica and the importance of persistence which helped her thrive in her career.
This was followed by crossing live to the simultaneous event in Brisbane to hear Commissioner Katarina Carroll APM share her inspirational journey climbing the ranks during her policing career to become the first female Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commission and current Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service.
Leanne Ryder, Human Resources and Training Manager, North Queensland Copper Assets says this year’s Mount Isa event helped shine the light on diversity and inclusion of women in the mining and resource sector with the theme of ‘an equal world is an enabled world’.
“At Glencore we recognise that we need a skilled and committed workforce – with a diverse range of experience and perspectives,” Leanne says.
“Diversity exposes our people to a broader range of ideas, unearths new and innovative ways of approaching challenges, enhances workplace culture, and is shown to improve productivity, leading to better operational outcomes in the long-term.”
“Currently women account for around 16.4% of the mining workforce, but it’s encouraging to see an increase in women taking up more non-traditional roles like engineering.”
“We’re committed to enhancing career pathways for women in mining and the Girls for Mining Mentoring Program now in its fifth year continues to mentor local female students and promote their leadership skills,” says Leanne.
For further information, please contact:
Colin Morrison
t: +61 7 4744 2979
m: +61 447 846 702
e: Colin Morrison
Nadine Roberts
t: +61 7 4744 2955
m: +61 436 341 650
e: Nadine Roberts
Notes for editors
About WIMARQ North West Queensland
Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) North West Queensland provides visible leadership, mentoring and a network of support for women forging careers in the resources sector.
WIMARQ NWQ is about celebrating the success of our peers, supporting each other through our professional challenges and creating an environment that motivates and inspires us all to strive towards our goals.
We are a diverse community of passionate people collaborating to connect, nurture and support women to achieve their goals and improve gender diversity and inclusion outcomes. Women and men across the resources sector are warmly welcome at our events.
Interested? Please contact us by email or visit our website for more information.
About Glencore
Glencore is one of the world’s largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities. The Group's operations comprise over 150 mining and metallurgical sites and oil production assets.
With a strong footprint in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, Glencore's industrial and marketing activities are supported by a global network of offices located in over 35 countries.
Glencore's customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation, battery manufacturing and oil sectors. We also provide financing, logistics and other services to producers and consumers of commodities. Glencore’s companies employ around 158,000 people, including contractors.
Glencore is proud to be a member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the International Council on Mining and Metals. We are an active participant in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
About Mount Isa Mines
Mount Isa Mines operates two separate mining and processing streams, copper and zinc-lead-silver, to deliver natural resources that have enduring roles in our society. The site hosts the world’s largest zinc resource base, as well as the biggest network of underground mine development in the world.
The site includes two copper underground mines, one zinc underground mine, the copper concentrator and smelter, as well as the zinc-lead concentrator, lead smelter and zinc filter plant. Together, these represent one of Australia’s largest industrial complexes.
As well as the Australian market, our products are exported to countries throughout Asia, Europe and the United Kingdom, contributing billions of dollars to the Australian economy every year. We provide work for close to 3,500 employees and contractors and are dedicated to supporting local people, local businesses, and creating strong links between our operations and the city of Mount Isa.