Australia’s mining industry has recorded a further reduction in its gender pay gap, with new data showing continued progress as more women enter the sector and move into leadership and operational roles.
According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), the national mining gender pay gap narrowed to 21.1 per cent in the 2024–25 reporting period, a 1.1 percentage point improvement from the previous year.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) welcomed the result, noting it reflects ongoing efforts by the resources sector to improve workforce diversity and inclusion.
WGEA data also showed that 91 per cent of mining companies have now implemented a formal strategy or policy on equal remuneration between men and women, significantly higher than the national average of 74 per cent across all industries.
This figure is around 68 per cent higher than the national average of $120,000.
CME chief executive officer (CEO) Aaron Morey said the resources sector recognised the importance of increasing female participation as a key step towards closing the gender pay gap.
“The WA resources sector simply would not function without the immense and growing contribution of women,” Morey said.
“Closing the gender pay gap will take time, but we have seen encouraging progress, with women increasingly represented right across our industry – from executive leadership to on-site operations.”
“Efforts to improve female participation include the adoption of more flexible and family-friendly fly-in fly-out (FIFO) rosters and a continued strong focus on improving both the quality and culture of FIFO camps.
“Many resource companies are also national leaders in parental leave benefits and strive to accommodate the needs of parents, both men and women, as they return to work.”
WGEA’s gender pay gap measure compares the difference in average earnings between all men and all women across an industry or organisation, rather than comparing pay for individuals performing the same job.
Instead, the reported gender pay gap reflects the overall composition of a workforce, including the distribution of men and women across occupations, levels of seniority and working patterns.
In mining, where men remain overrepresented in some operational and senior positions, this workforce profile continues to influence the aggregate gender pay gap reported in industry data.
However, CME’s latest diversity and inclusion report shows female participation in the sector continues to grow.
Women also held nearly one-third of board roles at 32.8 per cent, up from 24.4 per cent in 2021, while the proportion of women in management positions rose to 23.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, female representation among machinery operators and drivers reached 21.4 per cent in 2023, up from 17 per cent two years earlier.