Female workforce participation in the Australian oil and gas industry—a global comparison
M. Marinelli A and K. McGrath BA Curtin University.
B Clough Ltd.
The APPEA Journal 52(2) 709-709 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ11123
Published: 2012
Abstract
As the Australian oil and gas industry faces a continued shortage of skilled employees, increasing the representation of women in this industry is a business imperative. Economic success and competitive advantage may depend on attracting and retaining the skills of women. Research shows that a gender-diverse workforce can also be linked to improved business performance, innovation and corporate governance.
While women make up 46% of the Australian workforce and more than 50% of university graduates, present statistics show that on average 13% of workers in the Australian oil and gas industry are women. This is a lower proportion than comparable industries in Canada and Norway: women make up 21% and 19% of workers, respectively. In Norwegian oil companies, this level is as high as 30% (4).
This extended abstract briefly discusses the present research about women’s retention and progression within the Australian resource sector. It outlines the initiatives being undertaken by government, industry bodies and organisations to increase the representation of women in the Australian sector, and comparable industries in Norway and Canada.
This extended abstract concludes with a case study about the challenges and lessons learnt in establishing a corporate initiative to increase female participation at Clough Limited. Women@Clough is a professional forum established in April 2011 to improve the attraction, retention and progression of women in the Clough workforce. Strategies and key success factors in the establishment of the program are also examined.
Melissa has a BEng(hons) and a PGDip (oil and gas engineering) from UWA. Since graduating, she has worked in the oil and gas industry in design and construction of oil and gas facilities, engineering consulting, and team and project management. She is completing a PhD at the Maureen Bickley Centre for Women in Leadership at Curtin Graduate School of Business. Her research explores the area of women in leadership and management in non-traditional occupations, specifically engineering. She is passionate about engineering careers for women, particularly the variety and flexibility of opportunities that her profession has to offer. She is committed to increasing the representation of women in engineering and non-traditional industries using research, advocacy, education, and examples. Member: Women in Engineering. |
Kristy McGrath joined Clough in July 2008 and brings 15 years of experience in market research, strategic planning, and creative marketing and communications execution. As Clough’s marketing and communications manager, she is responsible for overseeing all marketing and communications activities including client engagement strategies, investor relations, staff engagement strategies, media relations, and community relations. Prior to joining Clough, she successfully ran Marketing Mavens, her own marketing consulting firm, which provided strategic marketing consulting services to the financial, medical, and government sector. She also had the position of senior analyst with international research agency Intrepid, where she was responsible for Microsoft’s Asia Pacific internal research program. She is the inaugural chair of Women@Clough, a professional forum responsible for improving the attraction, retention and progression of women in the Clough workforce. As a communications professional, she is passionate about spreading the word that employing and promoting more women makes good business sense. |
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