Meet the women behind Queensland’s mining might

Not so long ago, mining companies could be fined for sending women to work underground. Now, mums, daughters and wives are not only part of the resource family, but many are also leading it. SPECIAL REPORT.

Anglo's Moranbah North Mine file shot. Picture: Supplied by Anglo American

Not so long ago, mining companies could be fined for sending women to work underground.

Now, mums, daughters and wives are not only part of the resource family, but many are also leading it – even if they do still have to brush off the few remaining strands of sexism and “unconscious gender bias” along the way.

For former lawyer-turned operating model manager for all of Anglo’s Australian sites Jodie Kelly, the number one rule is “don’t be your own glass ceiling”.

In her 17 years in the mining industry, the 39 year old has seen how diversity in the workplace has made companies stronger, offering a “different lens” to approach any situation.

For example, forming a women-only underground crew.

Jodie recalled being told earlier in her career “undergrounds aren’t a place for women” because of all the heavy lifting and they were deemed a “really hard environment”.

“And I remember us talking around, like what would it take to have a female only crew?” she said, including any equipment changes needed so women could work in the space.

“My husband used to work underground for 15 years … he hated lifting that stuff as well.

“We need to find a (solution) so … not only are women able to work in that area, but men don’t have to do that unnecessary, excessive lifting as well.”

‘BETTER FOR WOMEN, BETTER FOR EVERYONE’

There have also been policy changes towards flexible work arrangements allowing women to return to work after having children that men also benefited from.

“I think that when you make the workplace better for women, you make the workplace better for everyone,” Jodie said, adding as a mother she had been working and been promoted under flexible work arrangements.

Jodie said while she had never been the victim of negative attitudes, she had witnessed examples of sexual harassment or condescending behaviour which had “become less and less frequent over time” as firm lines about acceptable behaviour were drawn.

Operating model manager for all of Anglo’s Australian sites Jodie Kelly said her the number one rule was, don’t be your own glass ceiling. Picture: supplied by Anglo American

Instead she said “unintentional but still impactful gender bias” was more of an issue, such as not considering women returning from maternity leave for a certain role because it might involve long hours.

“People make decisions with good intentions, but it doesn’t mean it’s not steeped in bias somehow,” she said.

“It’s not men against women, it’s actually gender bias, our brains and the way we are raised in society against women.

“That’s the era that we’re in now … the unintentional stuff that we’ve got to constantly be aware of, not be paranoid about, but be aware so that we can question decisions that are being made.”

Jodie had been working as a lawyer in the private sector when she made the shift in her early 20s and never looked back.

In that time she had seen a marked shift in workplace gender balance.

‘ONE IN THREE OF LEADERSHIP TEAM WOMEN’

“When I looked up 17 years ago when I was 23, there was not a female to be seen (in leadership roles),” she said.

“And now in our executive leadership team level, I think it’s almost 50 per cent.”

Anglo’s head of people, capability and organisation Ben Mansour said women represented 16.7 per cent of the company’s overall workforce and 30 per cent of leadership level jobs, “including half of the executive team which was an Australian first for a coal business”.

“We designed a forward-thinking strategy to bring women into non-traditional technical and operational roles by building talent pipelines from graduate, apprenticeship and trainee programs,” Mr Mansour said.

“It’s just the start, but we are committed to driving a values driven culture where talent knows no gender and where every individual is given the opportunity to thrive.”

Jodie had been working as a lawyer in the private sector when she made the shift in her early 20s and never looked back.

In the past 12 months there had been a 29 per cent increase overall in women as a result of workforce changed and the number of women promoted as tripled in the same time frame.

As a result Jodie said the future for women in mining was bright especially when areas like automations had progressed so much in the past five years.

“The benefit is that then more people can do the work – you don’t have to have certain physical capabilities to do the work,” she said.

Another piece of advice she said was: “Say yes to opportunities, even if you haven’t done it before, learn as you go.

“For me it’s been such an unexpected career, but so rewarding.”

‘NEVER HEARD A MAN SAY WISH THIS WAS HEAVIER’

Moranbah North miner Lil Shanley has witnessed workplace change play out in real time as women began filling underground roles.

Such as splitting 20 litre drums in half to make carrying them easier.

Trade qualified fire sprinkler fitter Lil Shanley, who works at Anglo's Moranbah North underground mine. Picture: supplied by Anglo American

And while some men may have grumbled about the change, she said “I’ve never once heard a man say, I wish this was heavier.”

With a background in construction before joining the resources sector 12 years ago, the trade qualified fire sprinkler fitter was no stranger to working in a male dominated industry.

In fact Lil said mining was a “step up” to construction in that there were more women working in the sector.

And while she had encountered negative attitudes in her time, she felt the stigma was because women were only really at the beginning of their journey in the industry.

And as more women visibly succeeded it had sparked an attitude shift, she said, where fathers now viewed mining as a potential industry for their daughters.

“There are a lot of men here whose daughters are now working underground and that’s just getting more normalised, which is really great to see,” she said.

“And you know you can’t be what you can’t see.

“So other younger women or even older women – when they see other women in there … they see that that’s an avenue.”

Lil had joined the industry to upskill her own qualifications because mines had really unique fire systems.

WORKING UNDERGROUND LIKE ‘ANOTHER WORLD’

She’s worked across both open cut and underground mines and it’s at Moranbah North that she really found her home saying underground was like “another world”.

Trade qualified fire sprinkler fitter Lil Shanley, who works at Anglo's Moranbah North underground mine. Picture: supplied by Anglo American

“You really have to see it for yourself, but it’s exciting. It’s fun, it’s hard work, but it’s rewarding work,” she said, adding one of the best parts was the team culture.

“You work so physically close together and you rely on each other.

“You’ve got to have each other’s backs, and keep and eye out for each other. So you become like a family.

“You’re looking out for every decision you make, every action you take could affect someone else.”

She also laughed there were “no flies and I don’t get sunburnt” underground.

Lil is even part of Anglo’s Moranbah North Mines Rescue Team, which in October 2023 qualified for the international competition in Columbia to be held later this year.

She is also taking steps to become an underground deputy, meaning she would become an explosion risk zone controller.

This involved years of study and meant she would be “in charge of the health and safety of people in a district underground”.

“It’s a lot of sacrifice. I’ve got an end goal and I know the reward will be worth it,” she said.

 She encouraged any woman wanting to join to “just do it”.

“Working in any industry is going to have its challenges, but if you can grab it by the horns, you can have a really good time,” Lil said.

“Work hard, listen, learn, don’t be afraid to jump in, get hands on and help out.”

Originally published as Meet the women behind Queensland’s mining might