Early in my career, when I was an operator at coal mines in Queensland, it was rare that you
would hear the words “gender equity” on site. Back then, women were woefully
underrepresented in the mining industry, and in hindsight, it showed in the culture of our
teams.

We have come a long way though, and today, the mining industry looks very different.
Women now hold every type of job available at BHP – from site-based operators and
maintainers, through to our Executive Leadership Team, which is gender balanced. This is
important because we know now that diverse teams unlock higher levels of safety,
performance and productivity.

Across our WA Iron Ore (WAIO) division, and BHP more broadly, we are witnessing the
benefits that more diverse teams are bringing to our operations.

From a personal perspective, I’ve seen the clear advantages too, through my leadership
team meetings, during my site tours across the Pilbara, and right across our operations and
assets, where women are making an incredible contribution every day.

The reality is, with a business and workforce of our size and scale, we can’t be successful
unless we’re bringing in the views and lived experiences of a much broader mix of our
community.


At BHP we embarked on our path towards gender balance in 2016.
At the time, only 17.6 per cent of our workforce were women. Through a sustained focus
we’ve managed to more than double that statistic, with women now making up 37.1 per cent
of our employee workforce. We have ambitions to achieve gender balance (which we define
as a minimum of 40 per cent women and 40 per cent men) with women making up 40 per
cent of our employee workforce by the end of CY2025.

More than 30 per cent of people leaders and 40 per cent of senior executives are women.
Within WAIO specifically, women make up over 32 per cent of our iron ore division and
nearly a quarter of the WAIO leadership group.

Gender equity, however, is so much more than just numbers.

As a society, we still have a long way to go to change the perception that organisations are
just employing women to ‘hit a target’ or ‘tick a box’. While we do have aspirational targets,
they are not our sole motivation.

I’m passionate about building a culture at WAIO that embraces people for who they are,
where they feel included, valued and empowered, all while removing barriers to flexibility.
The research shows that inclusive and diverse workplaces improve business performance.
We’re safer, more productive and have a better culture.

Culture is key

When it comes to attracting more diverse talent to our business, we have to focus on
building the right culture. We know that if our employees are happier, more collaborative and
engaged, they are more likely to remain in our business – while people who don’t already
work for us are more likely to choose BHP as their employer.

Right now, we’re working hard to promote our employee rewards and benefits, new
initiatives to support a better experience on the job, and the differentiators that make BHP
stand out as an employer of choice. This is critical to ensure we not only attract and retain
the best people – but also give them the incentives to stay for the long haul.

For our frontline operations, as an example, we’re changing rosters to enable employees to
spend more time with family, and offering more flexible work arrangements than ever before,
to foster a better work-life balance.

I’m a proud father of four children and I make a habit of modelling behaviours in the
workplace that I would expect of my own team. That includes balancing my responsibilities
at work and time with my family.

This is something that is critically important to me. It’s reflected in my diary planning every day. If I need to leave early for school pick-up – I’ll leave loudly. This allows me to spend
more time with my children, so my wife can focus on her work. Like many people, I value
flexibility on the job, and naturally it will mean different things to different people. It’s never a
one-size-fits-all approach.

We also want to give our people and their families the incentives to work with us in the
Pilbara.

Across WAIO, we’re busy tackling one of our biggest challenges – access to childcare in
regional areas – and working with a range of stakeholders on developing more sustainable
solutions.

I’m proud to say that we are also making parental leave more accessible to men and women
to help us break down those tired primary carer stereotypes.

Through BHP’s internal advocacy groups such as Jasper and the Gender Equity Network,
we’ve been working hard to shatter outdated gender norms and foster a more inclusive
workplace.

We also conduct annual gender pay reviews to empower our leaders to identify and help
work to close potential gender pay gaps in their area of the business.

Embrace the tough conversations.

Part of being a diverse and inclusive workforce is also embracing differences of opinion. We
have plenty of those in our industry, and with an issue like gender equity, I regularly
challenge my teams not to dismiss people for their opinions, but rather actively listen,
collaborate and find solutions. That’s our ticket to progress.

We don’t shout down “wrong answers” – we ensure everyone has a voice, and as a result,
we gain experiences and insights from a broader group of people. If we’re not continually
having real and raw conversations – we can’t move forward.

One thing I won’t stand for in the workplace is disrespect – and this is something I will
always call out while challenging our teams to do the same. Whether it’s someone being
talked down to, talked over or interrupted in meetings – I want my people to speak up and be
comfortable in doing so.

To me, these are the moments that define great leadership – whether you’re a CEO or not.

There is so much more work we need to do to shift the dial on gender equity as an industry.
I’m proud of some of the steps we’ve already taken as an organisation that are genuinely
making a difference.

Gender equity is not a zero-sum game though. Men will not lose as women gain. Everyone
benefits from increased diversity and inclusion. We’re a safer and more productive business
when we’re more reflective of the community around us.

Building the right culture underpins our ability to attract and retain more diverse talent.
We have come a long way since my days as a coal mine operator – and we need to
maintain the momentum.

It’s on us as leaders to challenge people to think openly, have raw and meaningful
conversations, put words into actions, and inspire change every day.