Women hold just 12% of top mining jobs in Australia: report

Research exposes a leadership gap in mining despite faster promotions for women and potential financial gains.

Women hold just 12% of chief executive and head-of-business positions in Australia’s mining industry despite accounting for 23% of its workforce, exposing a leadership gap that new research suggests could be limiting companies’ ability to retain talent and improve business performance.

The Gender Equity Insights 2026: Unlocking Australia’s Workforce Potential report, produced by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), found that women occupied 24% of mining management positions in 2024-25.

They also held 25% of senior management roles, indicating that their representation drops sharply at the highest executive levels.

“Promotion rates tell us who is taking the next step.

We also need to understand who keeps progressing through successive leadership tiers – and who stays,” BCEC director and report co-author Alan Duncan said.

The findings highlight a challenge for mining employers seeking to build more diverse leadership teams.

While women are advancing through management at higher rates than men, their relatively low representation in the industry’s top positions raises questions about succession planning, career development and the barriers preventing experienced employees from reaching executive roles.

The research, based on reports from 8,239 Australian employers covering 5.44 million workers, found that women in mining moved from non-management into management at a rate of 0.7%, compared with 0.5% for men in 2024-25.

Women hold just 12% of chief executive and head-of-business positions in Australia’s mining industry despite accounting for 23% of its workforce, exposing a leadership gap that new research suggests could be limiting companies’ ability to retain talent and improve business performance.

The Gender Equity Insights 2026: Unlocking Australia’s Workforce Potential report, produced by the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC) and the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), found that women occupied 24% of mining management positions in 2024-25.

They also held 25% of senior management roles, indicating that their representation drops sharply at the highest executive levels.

“Promotion rates tell us who is taking the next step.

We also need to understand who keeps progressing through successive leadership tiers – and who stays,” BCEC director and report co-author Alan Duncan said.

The findings highlight a challenge for mining employers seeking to build more diverse leadership teams.

While women are advancing through management at higher rates than men, their relatively low representation in the industry’s top positions raises questions about succession planning, career development and the barriers preventing experienced employees from reaching executive roles.

The research, based on reports from 8,239 Australian employers covering 5.44 million workers, found that women in mining moved from non-management into management at a rate of 0.7%, compared with 0.5% for men in 2024-25.

Source: Gender equity insights 2026 by BCEC and WGA.