Andrew Mackenzie said BHP would work to remove the unconscious bias against women in the industry. Credit:Bloomberg BHP's push to im prove its gender balance is mirrored by other miners, with Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest's Fortescue Metals Group taking similar steps. "We are reviewing all areas of the business to create opportunities for women to participate in all parts of the business," Nev Power the miner's chief executive said Thursday. He pointed to more flexible programs to accommodate returning mothers as well as accelerated career paths for women. "This is an area all businesses are focused on," he said. BHP's Mr Mackenzie acknowledged there was some "hesitation" about increasing female participation from within BHP, which is headquartered in Melbourne and dual listed on the Australian and London stock exchanges, including from men who feared they would be discriminated against or overlooked for promotions.

The WA government unveiled a hike in payroll tax and a jump in the gold royalty rate. Credit:Rob Homer "Some employees think inclusion and diversity is not an area where we can make significant progress; some think women don't want to work in the mining industry, and some male employees have concerns they may be discriminated against," the note circulated to staff this week said. "However, we will not disadvantage anyone. No one's job is under threat because they are male. But we will work to remove the unconscious bias that, in my view, women have been disadvantaged for a very long time in a male-dominated environment. Once we address that, we base decisions on merit, which is how it should be." Mining and resources is one of the least gender diverse industries in Australia, according to the federal government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Just 2.6 per cent of the industry's CEOs, 12 per cent of key management staff and 16 per cent of all workers are women, making it the most male-dominated industry in the Australia, according to WGEA.

Loading Women who are in the industry are concentrated in clerical positions, where they make up 77 per cent of workers. Women make up 10 per cent of machinery operators and drivers, 7 per cent of labourers and 5 per cent of technicians and trades people, WGEA says. BHP's ambitious gender target will be a welcome piece of positive news to announce at its annual general meeting on Thursday, when it is expected to be grilled on the dam disaster at its Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil that killed 19 people and destroyed two towns.