Highest paid mining sector hires less women

The country’s most lucrative sector for employee salaries is mining but for at least 6000 women they’re no longer part of it.

Mining has shed 6,000 female employees since the start of 2018 despite adding over 17,000 male employees, according to an analysis of the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the Financy Women’s Index.

It comes as the latest SEEK’s Annual Salary rankings reveal that mining, resources and energy has the highest average advertised salary across the country for this industry is $116,108 per annum.

There are 22,000 women working in mining full time, but that’s down 21 per cent over the past six months. This is the smallest representation of women in any industry.

By contrast June employment data shows that 197,000 men are employed in the sector, up by 10 per cent on the 180,000 in December.

The big question is why were so many jobs held by women axed, and yet so many by men added?

It could come down to job type, appeal among women and be affected by remote projects. We’re attempting to get to the bottom of it.

Mining has consistently been a top performer in the salary stakes, topping SEEK’s Annual Salary ranking as the highest paying industry for the sixth year running.

The top five paying industries with the highest average advertised salary remain male dominated:

• Mining, resources and energy: $116,108
• Consulting and strategy: $110,045
• Construction: $109,325
• Engineering: $105,810
• Information and communication technology: $104,874

The gender balance is mixed in industries with the lowest average advertise salaries:

• Sport and recreation: $65,900
• Hospitality and tourism: $61,944
• Retail and consumer products: $60,704
• Call centre and customer service: $58,942
• Administration and office support: $58,671

Kendra Banks, managing director of SEEK ANZ, said: “With recent reports showing confidence slowly returning to the sector, it’s no surprise that mining, resources and energy salaries are managing to maintain the top spot in this year’s SEEK Annual Salary rankings.

“Despite this ranking, average advertised salaries are well below the level they were at five years ago, with the sector posting the biggest decline in average advertised salaries over the last five years and many of the major mining roles absent from the list of top salaries.”

The industries with the greatest increase in the average advertised salary over a five year period are mostly all female dominated outside of senior management ranks.

Most significant increase in salary:

1. Education and training: 19.15 per cent
2. Community services and development: 16.06 per cent
3. Design and architecture: 15.78 per cent
4. Administration and office support: 13.64 per cent
5. Real estate and property: 13.60 per cent

Male dominated industries recorded the most significant decrease in salary:

1. Mining, resources and energy: -13.96 per cent
2. Engineering: -6.91 per cent
3. Manufacturing, transport and logistics: -2.27 per cent
4. Construction: -1.77 per cent
5. Science and technology -0.94 per cent

Looking at Australia’s top 20 highest paying jobs over the last five years, there has been a notable shift in the industries that dominate the rankings.

In 2013, mining, resources and energy dominated the rankings, offering 13 of the top 20 highest paying jobs. This figure has dropped significantly to just two salaries in the top 20 in 2018. Today, the information  communication technology (ICT) industry dominates, with salaries from six roles within the industry featuring in the top 20.

The top five job types with the highest salaries in 2018 are as follows:

1. Information and communication technology – Architects: $138,144
2. Engineering – management: $133,927
3. Information and communication technology management: $132,307
4. Mining, resources and energy – management: $131,462
5. Legal – generalists, in-house: $128,988