Some of the brightest and most inspirational women in the Western Australian mining and minerals sector have been announced as finalists in the 2019 Women in Resources Awards (WIRA).
Established in 2010 by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), the WIRA recognise individuals and organisations working to build a world-class industry that provides attractive career opportunities, champions gender diversity and enhances the recognition and participation of women in the sector.
CME Chief Executive Paul Everingham commented that this year’s finalists were selected from more than 70 nominations across five categories and represented a broad range of roles from within the industry.
“Since we held the first WIRA 10 years ago, the event keeps growing every year, which reflects the increasing importance companies are placing on gender diversity within the workplace,” he said.
“The high standard of entries in this year’s awards has resulted in an extremely competitive awards process. All finalists are leaders in their field who champion the achievements of women and work to improve the participation of women in the workforce.”
Voting is currently open for the Women in Resources People’s Choice Award where the public can vote for their favourite finalist (voting closes on Wednesday 13 March).
Award winners are expected to be announced at a presentation dinner on Friday 15 March 2019, hosted by media personality and political commentator, Annabel Crabb.
The winners will then go on to represent Western Australia as finalists in the 2019 Women in Resources National Awards, hosted by the NSW Minerals Council in Sydney.
Below are the 2019 Women in Resources Awards finalists:
Women in Resources Champion
- Cordia Johnson, Wheatstone Onslow Facilities Engineering Team Lead, Chevron Australia
- Graham Kerr, Chief Executive Officer, South32
- Michael Parker, Chairman and Managing Director, Alcoa of Australia
Outstanding Company Initiative
- Alcoa of Australia – Catalysts for Change
- BHP – Inclusion, it’s for everybody
- Woodside Energy – Employee Gender Equality Communities
Outstanding Woman in Resources
- Laura Hayman, Specialist Data Engineer, Rio Tinto
- Fiona Hick, Vice President of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, Woodside Energy
- Rowena Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer, South32
Outstanding Young Woman in Resources
- Sarah Loh, Production Forecast Opportunity Manager, Woodside Energy
- Meredith Prior, Commercial Operations Manager, Shell Australia
- April Scott, Autonomous Haulage System Control Superintendent, Fortescue Metals Group Pty Ltd
Outstanding Operator/Technician/Trade Woman in Resources
- Stephanie Allan, Operations Technician – INLEC, Chevron Australia
- Jenny Knight, Process Technician – Furnace, BHP
- Donna Stace, Maintenance Supervisor, Rio Tinto