Factors Affecting Female Career Choices in Mining Industry Australia

This research project proposal investigates the factors influencing female career choices within the Australian mining industry. The study addresses the underrepresentation of women in the sector, examining issues such as recruitment processes, perceptions of the industry, and the potential benefits of increased female participation. The research outlines aims to analyze the factors contributing to women's low preference for mining jobs, develop strategies to attract more women, and assess the benefits of gender diversity. The methodology involves a literature review and data collection through secondary sources, including industry websites and academic journals. The data will be analyzed using a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative and qualitative techniques, such as content analysis, to draw valid conclusions and interpretations. The study aims to provide valuable insights into how the mining industry can improve its recruitment and retention of female employees, ultimately contributing to a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

Running head: FACTORS AFFECTING FEMALE EMPLOYEE’S CAREER
CHOICE IN MINING INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
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NAME
INSTITUTION
PROFESSOR

Factors affecting female employee’s career choice in mining industry in
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Table of Contents
Factors affecting female employee career choice in mining industry in Australia.........................2
Problem statement...........................................................................................................................2
Aims and objectives.........................................................................................................................2
Literature review..............................................................................................................................3
Brief Methodology...........................................................................................................................4
Secondary data and analysis methods..............................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

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Factors affecting female employee career choice in mining industry in Australia
Problem statement
There is widespread dominance by men in many sectors of production around the world.
Whereas men tend to engage in activities that require more energy, women favor jobs that
require less physical energy. Most industries around the world, for instance, those that deal with
construction and manufacturing employs a high percentage of male workers compared to
females. There are numerous factors that determine the choice of job that people of different
gender take into consideration before settling on a given job (Williams, Millward, & Layton,
2019).
Aims and objectives
This research proposal aims at exploring the factors that affect the female employee
career in the mining industry in Australia. The main contributors to the shortage of female
employees in a particular industry will be examined in this research proposal. The objectives of
the research proposal are to:
• Analyze the factors that affect the low preference for jobs in the mining industry by women.
• The development of measures and strategies that will provide more attraction for women in
such jobs
• Assessing the benefits that arise as a result of the increased participation of women in the
mining industry.

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Literature review
Women play a critical role in the growth of economies globally by contributing to the
overall output (Bridges, Mills & Smith, 2016). The mining industry in Australia is dominated by
male workers thus forcing the industry to devise strategies and mechanisms that attract women to
work for them. The mining industry in Australia uses advertisement as a means of attracting
women. The industry succeeds in this course through the displaying of a range of images as well
as using inclusive language that targets both male and female workers. Women are encouraged
to apply for positions in the industry and abandon the traditional roles associated with women
such as cooking and cleaning among other household chores (Floyd, Steenson, Coulthard,
Williams & Pickering, 2018). The mining industry in Australia also focuses on recognizing its
brand as well as creating attractive career opportunities for women (Hickson & Owen ,2015).
There are various factors that hinder women from participating in male-dominated
industries in Australia. The primary factor is the recruitment process which tends to be very
rigorous and favors men as opposed to women. Some organizations in the country, however,
recognize the importance of gender parity in the recruitment process thus giving preference to
women (Hausmann, Tyson,& Zahidi, 2009). These kind of industries makes use of the
recruitment process to address the adverse perceptions that are associated with these industries.
The mining industry in Australia makes use of different recruitment teams that are well trained in
different aspects that touches on both men and women. The recruiters for the mining industry in
Australia possess the knowledge of how people with varied skills and experiences can transfer
them to the male-dominated industry. The recruitment strategies used by the mining industry

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help in the establishment of rigorous and inclusive selection criteria that is established upon a
genuine meritocracy.
Brief Methodology
In order to examine the factors affecting the attraction of women to male-dominated jobs
this research proposal will make use of various methodologies in conducting the study. The
methods used to collect data includes interviews which will be vital in supporting the findings
from the secondary data.
Secondary data collection
The available data on the mining industry websites will act as the main source of
secondary data for conducting the research. Academic materials and journals provide key
secondary information as far as the performance of women in industries is concerned.
Data analysis
One the required data is collected, the next thing is to get the insights of the data. The
data collected will be analyzed using quantitative qualitative and technique making use of
content analysis to make logical and valid interpretation (Stobaugh, et al. 2019).
I. Quantitative analysis
The first step that will be taken will be preparation of data. The main aim of
qualitative data analysis would be to convert raw data into meaningful
information. It involves the following four steps:
Data validation

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The aim of this is to find out whether the data that would be collected will be as
per the set standards and not biased. This will involve the following steps:
 Fraud- investigation of whether the data was actually collected or not.
 Screening- to assure that the data was collected as per the criteria of the
research.
 Procedure- checking whether the procedure for data collection was duly
followed.
 Completeness – to ensure that all the required information is captured.
Data editing
Collecting large amount of data sometimes comes with errors, to make sure there would
be no errors it will important to carry out basic data check and edit the raw and remove
unnecessary fields.
Data coding
This is a very crucial step that involves grouping and allocating values to the survey
responses.
II. Quantitative data analysis
The common methods use is inferential statistics and descriptive statistics
Descriptive statistics

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This will help to summarize data collected and find pattern. The common
descriptive statistics that would be used is the mean, median, mode, percentage,
frequency and range.
Inferential statistics
This method will be used to generalize information and make predictions of large
population. These analysis are complex, it will show relationship among many
different variables. The types of inferential statistics that would be used are,
correlation, regression, and variance analysis.
References
Bridges, D., Mills, A. & Smith, J. (2016). Absent aviators : gender issues in aviation. London
New York: Routledge.
Colmar Brunton Social Research (2005). Study into the Retention of Women in Minerals and
Energy Resources Sector. Canberra: CBSR for the Queensland Resources Council.
D’Souza, M.S.,
Floyd, L., Steenson, W., Coulthard, A., Williams, D. & Pickering, A. (2018). Employment,
labour and industrial law in Australia. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge
University Press.

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Hausmann, R., Tyson, L. & Zahidi, S. (2009). The global gender gap report 2009. Geneva,
Switzerland: World Economic Forum. Shaw, A., McPhail, R. & Ressia, S. (2018). Employment
relations. South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
Hickson, R. & Owen, T. (2015). Project management for mining: handbook for delivering
project success. Englewood, Colorado: Society for Mining Metallurgy and Exploration
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