Prime Minister Julia Gillard has told an audience of female miners that the mining boom will only benefit Australia if women are included.
While addressing hundreds of mining women in Moranbah, Gillard said she would like to see the number of females in the resource and construction industries increase by seven per cent by 2020.
This would bring the number of women in the industries up to 20 per cent, in line with the intentions outlined by the Queensland Resources Council earlier in the year.
Australia`s first female Prime Minister said women have shown they have the physical and mental strength to succeed in male-dominated industries, not only in the mining and resource industries, but also in other sectors including politics, the Daily Mercury reports.
Gillard stressed that Australia needs to treat women in all industries the same as men.
“Women`s roles need to be normalised,”� she said.
Having a woman Prime Minister is no big deal, this is the new norm,”� she said.
She said women should work hard and employers need to select staff based on competency, not gender.
