Queensland Government commits to gender equity in clean energy transition

• Miles Government commits to accelerate gender equity in the clean energy sector
• Queensland leads nation as first state to sign up to international Equal by 30 campaign to promote equal pay, leadership and opportunities for women
• Miles Government signs up to five key commitments to further integrate equality policies and practices, and increase female participation in the energy sector

The Miles Government has today committed to a key initiative to deliver gender equality in the clean energy sector, as the first Australian state to sign up to the international Equal by 30 campaign.

Equal by 30 aims for equal gender balance, equal pay, leadership and opportunity in the clean energy sector by 2030, and today Queensland joins more than 180 signatories from around the world in committing to it.

Five proposed commitments have been developed to assist the Queensland Government in improving women’s participation in the energy sector.

Adopting the campaign commits the Miles Government to:

• Develop a Women in Renewables Strategy with industry, universities and training organisations to increase leadership and participation of women in the energy sector with a focus on supporting women in regional Queensland.
• Drive practical actions to improve gender diversity and participation, and completion of apprenticeships and training in vocational and university-level qualifications in the energy sector, especially in traditionally male dominated industries.
• Work across government and with the energy industry, including Queensland's public owned energy businesses, to improve data collection and reporting on gender participation in the clean energy workforce to provide greater visibility of gender equality in the sector and inform policies and initiatives.
• Set clear expectations and monitoring Queensland's publicly owned energy businesses in providing sectoral leadership in gender diversity and equality by continuing to deliver strong, practical actions to build and maintain an inclusive culture and close the gender gap in the clean energy workforce.
• Lead the way in gender inclusive recruitment, promotion, and to increase the participation of women in Department of Energy and Climate and the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training to achieve gender balance at all levels and job types within the organisation.

The Miles Government’s commitment has been developed in consultation with the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, the Office for Women, Queensland Treasury, and the Department of Energy and Climate.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Women, Shannon Fentiman:

“I am extremely proud that our Government has committed to improving employment opportunities for women and girls in Queensland’s energy sector.

“This is a fantastic initiative to help break down barriers in what is generally a male-dominated industry – especially given we know how important diversity in decision-making is for success.”

“It’s encouraging to see the gender gap closing but it still remains far too great, and we must work harder to ensure we are achieving equal gender balance, equal pay and equal leadership.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy and Clean Economy Jobs, Mick de Brenni: 

“Queensland women’s week is the perfect time to enshrine our commitment to safeguarding opportunity for women in the clean energy industry, by signing up to Equal by 30.

“We’re already investing in apprenticeships, traineeships and degrees for Queensland girls and women to make sure we deliver on our public commitment to Equal by 30.

“You can’t be what you can’t see, which is why more than half of the board positions across Government are held by women, and now Equal by 30 gives us the suite of practical actions to deliver on the aspirations of Queensland women and girls.

“I’d like to recognise the work of Sarah Zeljko, Energy Queensland Chair, for her advocacy and leadership in encouraging Government to sign up to this important legacy.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development, Lance McCallum: 

“The Equal by 30 campaign is incredibly important for Queensland’s Big Build of our energy SuperGrid and getting more women into hard hat careers.

“Our workforce of Queensland women in construction has been growing rapidly with the number of women in apprenticeships and traineeships in the last five years growing by a whopping 72 per cent.

“We’re already on our way to the target because during this year alone there are over 10,000 Queenslanders benefitting from Free TAFE and an incredible two thirds of them are women.”

 ENDS