THE CHALLENGES of trying to juggle fly in, fly out work, young families and remote locations with little childcare are among the factors giving mining the unenviable tag of the worst sector in the economy for pay equity.
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While mining had the largest average dollar difference between men's and women's wages, on percentage terms it was marginally better than healthcare and social assistance, and finance and insurance services, which paid women 33.9 per cent and 32.4 per cent less than men respectively.
And according to Miriam Stanborough, of the Women in Mining Network - a branch of the Minerals Institute AusIMM - the gap gets worse the higher women climb the corporate mining ladder.
A survey of institute members found that women in the top-tier pay bracket were earning around 24 per cent less than men, while female lower-paid roles were getting roughly 3 per cent.
Official figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that after coming down steadily between 1995 and 2007, the gap began to widen again. But there are signs that things might be improving.
While cautious about the small size of their own survey, Ms Stanborough said there had been a slight narrowing of the gap for the first time in last year's survey of members.
Along with equal pay, keeping women in the industry beyond child-bearing age was also a huge challenge.
''What we've found is that women tend to step back from more senior or demanding roles when they reach child-bearing age and re-entering the workforce later can be challenging, and it is true that women can sideline their careers if they're not careful.
''As well as encouraging businesses to audit their own salaries, we're encouraging individuals themselves to benchmark their own salaries and to actively negotiate annually. Our concern is that as a general rule women are not as inclined to bargain hard for a salary increase, and those starting off on a low base are less likely to catch up later.
A 2006 Minerals Council of Australia survey found women were much more likely to leave the industry when they reached 34, and programs targeted at women needed to be particularly focused on retention. The council last year released a toolkit for mining companies to help them improve parental leave conditions and legislative changes in the area such as national maternity and parental leave provisions.
Ms Stanborough said mining employers were often not aware of the gap in wages they were paying to female employees, but more were beginning to audit their payrolls to identify particular areas of concern while at the same time offering childcare and flexible work hours to attract and retain more women.
''There also needs to be much greater acceptance in the industry that those in part-time roles are also serious about their careers and that they should be considered for promotions,'' Ms Stanborough said.
The skills shortages in the industry were actually working in women's favour, as employers were being forced to think more innovatively about how they could offer more attractive careers to women.
