The mining and resources boys' club.

Not as bad as it seems, not as good as it should be.

In a previous blog, I wrote of how WA’s mining and resources boom drove multiculturalism in the State. But this wasn’t the only impact.

The men came to WA

The boom also had an impact on gender balances in WA. For 2006-2011, the upswing of activity, WA gained another 150,000 men but only 130,000 women, tipping the population from 49.8% male in 2006 to 50.3% male in 2011, compared to Australia where it only increased from 49.3-49.4%. And in 2016, WA's male share declined again but was still 50.0% compared to 49.3% in Australia.

Share of Males in the Population, WA vs. Australia, 2006-16

This suggests a distinct male-bias in the mining and resources sector.

And the Census noticed

But it wasn’t just the population that changed – income levels changed too. Specifically, the personal income gap between men and women in WA worsened relative to Australia generally. In 2006, women in WA were earning 51% of what men were earning (54% for Australia). And to 2011, during the upswing, it remained at 51% in WA, while improving to 61% for Australia[1]. But after the boom to 2016, the gap improved for both WA (58%) and Australia (69%).

Personal Income, Male vs. Female, WA vs. Australia, 2006-16

Further study required

The exact degree to which this was the result of active or worsening discrimination in WA, or simply the rapidly increasing salaries in a naturally male-dominated sector, is a subject for other papers. As is further statistical analysis that takes into account differing skill levels, qualifications, experience, rank, job description, industry, company, etc. of male and female workers. When all these factors are taken into account, the wage gap tends to shrink (though still not to zero).

For example, at the height of the boom (2011 Census) and when looking at data by place of work (rather than place of usual residence), WA women earn 61% of men – higher than the 51% mentioned earlier. This is likely because men have higher labour force participation rates than women. So if more men are in the labour force, naturally they will earn more.

Furthermore, when we look solely at the Mining sector, that figure increases further to 73%, suggesting the mining industry is actually better than the general economy at reducing the wage gap – though still not eliminating it. And when we look even deeper at occupations within mining, female managers for example, earn 91% of male managers, machinery operators and drivers earn 89%, and professionals earn 84%. And when more relevant factors are included (as mentioned above), these gaps may shrink even further.

So why, if the mining sector has ‘relatively’ equal pay, did the wage gap worsen during the boom? Because in 2011, over 55,000 WA men were working in the mining industry, but less than 15,000 women. So the high wages of the mining sector skewed the average male wage across the state more so than the average female wage.

But still a clear insight

The above discussion isolates the impact that the mining and resources boom had on gender gaps in WA, and its subsequent reversal. And while this data does offer hope that wage gaps are not as large as first impressions, there is plenty of evidence to say they still exist. This and other data therefore, allows us to conclude that it is not just a matter of increasing female representation in traditionally male industries – efforts must still continue to ensure equal pay for equal work.

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[1] This was calculated using a simple weighted median of various income brackets, so the numbers aren’t precise, but the trends should still be valid.