The awards, run by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME), recognise exceptional women working in the sector, as well as the individuals and companies who champion gender diversity and work hard to improve the participation of women in resources.
CME chief executive Reg Howard-Smith said this year’s finalists were selected from more than 85 nominations across five categories and represented a broad range of roles from within the resources sector.
“WIRA is now in its ninth year and remains as one of the most important event on the resources industry calendar,” he said.
“The judging process was, once again, a difficult task as the quality of nominees was extremely high and reflects the talent that exists in the resources sector, as well as the growing awareness to achieving greater gender diversity across the sector.
“There are many women and men in the sector who work extraordinarily hard to champion gender diversity in their workplace as a means to driving better performance and productivity, so it is only fitting that their efforts are recognised.”
The 2018 finalists are:
Women in Resources Champion
- Veena Mendez, Category Team Lead, Chevron Australia
- Lynn Olssen, General Manager – Resource Knowledge and Definition, Rio Tinto
- Sharron Sutton , Mine Technical Services Manager, Rio Tinto
Outstanding Company Initiative
- Alcoa of Australia – Frontline Talent Development Program
- Rio Tinto Iron Ore – White Ribbon Accreditation
- Woodside Energy – St Catherine’s College Woodside Scholarship Program
Outstanding Woman in Resources
- Melissa Cundy, Manager Studies and Technology, Rio Tinto
- Marisa Ioppolo-Armanios, Program Manager – Environmental and Process Chemistry Technology, Alcoa of Australia
- Peta Libby, Managing Director, Digirock
Outstanding Young Woman in Resources
- Martha Hackshaw, Petroleum Engineer, Chevron Australia
- Tijana Mirkovic, Manager Finance Reporting, BHP
- Dhakshi Weerawardena, Processing Production Supervisor, BHP
Outstanding Operator/Technician/Trade Woman in Resources
- Megan Lockyer, Drill and Blast Operator, Fortescue Metals Group
- Nicole O’Keefe, Electrician, BHP
- Shannon Youd, Maintenance Planner Scheduler, Kalgoorlie
- Consolidated Gold Mines
Sponsors for this year’s event are BHP, Chevron (Platinum); Hitachi Construction Machinery, Anglo Gold Ashanti, Northern Minerals, BGC Contracting (Gold); Shell Australia, ATCO, Thiess, Woodside, St Barbara, Evolution Mining (Silver); Alcoa of Australia (Mentoring); and Rio Tinto (Regional).
Winners will be announced during a breakfast event on Friday 9 March at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, which will be once again hosted by Annabel Crabb.
Winners will go on to represent Western Australia at the 2018 Women in Resources National Awards to be held later this year.
Click here to see a list of finalists.
