Alcoa’s Pinjarra refinery reaches female employee milestone

ALCOA of Australia’s Pinjarra Alumina Refinery has reached a record milestone of 10 per cent female employees for the first time.

Women are employed in a wide range of roles at the refinery, including operators, managers, trades, apprentices, group leaders, supervisors and in administration.

Refinery manager Julio Costa said Alcoa was committed to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and would continue working to improve gender balance.

“When we value workplace diversity and inclusion, we see benefits such as higher employee engagement, improved performance, greater innovation, retention of talent, improved employee wellbeing and lower levels of harassment and discrimination,” he said.

The Pinjarra refinery’s Diversity and Inclusion Plan focuses on initiatives such as a maternity/parental program to enhance connection, increasing job share and flexible work opportunities.

The Alcoa Women’s Network is an active and important element in the company’s diversity movement, Mr Costa said, as members inspired success, raised awareness of gender parity and organised connections to develop and advance women.

Alcoa was recently named an Employer of Choice for Gender Equality for the 16th consecutive year by the Federal Government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency and has a commitment to achieving a great female participation in its workforce.