BHP’s Gender Target Success and Workforce Challenges

BHP set out in 2016 to reach 40% female participation in its workforce by 2025, a bold goal in a traditionally male-dominated industry. While the company has nearly met this target, some male employees feel they were disadvantaged in the process, sparking internal tensions and even legal action.

At the time of the announcement, only 17% of BHP’s workforce were women. To accelerate progress, the company increased female-focused recruitment, launched training programs to bring more women into the industry, and made changes to workplace culture. These efforts helped BHP far exceed the mining industry’s female participation average, which remains below 20%.

However, achieving gender balance came with trade-offs. Some male employees reported feeling excluded from opportunities, with concerns surfacing that merit was sometimes overlooked in favour of gender targets. A lawsuit brought by a former BHP employee in 2021 highlighted these frustrations, with claims that restructuring efforts were used to advance gender goals at the expense of certain workers.

Despite internal friction, BHP credits its diversity efforts with improving business outcomes, pointing to better safety records, lower absenteeism and higher engagement. But as gender-based hiring initiatives face increasing political and social scrutiny, the company may need to shift focus from targets to long-term cultural change.

Source: Australian Financial Review, Australian FIFO Mining Jobs, Harvard Business Review, OxFam