Case Study: Attracting Women to Male-Dominated Industries – Insights from Anna Murray, General Manager at Barwon Asset Solutions
Start with Culture
“Culture is built from people being aligned to your values and living your values,” Anna says. At Barwon Asset Solutions, the organisation has intentionally cultivated a culture defined by being caring, safe, inclusive, accountable, and courageous. This culture enables employees to bring their “whole self to work,” and creates space for both vulnerability and achievement.
“As a leader, I bring a lot of care. And when that’s demonstrated at senior levels, it has a ripple effect,” she explains. Leaders must set the tone, modelling the values they want embedded in the workplace.
Tackle Systemic Barriers with Practical Tools
To attract more women into field-based and male-dominated roles, Barwon Asset Solutions looked closely at the barriers.
“There’s two main challenges,” Anna explains. “One is that women don’t know what the role entails… and the second is they don’t see anyone else doing that role.”
Barwon Asset Solutions responded by:
- Rewriting job ads to highlight what women valued in the role—like being outdoors, finishing work without needing to log back on, and a clear sense of accomplishment.
- Listing female team members as job contacts, so applicants could speak with someone relatable already in the role.
These small changes led to a breakthrough: “We went from zero female applicants to 20, and we hired three or four women into those roles.”
Design Inclusive Infrastructure
To support inclusion, the basics matter.
“Even things like uniforms—having high-vis clothing that fits women properly—makes a difference,” Anna says. Other essentials include:
- Accessible change facilities and toilets for all genders
- Flexible leave policies (e.g. purchase leave, part-time options)
These adjustments show a workplace that recognises different needs—and respects them.
Lean Into Individual Needs
Leadership must move beyond policy into personal understanding.
“You need to understand what their particular circumstances are,” Anna says. “They may need to drop their children off at school… how can you accommodate that and still give them a fulfilling career?”
This individualised support boosts engagement: “When we do this, employees experience a high level of engagement because they can fulfil their family duties and still enjoy a rewarding career.”
And it’s not just for women—“Now that men are seeing it too, they’re jumping on board. We have men working part-time and sharing in caring responsibilities. That’s fantastic.”
Invest in Leadership Pathways
For women to move into leadership, they need visibility and opportunity. At Barwon Asset Solutions:
- 80% of the leadership team are women.
- Programs like LEAD 2030 and mentoring schemes support development at all levels.
But Anna notes the next step: “The challenge is getting more women into middle management. If you don’t have many women starting in field roles, they’re not there to promote. So we’re building up that capacity now.”
Final Thought: It’s About Intentional Leadership
“Certainly for me, it’s about how as leaders we lean into this,” Anna reflects.
Her message is clear: if organisations want the best performance, problem-solving, and engagement, diversity and inclusion can’t be a side project—it must be built into the fabric of leadership and operations, every step of the way.
Case Study: Viva Energy’s approach to building better, more diverse teams through learning agility and listening to employees
Insights shared from Glen Pasque, Operations Manager at Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery
At Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery, a bold and thoughtful approach to workforce diversity is reshaping the operations team—long regarded as a traditionally male-dominated industry. The refinery has transformed how it recruits and trains, successfully increasing gender balance and strengthening team performance in the process.
Rethinking the traditional refinery worker
For years, the refinery’s recruitment focused on a narrow archetype: men in their early 30s, typically with trade backgrounds and a decade or more of experience. This model served its purpose, but it also excluded many talented candidates – particularly women – who didn’t fit that mould.
To diversify the team, Viva Energy challenged those long-held assumptions. The definition of a “good operator” expanded to include individuals with strong learning agility, a collaborative mindset, and a problem-solving approach, rather than just technical experience. Candidates are now assessed on learning agility, including mechanical aptitude, abstract reasoning, and a cultural fit – qualities that better predict long-term success in the complex operational environment.
Recruiting differently, training Smarter
With this new approach, Viva Energy is seeing strong results. In a recent recruitment round, over 1,200 people applied, with nearly 400 women in the mix – a significant jump from previous years. This broader talent pool gives the refinery more high-potential candidates to choose from, male and female alike.
Training programs have evolved too. While the traditional eight-week induction suited ex-tradesmen, the revised approach is more flexible. For those without trade experience, training can be longer where needed, focusing on building foundational knowledge. But longer training is not always required – many recruits pick up the necessary knowledge and skills quickly, especially when supported by structured, well-designed programs and peer mentors.
Empowering through employee inclusion
One of Viva Energy’s biggest successes has been seeking input from experienced operators and placing them into training roles. A standout example is a female operator with 40 years in the industry, who now leads the induction program. Drawing from what she wished she’d known when stepping into new roles earlier in her career, she’s reshaped onboarding to be more practical, relatable, and supportive. The result? New operators feel more confident and connected from day one.
Importantly, both men and women are now stepping into roles as trainers, mentors, and team leads. This shift is not only strengthening operational capability – it’s building a more inclusive and engaged workforce.
Culture change starts with listening
Key to the refinery’s progress has been a shift in mindset and learning from early mistakes: change must be done with the team, not to them. One of the key learnings was that long-standing operators needed to be engaged and have their concerns listened to by involving them directly in recruitment and training. This approach fostered better buy-in, reduced resistance, and better training for new recruits.
Advice for Other Organisations
For companies just starting their diversity journey, Glenn’s advice is clear: Challenge the old paradigms around hiring, training, and leadership. Commit fully—diversity doesn’t yield overnight results. And most importantly, involve your people. When employees help shape the journey, they become its biggest champions.
As Glenn puts it: “We’re not just hiring more women—we’re building a better team.”