Case Study: Attracting Women to Male-Dominated Industries – Insights from Anna Murray, General Manager at Barwon Asset Solutions
Start with Culture
“I think a strong culture comes from where people feel comfortable and confident to bring their whole self to work, and that’s warts and all. You could be coming on your worst day, but you’re supported, but you also could be shining on your best day,” 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.
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: “For our last recruitment campaign for civil operators… traditionally we’ve had zero applicants. And with these small changes that we put in place, we had 20 women apply for the role.
And as a result of that, I think we recruited three or four women into the roles. So it was highly successful for us.”
Design Inclusive Infrastructure
To support inclusion, the basics matter.
“Even things like uniforms, having uniforms that fit women so that they’re not having to wear men’s uniforms… these sort of things make 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’re able to accommodate that, employees experience a really high level of engagement in their work.”
And it’s not just for women—“We’ve got men that work part-time. We’ve got men that take additional leave, men that are doing a lot more of those caring responsibilities for their children. And I think that’s fantastic for the family environment.”
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 for us is getting more women into middle management roles… if you don’t have a lot of women starting out in field-based roles, then naturally you won’t have a lot of women that are progressing into the more supervisory or team leader roles.
“Investing in those that are showing strong leadership skills with leadership development so that they can grow.”
5 ways to attract and support women in male dominated industries
Create a culture where people feel safe and like they belong at work
Rewrite job ads, use women to help with recruitment and as role models
Offer inclusive uniforms and facilities
Provide flexible work options to support family responsibilities
Invest in leadership development, mentoring and clear career pathways for women
Case Study: Viva Energy’s approach to attracting more diverse teams
Insights shared from Glen Pasque, Operations Manager at Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery
At Viva Energy’s Geelong Refinery, a bold and forward-thinking 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 mold.
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 their 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 to support new employees. 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 helped reshape 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, Glen’s advice is clear: Challenge the old paradigms around hiring and training, commit fully to it and involve your people in the journey.
“We’re seeing the benefit of it now. Perhaps early on we didn’t. So advice to others is there is a benefit, but you’ve got to work hard at it. It doesn’t show up in the first five minutes. It shows up once you’ve been at it for a while,” he says.
“We’re really pleased with the outcome… we’re recruiting better operators in general, better people in general, I think is what we’re really aiming for”.
Five tips for recruiting more women and building better teams
Redefine what makes a great hire
Move beyond historic hiring profiles and focus on attributes like learning agility, collaboration, and problem-solving. Broaden your definition of talent to attract high-potential candidates – especially women – who may not have traditional backgrounds but bring valuable skills, different thinking and fresh perspectives.
Design inclusive recruitment processes
Assess candidates based on aptitude and potential, not just prior experience. Viva Energy’s shift to evaluating learning agility, mechanical aptitude, cultural fit, and reasoning skills attracted nearly 400 women in a single recruitment round, significantly widening the talent pool.
Adapt training to support diverse backgrounds
Offer flexible, well-structured training tailored to different experience levels. Rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all model, provide pathways that help all recruits – regardless of background – build the skills and confidence they need to succeed.
Empower experienced and high-performing employees as mentors and trainers
Involve experienced employees in onboarding and training roles to pass on knowledge in a relatable and supportive way. Leveraging experienced staff with onboarding strengthens team cohesion and enhances onboarding effectiveness.
Listen to employees and involve them in the process
Engage your existing workforce in shaping recruitment and training strategies. Listening to concerns, involving teams in change, and co-designing programs with frontline staff builds trust, improves outcomes, and accelerates cultural buy-in.
Finally, have faith that diversity leads to better outcomes, but understand that results take time.