Desley Boyle, Minister for Environment, Local Government, Planning and Women, presented the award at the Queensland Resources Council’s inaugural International Women’s Day breakfast.

“The breakfast and the awards are part of an action plan being developed to encourage more women to consider careers in the resources sector,” said QRC chief Michael Roche.

“It’s clear that the sector needs to do more to attract the attention of women. At present, just 6 percent of our workforce is female and this is just not good enough, particularly when we are facing skills shortages,” he said.

A QRC study involving more than 150 women across Queensland working in the minerals and energy sector gave QRC an insight into how to improve the industry’s appeal to women.

Markovic, who took up her current role in September last year, said her career has been very rewarding and exciting, taking her to different commodities, different roles and different continents.

Outstanding achievement awards were also presented to Kristy Lyttle, senior coal quality geologist at Ensham mine; Anna McMullen, manager of project approvals at Rio Tinto Coal Australia; Julie McNaughton, environmental superintendent of BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s Blackwater Mine; Kelly Stokes, refinery specialist at Sun Metals Corporation’s zinc refinery in Townsville; and Melanie Webber, project field engineer at BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance’s Peak Downs coal mine in central Queensland.