Out of 1100 respondents, 64% of women surveyed believed they were not being assisted to move up the ladder to land leading resource sector roles.

Hays Resources & Mining regional director Simon Winfield said women were still under-represented in the coal sector and more needed to be done to launch them into senior management roles.

“The career opportunities available in our coal sector are immense and we should be looking at ways to attract women into the sector,” he said.

“From our experience, we know that many women look for a new job because of inadequate career development and progression opportunities, so a program to assist women into senior management will not only expand the pool of talent internally with leadership potential, but it can also help improve retention rates."

Winfield said Hays’ research had shown that both women and men felt women must work harder than men to gain equality and respect among peers and some women struggled against “boys’ clubs” and male-dominated working environments.

The news follows the recent departure of well- respected Allison Golsby, who resigned from her position as technical services manager at Xstrata’s Oaky North mine in Queensland.

Golsby, considered a role model for women wanting to enter the mining industry, is currently studying for a graduate diploma in underground coal management and for the conjoint masters in business administration and law at Dundee University in Scotland.