In 2021, Belinda Janson was the only female waste truck driver in Ipswich City Council’s Resource Recovery team.
Now, almost 10% of the team of 70 are women – and council isn’t stopping there.
Chief Executive Officer Sonia Cooper said she was proud that more women were joining council’s male-dominated fields such as resource recovery and construction, and hoped council’s initiatives to attract female employees would see these numbers continue to grow.
“it’s fantastic and timely that council is making progress in achieving greater representation of women in our resource recovery team,” Ms Cooper said.
“Waste and recycling collections are crucial services that council provide our community and can only benefit from a more diverse workforce.
“In 2021 we applied for and were granted an exemption by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) under the Anti-Discrimination Act to advertise for females only to be recruited for a training program, in a bid to increase the number of women in this part of our workforce.
“While there is still a way to go, I’m pleased that we are making progress in bridging this divide and the momentum continues towards gender parity.”
The ruling by QIRC meant council was exempt for three years from relevant sections of the Anti-Discrimination Act in relation to the advertising and recruitment of waste truck drivers.
However, this exemption was ultimately not required. Following the landmark ruling, council shared Belinda’s story online and through the media to raise awareness among women in the community.This alone proved effective in encouraging women to apply for available opportunities.
