Worry not, the Australian mining industry hasn’t been struck by an acute case of reverse sexism.

On the contrary, this gender-specific recruitment campaign is part of contractor Downer Mining’s broader plan.

Downer says its aim is to redress the imbalance of the male-dominated resources sector. At present, the total female workforce at Downer Mining is 14%.

Its target is to reach 25% by 2020, to be achieved by a 2% yearly increase of the female workforce.

Part of that initiative is to recruit 10 female operators each year to join Downer Mining’s teams at five Queensland minesites.

So serious is the contractor about recruiting women only, every check was made to ensure there was no deviation to Australia’s strict anti-discrimination laws.

Downer sought and received approval to run the recruitment campaign, which very deliberately prohibits applications from those of the male gender.

They approached the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for advice on the legality of the plan.

QCAT agreed with Downer’s plan, stating that increased female workforce participation promoted inclusiveness and diversity and reflected a strong corporate responsibility.

“Men are found to be more susceptible to risk-taking than women and it was anticipated that an increased female participation in positions at mining sites would provide an opportunity to improve a safety culture in the organisation,” the tribunal ruled.

And this is where it gets interesting: women are safer drivers.

There has been increasing acceptance across the mining industry that women are safer.

They take less risks, inflict less wear and tear on machines and burn less fuel than their male colleagues.

At a time when operations are trimming fat and driving efficiency at every level, this represents a fairly strong argument to hire women drivers over men.

Women in Mining UK executive chairman Amanda van Dyke said in mining countries such as Australia, the general shortage of available workforce caused companies to hire women out of necessity.

“Out of that was born a realisation that in some capacities, women were actually better than men,” she said.

“One famous example concerns truck driving. Women have proven to be more efficient, using less fuel and causing less expensive wear and tear on the machinery.

“That realisation has spread across the industry and, where available, women are being hired more and more to drive trucks.”

Women in Mining Western Australia founder Sabina Shugg is pleased Downer is acting to bring more women into the mining industry.

“Every environment is better if there’s a bit of diversity, diversity of thought, diversity of gender and diversity of culture,” she said.

“So you’ll end up having a more productive, safer and efficient workforce.

“David Overall, the chief executive officer at Downer Mining, is a great advocate for women in the resources sector and it’s good to see him leading such proactive initiatives.”

Downer Mining spokesperson Michael Sharp added: “Right across Downer, we want to increase women in our workforce, we think it’s good for our business.

“We have 22,000 employees at Downer Group, more than 5000 in our mining division.

“Fifty women-only truck drivers is not a large number.”

We’ll all make our own minds up on whether Downer is chasing headlines or genuinely trying to bring more women into a male-dominated industry.

But the one message that stands out from this is the view that women are better, safer and more economical drivers.

Minesite managers, take note.