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Contract/casual status made female coalmining employees first to go in downturn

Women began working in production roles in Queensland coal mines in the late '70s "as a public relations exercise rather than a genuine willingness to embrace equal opportunity", according to a new university study. But by last year they accounted for 6.3% of the industry's blue-collar workers, until their predominantly casual and contractor status meant they were first to go when the Global Financial Crisis hit.