ASX-listed mining company Macmahon has almost 10,000 team members and a market cap of $750 million, but no paid parental leave scheme.
The news that such a firm could lack a scheme was shared on the front of the Australian Financial Review this morning.
In 2025, it’s not just surprising that such a large entity could lack a scheme, but it also says something about its leadership not having the foresight to address the issue. Especially in the mining dominated mining sector that is desperate to attain and retain staff.
Macmahon claims it’s working on a “people road map” to introduce a scheme in the future, according to the AFR.
Does introducing paid parental leave really require a map, or consultants, or yet more rhetoric around what it could be? Is the idea of of paying a team member a certain period of leave after they bring a new baby into their lives really that complex, knowing you’re also supporting that person in returning to the office?
The Workplace Gender Equality Agency offers a comprehensive guide for getting it done.
Macmahon could also look at what its industry peers and competitors are doing. The largest companies in the sector are typically offering between 12 and 18 weeks of paid leave for new parents (with some policies offering it label-free and regardless of gender), while Fortescue currently offers 26 weeks for primary carers.
Meanwhile, the Macmahon statement also wanted to make it clear that the people road map, which would include a scheme, would come in “parallel with executing our growth strategy to ensure financial health”.
In case anyone was thinking for a second the company would be going on a baby-inducing espending spree
Macmahon also aims to increase its percentage of female team members to 15 per cent. That would be an ambitious one per cent higher than its current level, at 14 per cent. It’s amazing, then, that women significantly dominate the images of employees listed on the ‘Why join us’ careers page, where the company also notes that it “recognises the benefits of having a diverse workforce and seeks to create an inclusive workplace environment.”
Six of the seven-person board at Macmahon are male and appear to be of a similar generation. The sole woman, Maree Arnason, only joined the board in November 2024. CEO Michael Finnegan has been in the role since October 2016.
While I’d like to believe that 2025 is the year that outliers like Macmahon finally catch up on offering the basics to new parents and families, thereby highlighting the importance of supporting parents through this transitional period, I’m no longer confident with the idea that progress merely comes with time and that companies inevitably catch up to each other (just have a look at the backlash to diversity and inclusion programs in the United States).
However, a little bit of public pressure may do the trick, inevitably leading to investor pressure. In this case, the company’s lacking scheme is shared as front-page news in the national financial press, with the ASX listed entity being listed as an “outlier” in its industry. Something the company’s leadership may be spurred into action to change.