On Saturday 8th March we mark International Women’s Day with its theme of rights, equality and empowerment. Forico is proudly an equal opportunities employer with female employees occupying an immense variety of roles. We put a few questions to two of them about being a woman in the forest industry in 2025.
Melanie Batchelor worked across the rural sector in northwest Tasmania before joining Forico as a Weighbridge Operator at Forico’s Surrey Hills Mill. She is currently on secondment to the company’s northwest forestry team, gaining experience in the plantation estate as an Operations Forester, and enjoying every moment.
What do you enjoy about your role? I love the variety of work, doing something different every day and working with a great team of like-minded people.
What kind of a career did you envisage for yourself when you were growing up? I had no idea what career path I would follow. Since high school I have predominately been in the forest industry doing everything from packing trees at the nursery, scaling logs, loading log and woodchip vessels, doing insect monitoring. Now I’m assisting with forest operations.
Does it make any difference to you that you work in what might be perceived as a male-dominated area? That doesn’t bother me as I find the guys I work with at Forico are so willing to help you learn and be able to teach you things.
Do you think opportunities for women to work in forestry have improved? They sure have, I’m starting to see more women in the industry all the time, it’s great.
How has Forico facilitated career advancement and ‘equal opportunity’ for you? Forico has given me a great opportunity with my secondment to forest operations. I’m learning about new parts of the business and having the chance to work hands-on outside, on the plantation.
Ashton Brown joined Forico as Maintenance Coordinator and Long Reach Mill in northern Tasmania, overseeing maintenance of fixed and mobile plant on a busy operational site.
What do you most enjoy about your role? So many aspects - working with a great team, and the progress we have achieved in the maintenance. It’s a large and varied site, and my job starts at the gate and goes down to the port.
What kind of a career did you envisage for yourself when you were growing up? I thought I’d work in agriculture as I grew up on a dairy farm. I considered agronomy but didn’t want to do a uni degree. So I changed direction and trained as a heavy vehicle diesel mechanic. I ended up being Apprentice of the year in 2017.
Have there been any setbacks for you because you’re a woman? Not since coming to Forico. But when I was setting out there were too many to count! Careers advisors tried to persuade me against trades, and I had a service manager who made my job difficult. All that just made me more determined to achieve my goals and work where I wanted.
How has Forico facilitated career advancement and ‘equal opportunity’ for you? With Forico, equal opportunity started in the recruitment process. There was no discrimination during the application and interview process. I made the team aware I was a new parent returning to the work force. They accommodated that, and the fact that I was a woman was neither here nor there.
Does it make any difference to you that you work in what might be perceived as a male-dominated area? I see everyone as equal and expect the same respect from others. That begins and ends with professional relationships.
What advice would you give the younger you, when thinking about careers? Don’t let people tell you you’re not capable of something just because you’re female. Take the opportunities when they arise, and stay determined.
What springs to mind when you consider the International Women’s Day theme of rights, equality, and empowerment? I felt empowered when I was treated as an equal. That and having my voice heard allowed me to grow as a person.
Have opportunities for women at work come along way, or is there further to go? The opportunities have doubled in the last twelve years. A small change has been the provision of women’s PPE. When I started my apprenticeship, I couldn’t buy women’s steel cap boots or women’s Hi-Vis shirts. That has changed now, but there’s always room for improvement.