Project Description
This project develops and pilots a mentoring program designed specifically for women working in the forestry and wood products industry.
The aim is to provide meaningful support, encouragement, and access to inspiring role models, helping women complete relevant training and build fulfilling, long-term careers in the industry.
Through structured mentoring relationships, the program helps participants grow their confidence, expand their professional networks, and navigate the unique challenges of working in a traditionally male-dominated field.
Timeline
February 2025 – June 2026
Lead Organisation
Forestry Australia
Contact
Tracey Gale
Professional Development Manager | Forestry Australia
PD@forestry.org.au
Kaye Tyter
Workforce Development Manager | ForestWorks
ktyter@forestworks.com.au
Forestry Australia has been leading the development of a customised mentoring program designed to support women working in the forest and wood products industry. The program draws on a comprehensive literature review and extensive stakeholder engagement to create a scalable, adaptable model that addresses the unique challenges faced by women in the male-dominated forestry sectors.
Why It Matters
Workforce shortages and emerging opportunities in areas like AI, drones, and robotics in Australia’s forestry and wood products sectors create strong opportunities to attract and retain talented women.
Current challenges
Women in forestry face persistent challenges, including:
These factors reduce confidence and contribute to lower attraction and retention.
How the mentoring program helps
The mentoring program seeks to address these barriers by:
Literature Review
Stakeholder Consultations
Forestry Australia reviewed 34 reports on mentoring programs for women across various industries. It was found that successful programs typically feature:
- High-quality relationships built on trust, compatibility, and mutual respect.
- Dual-focus support that combines both career support and psychosocial encouragement.
- Reciprocal engagement with active contribution from both mentor and mentee.
- Adaptability for relationships to evolve over time.
A series of stakeholder meetings and a follow-up survey (22 organisations responded) identified priorities.
How Research and Feedback Shaped the Mentoring Model
Based on extensive research and stakeholder consultation, Forestry Australia has developed a mentoring program framework tailored to the unique challenges faced by women in the forest and wood products industry. The framework is designed to be inclusive, flexible, and impactful, with the following key features:
Authentic & Selective Participation
The program has been designed to ensure meaningful engagement. Only participants who can be effectively matched will be included, with a focus on achieving diverse representation across key industry sectors. This approach helps create high-quality mentoring relationships that are relevant and beneficial to both mentors and mentees.
Hybrid Delivery Model
Mentoring pairs can choose to meet either in person or online, depending on their preferences and location. The program combines a structured framework with flexible elements that allow each mentoring relationship to be tailored to the mentee’s individual goals, challenges, and development needs.
Strategic Matching Criteria
Mentor-mentee matching is conducted by Forestry Australia’s experienced committee using a range of criteria:
>> Development interests and career goals
>> Compatibility and shared values
>> Geographic proximity (where possible)
>> Communication preferences (virtual or in-person)
>> Sector alignment
To broaden professional networks and avoid internal bias, mentors and mentees will not be matched from the same organisation. The program also welcomes male mentors who are committed gender equity allies. Mentees may indicate their preference for their mentor’s gender during the application process. In addition to open calls for mentors, some individuals may be directly invited by Forestry Australia or stakeholders.
Psychosocial Support & Skills Development
The program prioritises:
>> Professional and leadership development
>> Psychosocial support, including confidence-building and self-advocacy
>> Technical and industry-specific skill acquisition
A dedicated resource toolkit supports each theme to guide mentoring conversations and personal development planning.
Time Commitment
>> Mentors are asked to commit approximately 1 hour per month to mentoring sessions.
>> Mentees are expected to dedicate at least 5 hours per month, which includes preparation, reflection, and engagement with the provided resources.
This balance ensures that both parties can participate meaningfully without being overwhelmed.
Evaluation Framework
To ensure continuous improvement and measure impact, the program includes:
>> Pre-, mid-, and post-program surveys
>> Regular feedback loops
>> Defined success metrics
These tools will help track progress, identify areas for enhancement, and ensure the program delivers meaningful outcomes.
Administrative Support & Communication
Support throughout the program includes:
>> Regular communication with mentoring pairs
>> Hosting webinars and peer learning sessions
>> Facilitating mentor-mentee connections
>> Administrative assistance to keep participants on track and aligned with their goals
This support ensures that mentoring relationships are well-managed and that participants feel guided and connected throughout their journey.
Applications have now closed.
Call for Expressions of Interest | 2025-2026 Mentoring Program for Women in Forestry
Forestry Australia, in partnership with ForestWorks, is proud to launch the Mentoring Program for Women in Forestry – a transformative nine-month initiative designed to empower women across the forest and forest products sectors.
Funded through the Australian Government’s Forestry Workforce Training Program (FWTP), this pilot program will connect 25 mentees with mentors to support personal growth, career progression, and sector leadership.
The program will run for 9 months, commencing in July 2025. It is designed to establish connections within the forest and forest products industries by pairing experienced professionals with those seeking professional development, opportunities for knowledge sharing, and career growth. The program has been developed around a framework and toolkit of resources that will support participants in ensuring effective and sustainable knowledge transfer, acquiring skills, and maintaining momentum.
Why Join the Program?
For women in male-dominated industries like forestry, mentoring provides critical support to overcome systemic barriers, access career opportunities, and build a strong, inclusive community that champions growth and connection. Whether you’re starting, stepping up, or sharing your knowledge, mentoring offers powerful benefits:
For mentees: Develop your career goals, build confidence, improve time management, and grow your professional network.
For mentors: Give back, share your experience, and help shape the future of the forestry profession.
How to Apply
Applications have closed as of 4 July.
Following the pilot, Forestry Australia will provide ForestWorks with the program’s framework, resources, learnings, and webinars, ensuring long-term accessibility and impact for the broader industry.
For more information, contact:
Tracey Gale
Professional Development Manager
PD@forestry.org.au
Program Features
- One-on-one mentoring – Monthly sessions, either online or in person
- Quarterly webinars – Focused on leadership, growth, and navigating the workplace
- Peer support groups – Build connections and share insights
- Mentor training – Inclusive, practical tools for effective mentoring
Each month, the program explores key development themes, such as:
- Defining your career path
- Setting and achieving goals
- Confidence, self-advocacy, and self-belief
- Strategic influence and leadership
- Work–life integration and wellbeing
- Building networks and professional presence
What’s Involved?
- Mentors commit to one hour per month.
- Mentees commit to one mentoring session plus approximately six hours/month for preparation, learning, and reflection.
- All participants receive a toolkit of resources each month to support structured and impactful engagement.
Who Can Apply?
Mentees: The program is open to women working in the forest and forest product industries who are seeking support to grow their careers, develop leadership skills, and build strong professional networks.
Mentors: We welcome expressions of interest from women, men and non-binary individuals who are committed allies of women in the industry. Mentors will be selected based on their experience, values, and willingness to support and uplift the next generation of women leaders in forestry.
Delivery of the Mentoring Program
The pilot program was launched in May 2025 and follows a structured format:
- Monthly One-on-One Mentoring Sessions: Mentor-mentee meetings, each supported by a theme and resource packs focused on the respective themes.
- Quarterly Webinars: Provide group learning opportunities and foster peer connection across mentoring pairs. Each webinar is aligned with a key developmental theme.
Each monthly mentoring session includes:
- A themed resource pack tailored to the topic
- A one-on-one meeting between mentor and mentee
- Practical tools for reflection, goal-setting, and skill development
Mentoring women, strengthening industry
A practical mentoring model for women
Project 17 developed and piloted a structured mentoring program for women across the forestry and forest products industries.
The program was designed to address barriers to workforce and training participation, strengthen women’s industry participation and support sustainable, long-term careers.
Project outcomes at a glance
- 86 applications received
- 27 mentoring partnerships established
- 25 mentoring pairs remained active through to the final phase
- 95% of respondents were satisfied or highly satisfied
“This was a well-constructed program with great resources and support. We both found the engagement valuable and worthwhile.”
END-OF-PROGRAM SURVEY RESPO
Addressing barriers to participation and progression
The project responded to barriers experienced by women across the forestry and forest products industries, including:
- limited access to clear career and training pathways
- low visibility of female role models and mentors
- challenges relating to confidence, bias and belonging
- work–life pressures and inflexible or remote working environments
- limited access to external professional networks and support
- underrepresentation in leadership and parts of the supply chain.
The result is a structured but flexible mentoring model that industry organisations, employers and other potential hosts can adapt for different cohorts, career stages, locations and organisational contexts.
How the mentoring model worked
The project positioned mentoring as both a workforce development initiative and a practical inclusion strategy. It connected women with industry mentors, knowledge, networks and opportunities that can be difficult to access through workplace structures alone.
The nine-month pilot placed the one-on-one mentoring relationship at the centre of the program. Mentors and mentees met monthly for 60 to 90 minutes, either online or in person.
The mentoring relationship was supported by:
- separate orientation for mentors and mentees
- monthly themed resources
- optional webinars and lectures
- peer-support chat groups
- an online discussion group
- ongoing administrative contact
- feedback and evaluation activities.
Monthly meetings provided participants with a dedicated space for reflection, goal setting, career development and practical support.
Inclusive and flexible participation
The program supported women in early-career, mid-career and workforce re-entry stages from across the forestry and wood products supply chain.
Mentors included women, men and non-binary gender-equity allies.
Participation was supported through:
- a choice of online or in-person meetings
- flexibility based on role, location, goals and career stage
- plain-language resources
- role-specific orientation
- ongoing program coordination and support.
Matching considered each participant’s goals, interests, location, communication preferences, sector compatibility and mentor gender preference.
The participant journey
The mentoring model followed five stages:
- Recruit — establish a clear program purpose and time commitment.
- Match — consider goals, interests, location and compatibility.
- Orient — provide role-specific preparation for mentors and mentees.
- Mentor — support monthly meetings with resources and activities.
- Reflect — complete closure, evaluation and planning for next steps.
Development themes
Monthly activities connected mentoring with professional development, training participation and career progression.
- Direction and skills
- Confidence and inclusion
- Connection and leadership
What participants valued
Participants particularly valued:
- the one-on-one mentoring relationship
- access to an external perspective and practical career advice
- increased confidence and career clarity
- connections with women who had navigated similar challenges
- flexibility to adapt mentoring conversations as their goals changed.
“This was a well-constructed program with great resources and support. We both found the engagement valuable and worthwhile.”
“My main goal was creating connections across the industry. My mentor has become a good positive connection for me, and outside of this I have established myself across other stakeholders.”
“I have gained so much from this personally and professionally. I have newfound confidence, and I would recommend this to anyone.”
END-OF-PROGRAM SURVEY RESPONSES
Value for women
The mentoring model provides women with opportunities to:
- test ideas, recognise their strengths and plan their careers
- build confidence and career clarity
- develop trusted professional connections outside their workplace
- learn from role models with relevant industry experience
- prepare for leadership and long-term career progression.
Value for industry
Mentoring turns inclusion into practical workforce development action by supporting women to enter, remain, progress and lead within the industry. Potential benefits include:
- stronger workforce participation, progression and belonging
- a practical leadership and capability pipeline
- knowledge exchange across organisations
- an adaptable model for employers and industry groups
- shared responsibility for gender equity and inclusion.
A reusable implementation package
The project produced an implementation package to help other organisations establish, deliver and evaluate mentoring programs. The model best suits a host organisation that can provide thoughtful matching, light-touch coordination, and flexible timing while keeping the mentoring relationship central.
Establish
Resources include a program overview, mentoring agreement, role-specific orientation materials and matching criteria.
Deliver
Delivery resources include monthly resource packs, discussion prompts, webinars and administrative check-ins.
Evaluate and improve
Evaluation resources include goal-setting tools, surveys, closure activities and implementation guidance.
The implementation package is available for free through the ForestEdu Library.
From pilot to broader practice
The pilot demonstrated that the mentoring model is transferable. Future hosts should adapt the model to their participants and operating environment rather than replicate the pilot exactly.
The model could be delivered through:
- individual guided mentoring partnerships
- employers
- industry associations
- unions
- regional networks
- industry member groups.
Delivery options could include a nine-month cohort, a six-month program or supported individual mentoring pairs.
This adaptable model could strengthen women’s workforce participation, training engagement, career progression, and leadership. It can also help build the networks, confidence and sense of belonging needed for an inclusive and future-ready workforce.
The Mentoring for Women implementation package is available for free through the ForestEdu Library.
Research Report | Mentoring Program for Women in the Industry | Forestry Australia
ForestEdu is a central platform for accessing industry-specific training resources, strengthening professional networks, and addressing workforce capability needs across the forest, wood, and paper sectors.
Designed for learners, employers, and training providers, ForestEdu consolidates tools that support skills development and provide current industry information. The platform is being developed under the Forestry Workforce Training Program, funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
