The Carrington grain terminal was once a sea of orange high-vis, but splashes of other colours have been appearing at the Newcastle site.
Leading the change has been terminal operator Huia Raniera, who has been spray-painting tutus purple and putting up rainbow posters around the site.
Growing up in Sydney, the Māori woman said she never imagined a stint as a harvest casual with GrainCorp in 2011 would lead to a career in agriculture — let alone the opportunity to foster a more inclusive workplace.
"My first harvest, I think I was the only person of colour but there were so many other women on site as well," Ms Raniera said.
"Even back then, it was an achievement. I didn't realise that at the time.
"But the stigma behind the industry that it is dubbed a man's job. It's not.
"I've worked at many sites across the company and have been respected — in every sense. We all get into the job, we all get in and have fun. It is a family environment."
And the face of the grain industry has been changing. Figures from GrainCorp's 2020/21 harvest season show half of the casual workforce was female.
To support this growing diversity, GrainCorp has become a member of the National Association of Women in Operations, which gives employees access to in-person and virtual workshops, mentoring programs, webinars, and events.
Acceptance and authenticity
Last year, Ms Raniera took on a new leadership role as one of the ambassadors for the company's Inclusion and Diversity Action Plan.
"It was daunting just because I didn't know what I could offer," she said.
"But we've got our agenda and, from it, I've been running engagement sessions with my workplace once a month.
"I like to touch on emotional fitness and the mental side of the job and how we can deal with it, and how we can help each other through it.
"If I didn't have the support of my fellow ambassadors and from my company, I don't know if I would have ever brought this into fruition."
Ms Raniera said she first came out to colleagues as bisexual in 2020, but preferred to describe herself as part of the LGBTQI+ community.
"I don't like labelling myself, but I know that I had to give one for certain people to understand," she said.
"A few people took their time to warm up to the idea, but then quickly realised that just because somebody's labelled themselves doesn't change who they are and the work that they do.
"So it was challenging, but we overcame it and a lot of the guys are more chill now. They can openly ask questions, joke, and have meaningful chats now.
"And a lot of them have kids and I expressed to them, 'If ever there are questions that you need to ask, I'm happy to help'."
