As the International Centre of Excellence at the Sustainable Minerals Institute of The University of Queensland, we consider gender equality a priority challenge that mobilizes us as an organization to support women in attaining leadership positions.
As the International Centre of Excellence at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, we consider gender equality a priority challenge that mobilizes us as an organization to support women in attaining leadership positions.
The mining industry has made considerable progress in recent years in workforce diversity, particularly boosting the proportion of women. However, at leadership levels a significant gender parity gap persists, mainly due to a traditional culture that does not favour diversity of thought and experience.
SMI-ICE-Chile and the Australian Embassy in Chile are carrying out a series of initiatives to address challenges related to gender equality in the Latin American mining industry. With the support of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR), last May we conducted the “Leadership program for women in the mining industry,” attended in person by professionals from across the continent and featuring speakers from Chile and the University of Queensland. This program focused on communication, organizational culture, professional development and collaborative work.
Given the importance of this initiative, it was vital to know in advance the barriers women face in their professional development within the industry and their areas of interest for training to overcome these gaps. In collaboration with the non-profit organization Women in Mining, a diagnostic survey was conducted of 691 women in the mining industry in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.
The main barriers mentioned were biases, more than half identified as cultural and organizational. Cultural biases arise from the interpretations of each culture, based on beliefs and values. In their responses, participants described discriminatory situations based on their gender in a predominantly male context, such as the mining industry, perceiving great pressure to demonstrate their ability.
Another 43% of the responses refer to organizational biases, instances within the organizational structure that influence decision-making based on certain beliefs. Difficulty balancing work life with personal and family responsibilities was identified as an additional barrier (21%). For example, one participant responded: “The barriers have been cultural. In addition to gender, also related to age, since I am younger than most of the other professionals; and some other organizational barriers, mainly due to the perception that women are less capable, in addition to the difficulty balancing motherhood with taking on greater work responsibilities.”
These data are consistent with the findings in “Women and the Mine of the Future: Global Report” (IISD, 2023) 2. Although women’s participation in the mining industry has increased in recent years, structural inequalities remain deeply embedded in organizational culture. Barriers in the work environment include: difficulty balancing work and personal life, non-inclusive beliefs and behaviours perpetuated by a male background in the industry, working conditions that do not prioritize the health and safety of women, and a lack of job opportunities that deepen wage gaps.
These inequalities also contribute to low retention of the female workforce in the mining sector and global talent drain, which makes it even more difficult to generate change in gender equality in this industry.
The above is relevant within mining industry organizations. Gender diversity encourages innovation, provides competitive advantages and improves profitability with mixed teams (See ECLAC study “Women in the Chilean mining sector: Proposals for public equality policies” (2016). Including more women in the mining industry is not only a matter of social justice; it has economic and commercial implications. Studies such as “A Gendered Analysis of Employment and Skills in the Large-Scale Mining Sector: Chile Case” suggest that having women in decision-making positions can promote better results and innovation.
The data obtained in the survey carried out by SMI-ICE-Chile are interesting, since they reflect the participants’ career development interests, highlighting their ability to participate in decision-making bodies and their effort to overcome barriers to inclusion in the mining sector. Regarding training needs and interests, 71% of respondents selected ‘effective communication’ while 63% opted for ‘professional career management.’ Other recurring training interests were ‘personal brand development’ (59%) and ‘collaboration and teamwork’ (53%).
The survey allowed for open responses, where participants could express other professional career development interests, which included conflict resolution capacity development (8.5%), managing emotions (7%) and managing sexist situations in the workplace (5.6%).
In their responses, participants also expressed aspirations and needs such as: “raising awareness among others (male leaders) about the capacity of women leaders,” “managing sexist situations in the workplace,” “eliminating gender and age gaps,” “dealing with ingrained beliefs of men in the field,” “identifying opportunities and situations for sisterhood,” and “motivating future leaders.”
These responses underscore the importance of developing specific strategies and skills to address gender challenges in the work environment.
Armed with this data, the Leadership program for women in the mining industry was taught by experts from the University of Queensland and SMI-ICE-Chile, such as Susan Johnston, specialist in leadership and organizational improvement; Richard O’Quinn, academic at the University of Queensland Business School; and Fiona Fraser, global leadership coach and mentor. Participants hailed from mining companies all over Latin America, including Vale (Brazil), Cerrejón (Colombia), Capstone Copper (Chile), RHI Magnesita (Brazil), Drum Major and SRR Mining (Argentina), and Minera Cerro Verde (Peru).
The program reported excellent results, with all participants evaluating it as a very satisfactory experience. (See closing web note)
Over the next few months, a workshop will be held with the participants to evaluate the program’s impact on their workplaces.
“Initiatives like this invite women to empower themselves and continue challenging the perception that the mining industry is an exclusively male sector,” explains Camila Cabrera, researcher in SMI-ICE-Chile’s Social Performance and Resource Governance area and program coordinator. “It is important to promote women’s resilience in this industry so that they continue to participate in this sector, which is key to improving this industry. We need women in decision-making positions, but the responsibility falls on the large number of male workers who must understand the value of working in a diverse environment. This is essential to moving towards equity and transforming the mining industry into a labour ecosystem where everyone can prosper.
“At SMI-ICE-Chile we are committed to working for an industry where women are not only included, but also empowered to lead and drive more positive changes,” emphasizes Doug Aitken, Executive Director of SMI-ICE-Chile. “Alongside the development of new research programs and initiatives, we are seeking partners within the industry to join us in this challenge.”
