On the occasion of International Women’s Day, SMI ICE Chile brought together representatives from industry, academia, WIM, and the government to reflect on the importance of fostering a more diverse and inclusive mining industry and on the unconscious biases that hinder progress in this direction.
Joining us on this new 8M anniversary were the Australian Ambassador to Chile, Andrew Martin; Katherine Campos, Deputy Accounting Manager at Haldeman Mining Company and Relationship Management Executive at WIM Chile; Thiare Espinoza Acosta, researcher on Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace and academic at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Chile; Antonia Ariztía, Gender Officer at the Ministry of Mining; and Fernanda Solis M., Principal Metallurgist at Hot Chili Limited.
Andrew Martin, Australian Ambassador to Chile, explained the importance of promoting inclusion and gender equality for the Australian government, particularly in these times when the world is seeing trends that seem to challenge these paradigms.
Doug Aitken, Executive Director of SMI ICE Chile, highlighted the progress made in gender equality in the mining industry, but also the significant challenges that remain.
In Chile, female participation in mining has grown steadily in recent years, reaching almost 15%. However, only 6.8% of this figure holds decision-making positions.
“Placing more women in leadership positions is key to an industry with high standards,” said Doug Aitken. “Despite the progress, many gaps remain for women, particularly at senior executive levels and on company boards.”
On behalf of WIM Chile, Katherine Campos highlighted the importance of this anniversary: “International Women’s Day is a reminder of the historic struggle for equal rights, access to opportunities, and recognition of women’s contributions in all areas, including the mining industry. At Women in Mining Chile, we reaffirm our commitment to continue promoting structural changes that generate more inclusive, fair, and equitable spaces for all.”
As a central part of this meeting, Thiare Espinoza Acosta presented the work: «Study of unconscious biases in the career paths of women in the mining industry in Chile,» in which 33 companies participated, with a sample universe of 56,567 people.
The study cites a number of biases that women face in this industry: a lack of specialized education or incentives to access specific careers related to this sector; a perception that physical work is unsuitable for women; stereotypes that technical skills are associated with masculine attributes and characteristics; and a tendency to refer to women using diminutives or nouns typical of childhood, such as «girl (niña)» or «cabra chica«. This is not the case when referring to men, where the term «old» predominates, associated with experience and wisdom.
One of the relevant findings of this study was the perception that reducing gaps requires greater commitment and responsibility from senior management to address these issues, with leaders aligned and convinced of the importance and value of cultural change to share it with the entire organization.
At the closing session, Thiare Espinoza Acosta, Antonia Ariztía, and Fernanda Solís M. participated in a panel discussion moderated by Camila Cabrera, SMI-ICE-Chile researcher, where they shared with the entire SMI-ICE-Chile team how inclusion and gender diversity had impacted their careers and the main challenges this industry faces in terms of inclusion and diversity.
