In marking its second National Day of Women in Mining on August 19, Minerals Council South African and the Women in Mining Leadership Forum (WiMLF) initiative say they have made inroads into better representation of women in the mining industry.

The first National Day of Women in Mining held on August 21, 2020, aimed to accelerate the process within the Minerals Council leadership, in mining company boardrooms and within mining companies themselves, thereby putting the advancement of women on the agenda.

Minerals Council president and WiMLF chairperson Nolitha Fakude says a commitment to furthering the involvement of women in all aspects of the South African mining industry is something that should be “front and centre” for the leadership of all the council’s member companies on a daily basis.

“This commitment has to go far beyond the lip service of positive words and Women’s Month campaigns. We expect to see the commitment bearing real fruit,” she says.

This year’s theme for Women’s Month is Generation Equality: Realizing Women's Rights for an Equal Future.

In the year that has passed, the Minerals Council and WiMLF have pressed on with undertaking a survey across member companies to determine the status quo as part of the goal of zero tolerance towards gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

The insights from this survey will inform a proposed strategy on GBVF for the industry to implement.

As part of the women empowerment strategy, so-called foundational measures have been developed, which can be used to measure yearly success against.

As part of their second foundational measure, the organisations say a framework on development of gender diversity and inclusion policies was adopted by the WiMLF and circulated to companies in May for adoption. A review of its adoption will be undertaken in January 2022.

As for the third foundational measure, the organisations have developed a dashboard which will track the progress of Minerals Council member companies in achieving the foundational measures’ key performance indicators. The dashboard will be introduced to companies for the start of reporting this month. 

For its fourth foundational measure, the organisations report that a strategy for use by the industry in tackling unconscious bias is being developed, with a provisional adoption date for the overall framework set for October.

In line with foundational measure five, a pulse check survey has been developed and approved by the WiMLF. It will be circulated to companies in September and the results will feed into the overall Women in Mining strategy and be used to develop actions and focus areas for 2022.

Encompassing both foundational measure six and seven, a survey of personal protective equipment (PPE) and existing built physical environments was conducted in April and May, as a gap analysis to determine the adherence of Minerals Council member companies to the Mine Health and Safety Council code of practice guidelines on the provision of PPE specific to women.

However, although the sample was not large, the findings of this survey illustrated that women still experience challenges with access to appropriate PPE and ablution facilities.

Minerals Council and Women in Mining champion VP Paul Dunne says the point has passed where a company can choose whether or not it wants to be a part of this initiative. “It is a business imperative at every level. And it is also a moral imperative. I am really pleased with the response we have seen from so many Minerals Council member companies over the past year.”

Also, the Minerals Council notes that considerable effort is also being put into developing wider stakeholder relationships, with institutions including the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Mine Health and Safety Council, the Mines Professional Associations' Secretariat, Women in Mining South Africa and the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter says the council calls on all member companies to fully engage with and commit to supporting the Women in Mining initiative, given its importance for the future and viability of the mining industry.

“Quite simply put, if we do not get this right, then the future of the industry is under threat. So many of our members do see this, especially at an executive level, but there is a gap between the theory and the practice, which we need to see closing,” he says.