Modern Mining August 2022

WOMEN IN MINING

So, great strides are being made in creating early talent pipelines for the industry. What measures are in place to grow the pipeline of new female leaders? The mining industry continues to offer bur saries and scholarships to ensure that the pipeline of new female leaders con tinues to be strong at entry level. These programmes are intent on sourcing, attract ing and recruiting female candidates to early career development programmes that offer structured, foundational capability building, mentorship and industry relevant work expo sure. Various companies have got leadership development programmes for women in lead ership roles to help support the advancement of women in their careers. What role is the move towards mechanisation, innovation and technology making in attracting more females to the sector? Mechanisation, innovation, and technology are cru cial, not only to attract women into the mining sector, but also to facilitate physical work capacity require ments to be more accommodating and gender inclusive and the re-engineering of work processes to achieve this aim. Mechanisation and technology also create the opportunity to re-engineer remote working models that provide women more flexibil ity to fully engage in their careers while also having the flexibility to tend to domestic obligations where necessary. The Minerals Council is a partner in the Mandela Mining Precinct, which itself has partnered with universities in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Stellenbosch to modernise the industry and make it safer, productive and cost effective to unlock and extend the life of South Africa’s resource endowment. equity agenda amongst its members? The Minerals Council’s board has identified Women in Mining as a key priority pillar in its strategy. It has put structures in place to ensure that the programmes by the Women in Mining initiative receive the highest attention of senior figures in member companies, and that they receive the full support of the indus try. Representatives of member companies sit on various forums and contribute strategically to women-in-mining initiatives, while also con tributing to the working groups which drive the various work streams that make up the women in mining strategy. It is a format that stream lines the efforts of the Minerals Council and member companies to effect transformation in the sector.  How is the Minerals Council itself evolving and driving the gender

closing the parity gaps in core mining disciplines. Our sister organisation, Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA), runs a programme that offers men torship to young women in mining in the early stages of their careers. WiMSA is in the process of developing a career booklet, which will be dis tributed at local schools – especially in mining host communities – that showcases all the dif ferent exciting careers available to women. The booklet will include examples of women already in those careers to ensure young girls in school can visualise themselves in different careers in mining. In addition, the Minerals Education Trust Fund (METF), which is funded largely by mem ber companies of the Minerals Council as well as other companies in the mining value chain, con tinues to support the sustained continuity of higher education in core mining industry feeder disciplines, namely geosciences, mining engineering and metal lurgy and processing, and are tracking close to 40% female students at universities across the country.

Great strides are being made in creating early talent pipelines for the industry.

Mechanisation and technology create the opportunity to re-engineer remote working models that provide women more flexibility to fully engage in their careers. Mining as a key priority pillar in its strategy. The Minerals Council’s board has identified Women in

18  MODERN MINING  August 2022