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International Women’s Day: How does Glencore support women in mining?

posted: 08/03/2020

Over centuries, many industries have lacked gender diversity – and our world of commodities and mining is no different.

We are working to redress this imbalance.

At Glencore, we believe diversity is essential to our business, and seek to foster an environment where ambition is rewarded regardless of gender.

While there has been progress made in recent decades, still today we find it challenging to fill senior positions in remote mining locations and for the marketing of commodities, by women.

We want to encourage more women to enter the industry by creating an inclusive culture, and by being a great place to work - for all.

 

Fostering female talent through a supportive culture

Hear from our people on how Glencore’s values help create an environment in which they thrive.

“One of my motivators was going into a field where we don’t see women role models. It’s a very tough environment; but that’s why I like it – it’s challenging. There’s a big stereotype that we as women need to smash.”

Alicia Human - Engineering Superintendent

We ensure everyone working for us, no matter their role or location, is safe. Hear more about safety from Alicia.

“I started as an apprentice, and now I’m a Bursar student studying towards my degree. It is my ambition that got me here. When you’re an ambitious person you don’t stop, you just want to get to the next step. And that’s what Glencore does; it helps you get to the next step.” 

Dimakatso Tshoma - Bursar Student

We encourage new ideas, and are always looking for ways to create value. Hear more about entrepreneurialism from Dimakatso.

“You need to work quickly to build an understanding of a very complex process, but you’ll find there’s a generous mentoring spirit here, and a lot of knowledge exchange between sites.” 

Danielle Uys - Plant Metallurgist

We challenge ourselves to continuously improve by sharing information, and by being honest and open. Hear more about openness from Danielle.

Encouraging greater diversity through access to education

We’re trialling programmes specifically for women, such as mentoring in Australia and the ‘SheRocks’ initiative in South Africa, to increase the diversity in our industry. Watch the video to find out more.

We also provide apprenticeships, vacation programmes, scholarships, bursaries and graduate programmes globally to open the door to mining for STEM students and young people in local communities.

Find out more about our global opportunities.

Our approach to diversity

 

We seek to achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce through: 

  • Preventing discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion or beliefs, or on any other basis
  • Challenging traditional mind sets and encouraging and supporting diversity of thought and experience
  • Building a working environment that provides full and equal participation for all groups
  • Providing flexible working arrangements, part-time employment and job-sharing 
  • Overcoming unconscious bias that may occur in our recruitment processes by searching beyond the traditional skill markets 
  • Respecting local regulations and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principals at Work
  • Implementing fair and effective performance-based recruitment to ensure we hire 
tags: Diversity South Africa Women in Mining Australia