The mining sector needs to make itself more attractive to women – as a way of securing the high-level technical and professional skills, and leadership qualities, it needs from the brightest minds.
Much has been made of mining’s slow pace in attracting more women into its ranks, according to SRK Consulting corporate consultant Roger Dixon, but the diagnosis of what keeps numbers so low is less clear.
“Even with the best will in the world, the mining sector still projects an image that discourages women,” says Dixon. “This severely undermines the industry’s urgent need to stay abreast of the latest technologies in a range of mining-related professions, not just mining engineering.”
He says that appointing women as high-profile directors – or alternatively as manual labour to achieve numerical targets – is not addressing the critical need for expertise. He highlights that the mining sector today demands a variety of disciplines outside of mining engineering – most of which are now heavily driven by digital technology. From hydrogeology, geochemistry and environmental science to metallurgy, mineral economics, geophysics, and a variety of engineering disciplines, the world of mining is increasingly complex – and can be entered through many professions.
“The traditional route into mining – though a mining engineering degree and a blasting certificate – is only one of many ways into this exciting industry,” he says. “This old perception also probably discourages many women from even considering a career in the sector.”
Read the full article in Modern Mining
