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People Moves
Empowering Indigenous Women Florence Drummond
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Believing in the importance of raising the profile of indigenous women in mining, Florence Drummond is the proud CEO and Co-Founder of Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia (IWIMRA).
Whilst Drummond’s early career started in tourism and hospitality; she moved to Weipa (Northern Queensland) to be closer to her family, where she began working as a haul truck operator at the Bauxite mine.
“Moving to Weipa with no confirmed job and experiencing caravan park living was definitely character building, and I loved it. Successfully securing a role as an Operator was a great opportunity to be part of the industry,” reflects Drummond on her early years in the Mining industry.
After spending more time with her team members, Drummond began to learn more about their ambitions and challenges, taking notice of the lack of communication when it comes to opportunities to progress.
“I was approaching it from the perspective of ‘why are there not many Traditional Owners and other Indigenous people as leaders on-site [...] But I gradually began to focus on what was and wasn’t in my control and how I could proactively make myself a better candidate for when opportunities came along.
“This resulted in me moving for work in the Pilbara after being offered a supervisor role - my whole mantra with IWIMRA was around progression and being proactive, so if I wasn’t going to action that, then who was I to even be talking about it,” says Drummond.
By 2030 IWIMRA aims
to: support 10 people a year - women and men - to complete the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ courses and gain a qualification that is valued in Mining
The Leap to Full Time CEO of IWIMRA
Founded in 2017, the IWIMRA has been shaped by the experiences Drummond has faced. “The genesis for IWIMRA was my own experience
