A PLATFORM FOR THE SECTOR’S INDIGENOUS WOMEN

Although still a male-dominated industry, recent years have seen the number of women in the resources industry slowly but surely rising, including an increase in the participation of Indigenous women. Despite Indigenous women being regarded as the cornerstone of many families and communities, Development Partner Institute (DPI Mining) Executive Director, Florence Drummond, identified the lack of an established platform for these women to share their stories and communicate with other Indigenous women in the industry.

Seeing the lack of connection amongst Indigenous women in the mining and resources sector in Australia prompted Ms Drummond to launch Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia (IWIMRA), which aims to provide a network for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the country’s mining and resources sectors.

“IWIMRA formed in 2017 as an organic response to being curious about the participation of Indigenous women in the mining and resources sector in Australia,” Ms Drummond said.

“At that time there was not a lot of social engagement online and, living remotely, we had to think about how we could connect with each other in the most practical way possible.”

The first step to determining the reach of this curiosity was to establish a Facebook group, and as IWIMRA built its capacity as a network and a voice for Indigenous women in the global sector, the creation of a group on LinkedIn was the next step.

“In reflection, the leadership of the incredible women in the team has also shaped this into reality, built with trust in a culturally safe way. I am very proud that IWIMRA is what it is today.”

The organisation’s inception

When IWIMRA first started, Ms Drummond said the organisation needed to consider how to ensure all the efforts that were being dedicated towards participation created a legacy impact for future generations of Indigenous women.

As well as this, showcasing continued collaboration with industry has always been an important factor for the organisation and, as such, members work closely with industry to build solutions-driven, cross-culture influential relationships in the hopes this will contribute towards a sustainable future.

“Building our capacity, we wanted to align to other efforts that are focused on the betterment of Indigenous peoples in Australia. IWIMRA Indigenous Corporation realigns to what is now the new normal at both a national and global level,” she said.

Initially hoping to benefit Indigenous women in the mining and resources sector, Ms Drummond was determined to spread the idea that Indigenous women's participation and influence in the industry could be utilised to strengthen relations within the Indigenous workforce and to promote retention initiatives.

“The intersectionality of Indigenous women in this specific industry is quite complex,” she said.

“Some of our early conversations reflected the continued impact of racism in the workplace before gender. There have been many studies by specialised academics in this space that have confirmed these echoing stories across a number of mining jurisdictions.

“What IWIMRA does focus on is the importance of language and the use of how we continue to build our narrative. The IWIMRA inaugural conference was a very important space to collect more in-depth data sets to continue to shape best practice.”

Growing the platform

Since its inception, IWIMRA has expanded its reach to include Indigenous women from all over the country.

“As the original scope of IWIMRA continues to grow, it has demanded the organisation build its rigidity and team.

“The transition into IWIMRA Indigenous Corporation will ensure the participation of IWIMRA is carried into the energy transition with the strength and agility it has built since inception. It will continue to serve the network as a culturallysafe space for Indigenous women to connect, to be informed and to also inform best practice as a vital component of social performance in the industry.”

Through members’ experiences and narratives of Indigenous intersectionality, IWIMRA strives to facilitate the visibility, voice and quality participation of Indigenous women. Despite being based in Perth, IWIMRA’s membership now encompasses more than 2,000 women across the Australian minerals sector.

“IWIMRA continues to build its membership and with the success of the inaugural conference held in Perth on 15-16 June, it has a truly stable membership base that is ready to meet the needs of the sector, uphold the values of the community and to ensure future generations know that they belong in this sector.”

Indigenous women across the globe have been identified as most vulnerable in their opportunities to innovate with fast-paced society. As such, IWIMRA and the platform it offers Indigenous women in Australia has attracted attention on a global scale.

“Over the past years the IWIMRA conversation has travelled to many continents across the globe in growing its global reach to other Indigenous women and rights holders in the minerals sector,” Ms Drummond said.

“I believe this will only continue to be realised as IWIMRA matures as a space for contextual conversations that matter the most to us.”

IWIMRA on a global scale

The growth of the organisation and its platform was on full display at the inaugural IWIMRA Conference.

“The inaugural IWIMRA conference was a moment of our vision coming to life. We invited 150 of our IWIMRA membership to join us for the two-day event.

“Our aim for the conference was to ensure that we extended the invitation to women who would not usually be attending professional development conferences for many different reasons. It has always been important to IWIMRA that we make sure no one is left behind.

“Our IWIMRA network is represented by many women who are at the grassroots level – women who are operators, live in communities and share a similar lived experience like us.

“The conference brought us all together, where we are now convinced that we are no longer alone. It was an incredible experience for us all,” Ms Drummond said.

The conference hosted a collection of speakers who shared their experiences and journey in the resources sector. Ms Drummond said the speakers all “honoured the three elements that we always make time for: the past, the present and the future”.

The conference also hosted a panel of women from around the globe, with the organisation’s WIM sisters from the UK video calling in to share their story. As well as this, a panel of Indigenous male leaders were also welcomed as a demonstration of IWIMRA’s commitment to working as a community for its future participation and success.

“There were so many more connections and outcomes that we accomplished on a personal and professional level for all of our delegates and we look forward to raising the bar for our conference in 2024,” Ms Drummond said.

IWIMRA’s members continue to strive to widen the reach of their platform in the resources industry through participation in other industry conferences, including the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC).

At the 2022 IMARC event, IWIMRA invited attendees to participate in the creation of the 2022 IMARC official prints, which are available for sale on IWIMRA’s website.

“The IWIMRA and Bunya Design initiative at IMARC 2022 was one of the most impressionable initiatives that connected people from many walks of life and many different nationalities to connect through art.

“The three-piece set, titled Past, Present and Future, was created to reflect how we viewed our participation in the industry and most importantly how working together can create an even better future.

“There will be continued efforts to create interactive spaces for conversations – this has been an element of IWIMRA that has really shone across the globe. We are very proud of what we have created.”