Workforce Management
Managing diversity in mining HAVING DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE IS CRUCIAL IN ENSURING WORKERS FEEL VALUED, APPRECIATED AND REPRESENTED. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOT ONLY HAVE DIVERSITY IN MINING COMPANIES, BUT ALSO TO MANAGE THAT DIVERSITY THROUGH THE VALUE CHAIN.
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ining companies understand the value and need to manage diverse workforces. This is becoming increasingly critical for the workforces’ strategies like talent attraction, retention and career development. Mining operations where the workforce better reflects the community in which it operates, have increased mine productivity. However, understanding the richness of diversity in diverse workforces is mostly limited. Given mining companies are heavily reliant on data in their day–to–day operations, a data-driven approach gives companies an opportunity to understand diversity in its entirety. The mining sector is growing as a more attractive industry for women, with
about 40 per cent of entry-level roles being filled by women. However, retention is another issue. Women represent an estimated 8 to 17 per cent of the global mining workforce, as the drop-off from entrylevel to executive roles for females in mining is quite significant. The top reasons for women leaving the industry are feeling that work is no longer intellectually challenging and having the perception that there are fewer advancement opportunities than there are for their male colleagues. Cultural Infusion is a Melbournebased company that has established itself as a leader in promoting intercultural understanding worldwide. The organisation began when founder and chief executive officer Peter Mousaferiadis, a renowned
“The mining industry brings so much value, but I think it would be a lot more value to the sector and every single mining company in the world to apply the sort of methodology they use in mining activities when it comes to human resources.”
composer, conductor and musical director, embarked on a quest to bring musicians from an array of culturally diverse backgrounds and experiences together in order to create exquisite orchestral music. Cultural Infusion has won more than 15 international awards, including the United Nations Alliance of Civilization Intercultural Innovation Award. Mousaferiadis was meant to speak at the International Mining and Resources Conference at the end of January, but since it was rescheduled until October 2022, Safe to Work spoke with him about his keynote speech. “At IMARC, I was going to cover the importance of the mining sector and how it needs to look at its processes through a diversity lens,” Mousaferiadis said. “The mining industry brings so much value, but I think it would be a lot more value to the sector and every single mining company in the world, to apply the sort of methodology they use in mining activities when it comes to human resources. “It employs huge workforces from all over the world, and it’s not just about how diverse the workforce is, it’s also about how that diversity is managed. “What sort of strategies can these mining companies implement to make their workforce more representative of the community?” Cultural Infusion has a tool called Diversity Atlas, which is a unique diversity data-analysis platform that provides insight into cultural and demographic diversity within an organisation. It enables organisations to understand
SAFETOWORK.COM.AU 42 MAR-APR 2022
