• There is an urgent need to rethink gender in mining employability reports, Graciela Arrieta affirmed.

In the fourth edition of Rumbo a PERUMIN, an event organized by the Peruvian Institute of Mining Engineers, it became known that the global average of female participation in the mining activity is 11%, with countries such as Chile (14%), Australia (17%) and Canada (20%) excelling above the average. However, the current percentage in Peru (6%) is a cause for concern, according to Graciela Arrieta, Executive Director of the Australia Peru Chamber of Commerce.

She noted that there is a growing awareness regarding the importance of embedding diversity and inclusion policies and programs in all industries, and especially in the mining industry, as it is a key part of the global sustainable development agenda and has proven to promote better decision making, innovation and problem solving, equal opportunities, a positive work environment and greater commitment to the organization.

Nevertheless, based on the recent study: “Women and the Mine of the Future,” she acknowledged that in Latin America there is a substantial presence of sexist biases and the prevalence of inherited archaic attitudes against the participation of women in mining, which hinders the entry of new applicants and the retention of hired female workers. As a result, mining continues to be mistakenly perceived as a male-only activity.

In view of this, she pointed out that countries in Europe and Australasia have set concrete medium-term objectives for their mining companies to achieve significant progress in the inclusion of women in their operations by 2030, in addition to the collaborative efforts of multinational organizations, such as the International Council on Mining and Metals and the World Bank, to promote parity and equity commitments among their partners and members.

Progress on gender issues at the global level

Thus, the former president of Women in Mining Peru (WiM Peru) highlighted the case of Australia, where the government, companies, civil society and academia work together to encourage women to work in mining and support their professional growth once they have a job, as well as to overcome barriers in recruitment and retention, and to prevent harassment and bullying within the organization and even domestic violence.

Moreover, she pointed out that in Canada, mining companies recruit indigenous women, giving them access to technical training, better income and comfortable environments for their professional and personal self-realization; and, at the same time, they have established the use of non-sexist images and language in job postings and other types of corporate actions to promote applications, initiative-taking and leadership.

As for Peru, Graciela Arrieta noted that since 2019, gender has not been considered in the mining sector's employability reports, which provide a diagnosis and analysis of female participation, the positions of greatest involvement and average income. Therefore, she deemed it important to resume this practice in order to have a baseline and subsequently take actions to accelerate diversity and inclusion.