The mining industry is currently faced with skills shortage which in turn affects staffing negatively. Mining companies struggle to remain viable and profitable considering the skills shortage.
Gender discrimination in the mining industry
Historically, mining industry has been a male dominated industry with very few women finding their way in the industry right from the entry level to senior most positions. Discrimination based on gender is illegal hence is not allowed but the workplace culture in the mining industry inadvertently lead to subconscious discrimination and this may lead to illegal actions (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). This means that all players in the sector should eliminate any form of unconscious discrimination because it may throw an organization into some costly legal procedures. An example of an organization that also struggles with management of diversity in the workplace is BHP Billiton, an Anglo-Australian mining company whose total staff is over 65, 000 but women only make up of 17% of the staff (Wilson, 2016). The company has put it a target to achieve a 50-50 balance as a way of achieving gender balance in their quest to obtain parity target.
Gender diversity and inclusiveness in the mining industry
BHP Billiton company acknowledges the fact that in mining industry, women are least represented even in boardroom appointments as well as the executive. Even though other industries are also affected, mining seems to be one of the main victims where inclusiveness and diverse operations are just history. BHP noted that the more inclusive and diverse companies performed much better than those that did not adopt inclusiveness. In fact, BHP only has 3 women in its powerful executive committees which are eleven in number but the just introduced policy will encourage a 50-50 balance instead (Wilson, 2016). The company believes that achieving gender balance is an area where the company can make significant progress and added that both males and females will be given equal opportunity. According to Hume (2017) BHP feels that by remaining gender sensitive, they are going to make business sense and there is going to be a more balanced workforce. The company has in recent past been under fire from an activist investor who has been pushing for the gender balance.
Analysis
Theoretically, gender diversity is important in the mining industry but there seems certain bottleneck that prevents gender balance and deters women from climbing up the corporate ladder. There is an aspect of work life balance that may prevent gender balance in the mining sector since resources are static thus requires that the employees adopt around them and mining as a resource is not left out. It may take women time to adopt around mining because they consider work life balance a priority (Rodríguez, 2011). In mining, resources can never be moved and at times, workers are forced to work remotely or even involve shift rotations and the workplace culture may also deter women from growth in the mining sector. Employers have never been able to realize that there exist gender-specific barriers that should be dealt with because there is a gap in perception of the existence of the problem thus making it hard to come up with a common solution (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). In mining, there is need to adopt and deal with multiple environments because there exists the mine site, corporate office and the people doing the exploration that all form different mining environment.
Theories on gender inequality in the mining industry
Inequality theory takes into account female subordination over the centuries as well as higher prevalence of male superiority hence the pervasiveness of male dominance (Rodríguez, 2011). Biological differences among men and women play a significant role in defining the inequality theory. In fact, in BHP and the entire mining industry, male is considered masculine and therefore are expected to hold certain positions that required masculinity. That is what put the industry where it is in terms of gender diversity (Rodríguez, 2011). Men are expected to work at the site and women are thought not to be up to the task. This is the reason also why women are not give the same opportunity for advancement as it is with their male counterpart. The other theory is liberal feminism that argue that gender inequality is derived from historical traditions and advocates for individual rights and equal opportunity as a basis for social justice hence the need to remove all the obstacles that prevent women advancement (Kiraly & Tyler, 2015). Mining industry should get ready to role up their sleeves and move itself from the traditional perspectives that undermined women. All the challenges preventing women growth and advancement should be dealt with within the industry. The last theory is the socialist feminism that argues that the origin of women oppression is capitalism which goes for women because they are a cheap labor supply (Enrenreich, 1976). In mining industry, this theory does not apply because the women are not even absorbed for manual labor that is common in the fields.
Conclusion
Indeed, there is a huge gender balance gap in the mining sector that needs to be addressed. The number of women in the mining industry right from the office messenger to the corporate level is wanting and the fact that BHP Brilliant is addressing that matter shows some positivity. BHP is amongst the few companies that have realized the benefits accrued when an organization adopts gender balance and that is good for its business. In as much as there are recommended means of dealing with gender balance in the mining industry, there players within the industry are slow to adapt the necessary steps and this is a threat towards achieving parity (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2013). Organizations ought to take seriously the issue of gender diversity and develop an action plan that can help align their businesses towards achieving gender balance in order to position them for future growth. A more rapid and collaborative approach is the only way mining industry can achieve gender balance. Mining industry players should be able to sit down and realize the benefits that come with gender balance otherwise very little effort can be put to fight the ethical vice.
Recommendation
There is need to focus on collaborative solution that involves all the stakeholders in ensuring that all the challenges affecting women from progressing or even entering the mining sector are dealt with appropriately.
Mining industry should focus on enhancing visibility of women in the sector by recognizing women role models perhaps through awards to encourage other women to join the industry (Global Mining Standards (GMS), 2016).
Mining industry should work towards arriving at a more flexible working hour for women in order to allow them to have sufficient work-life balance such as time for family obligation (GMS, 2016).
Management should actively participate in encouraging gender balance in order to eliminate any element of unconscious gender discrimination that may plunge them into legal action such as encouraging recruiting practices that encourage women to apply.
The women who are already in the mining industry should support fellow women in the workplace and act as mentors for other women in the industry and speak up about discriminatory elements within the industry.
An organization should do business only with partners that support gender balance uncover or mitigate potential bias and ensure that the brand attracts diverse range of people.
References
Australian Human Rights Commission. (2013). Women in Male-dominated Industries. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/WIMDI_Toolkit_2013.pdf
Enrenreich, B. (1976). What is Socialist Feminism? Women and Marxism. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/subject/women/authors/ehrenreich-barbara/socialist-feminism.htm
Global Mining Standards (GMS). (2016). Women in Mining: Steps, Strategies and Best Practices for Gender Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.globalminingstandards.org/women-mining-steps-strategies-best-practices-gender-diversity/
Hume, N. (2017, Sep. 18). Mining company BHP Billiton makes progress on gender balance. Financial Times.
Kiraly, M., " Tyler, M. (2015). Fallacy freedom: The limits of liberal feminism. Ballarat, Victoria: Connor Court.
Rodríguez, J. G. (2011). Inequality of opportunity: Theory and measurement. Bingley, UK: Emerald.
Wilson, J. (2016, Oct. 19). BHP Billiton aims for 50% of workforce to be women by 2025. Financial Times.
