Why gender matters - Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining ...

There are several initiatives that
seek to encourage and support
Aboriginal women and men in
mining employment at Rio Tinto
Iron Ore. For example, there are
now two Aboriginal recruitment
advisers, both of whom are
women. These officers work to
encourage Indigenous people to
apply for jobs within Rio Tinto.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that
having two Indigenous female
recruitment officers has helped
to encourage more women to
apply. These officers encourage
all Rio Tinto Iron Ore sites to
consider employing Indigenous
women and men, and provide
ongoing support to the site
Human Resources teams and line
managers in sourcing suitable
Aboriginal applicants for the
vacant roles that they have. The
Aboriginal recruitment advisers
have found that operations are
very receptive to employing
Indigenous people, including
women, but are not always
proactive in their approach.
A database of all Aboriginal
people that have applied for
employment with RioTinto Iron
Ore is maintained, and can
be disaggregated by gender.
This database currently holds
the details of more than 1,600
Aboriginal job seekers Australia
wide. When a vacancy occurs,
Human Resources contacts the
Aboriginal recruitment advisers
who refer job seekers onto them
for consideration. Aboriginal
applicants meeting the minimum
criteria for a role are invited to
a selection centre/interview.
An Aboriginal recruitment
adviser is present when an
Aboriginal applicant is being
assessed. Once in the workplace
Aboriginal recruitment advisers
become involved if issues of
discrimination arise.
While some progress is being
made, there is room for
improvement. For example, all
divisions within Rio Tinto Iron
Ore have Aboriginal employment
targets, but these are not yet
gender based. One strategy is to
employ more female mentors to
work directly with and support
Aboriginal female staff to help
retain them in the workplace.
Scholarships
The Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Aboriginal scholarship
programme is aimed at assisting
students to get through university
study free from Higher Education
Contribution Scheme (HECS)
debt and the purchase of text
books. The programme is mainly
for Pilbara Traditional Owners,
however other students will be
considered. Currently there are
eight Indigenous females involved
in the scholarship programme,
and three males. There is an
increasingly high interest
from females. Female scholars
currently participating in the
programme are studying areas
such as geology, film and media,
community management
and medicine.
Cross cultural awareness
Rio Tinto Iron Ore also runs cross
cultural awareness that involves
both men and women. Women
play a key role in delivery, as most
of the current traditional land
owners who present are female.
Cross cultural awareness is
mandatory for all new employees
and contractors.
Annual dinner
Responding to the aspirations
of the Ngarluma women,
Rio Tinto Iron Ore supported
the introduction of an Annual
Women’s Dinner. The dinner is by
invitation from a senior Ngarluma
elder and a small working party
that she establishes each year.
The dinner is an opportunity
for Ngarluma women to meet,
socialise and network on a
special night of the year in an
alcohol free environment.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore has a female
vice president who attended the
dinner. The evening also provides
an opportunity for Rio Tinto Iron
Ore community relations staff to
continue to extend their networks
and nurture existing relationships
with Ngarluma and other
traditional land owners.
In part as a result of the success
of the dinner programme, women
have come to Rio Tinto Iron Ore
to share their ideas for more
opportunities to get together
to socialise and start some self
development programmes.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore Community
Relations is discussing ideas for
bingo, karaoke and talent quests
that would bring community
together, and also a programme
for young women in personal
presentation, including fashion.
The programme will extend from
the coast, inland to the town of
Tom Price.
Community relations
The positive work of the
Communities team has seen
robust relationships develop
between Ngarluma and Rio Tinto
Iron Ore. There is a high degree of
responsiveness. For example, the
recent groundbreaking ceremony
required as part of the power
plant development was required
sooner than expected. Although
sometimes difficult to organise at
short notice, the Ngarluma people
agreed to break the ground. The
ceremony involves both men and
women. The elder who officiated
the ceremony was female.
While the projects and programmes
outlined above are gender sensitive,
they are not necessarily formalised
in policies and plans. They have
evolved through the interaction
with the communities. 9
59
Case study 9