Women in the Mining Industry: The Female Voices of Anglo

Italia Boninelli
Executive Vice President, People and Organizational Development
AngloGold Ashanti LTD

What have you enjoyed most about your role in the industry?

I have spent more than a decade in the mining industry and have seen significant changes and challenges. I have dealt with building new mining projects and running operations in countries that are not mining friendly, or are politically unstable or under high risk of executive kidnappings and civil war.

I have seen natural disasters such as floods, to outbreaks of diseases like Ebola.  I’ve witnessed labor unrest and strikes in some of our African countries, with the invasion of our mining pits by hundreds of illegal miners. So the role has never been boring and has always stretched me.

What do you consider the most successful aspect of your mining leadership to date?

I was part of a team that supported and coached an executive team through a significant organizational crisis a couple of years ago. Our team took the company through a huge expansion phase for a few years on the back of a very favorable gold price. We were faced with huge skills shortages at a time when many companies in the mining industry and neighboring industries were going through a similar expansion phase, and so we were highly focused on the recruitment, development and retention of key skills.

I led the team that redesigned and restructured the entire global business in a completely transparent process involving redefining for each function and area what work was transactional and what was strategic and how the work would be delivered at operating unit, regional or corporate level. Within a year we had achieved both our cost-saving and our restructuring objectives.

Why do you think there is such a big gender gap in the industry?  What is needed to create change?

Mining can be perceived as dirty and dangerous and with the potential to create significant environmental damage if not managed ethically.  As such, the industry struggles to attract not only women but also young talent.

The mining industry needs to do more to attract women into core technical roles, and to put in place clear talent management and coaching programs to help accelerate women into more senior roles and provide more flexible working arrangements. This includes policies around bursaries and scholarships, maternity leave, and equal pay for equal work.

But it is not only the companies that need to ‘lean in’.  This is a phrase coined by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook where she describes how women sometimes sabotage themselves and settle for less.  She urges women to lean in, be more ambitious, stand up for what they deserve, and actively drive their own careers forward.

Claudia Diniz
Head of IP and Technical Information
Anglo American Plc

What made you join the mining industry?

I was doing my master’s and had the opportunity to work for Vale S.A. and visit one of its mines. I became fascinated with how we can transform “dust” into “metals”, and make a difference in the economy of a country.

What do you enjoy most about your role in the industry?

I enjoy thinking that we can make a difference, bringing more life to the world by discovering some of its technical challenges, and showing some strategic and innovative ways of solving them. I believe women in the industry can bring a kindness and delicacy to a harsh environment.

What do you consider the most successful aspect of your mining leadership to date?

The creation of a different and more strategic way of managing technology in a big mining company, which urged significant leaders of the company to work together and care about technology and strategy and the matching of both.

Why do you think there is such a big gender gap in the industry?

I believe this gap starts at university. The main university degrees that are requested by the mining companies are very technical—mining engineering, geology, metallurgical engineering, and so on. These courses are largely filled by males, even nowadays.

Mine locations are often very remote. Many women (often due to childcare demands) are not as able to work on a ‘fly-in, fly-out’ model, or stay away from home for the week and come back only at the weekends. These are demanding challenges that often require significant life choices.

Gender prejudice may also be a factor, but I believe this is getting less and less so. Fortunately, the new generation tends to understand the value that a woman in the work environment can bring; they also understand that there is no real difference in terms of work efficiency and competency between a man and a woman.

What is needed to create change?

It is progressing, although right now, it is still a man’s world in mining. It is important for women to persevere and not give up. It is hard but it is worth it because you can be part of a very important industry that can develop and make a difference in the growth of any country.

What advice do you have for young women looking to pursue a career in mining?

Please choose the profession you love to be in. It is a choice you are making for something you will be attached to the rest of your life or at least to a big part of it.

Johanita Kotze
Lead Hydrogeologist
Anglo American Plc

What do you enjoy most about your role in the industry?

I enjoy the variety of challenges, and the high degree of versatility, adaptability, multi-disciplinary and innovative thinking, and implementation strategies required to meet the requirements of an ever changing economic, legislative, and social environment in the mining industry.

What do you consider the most successful aspect of your mining leadership to date?

To be able to be part of Anglo American’s dynamic leadership team, influencing the thinking and direction on water management in a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team that aims to achieve water resilience for our business in collaboration with other role players in the catchments where we operate. I am passionate about water management and playing my role in realizing the value of water at all levels of society.

Why do you think there is such a big gender gap in the industry?

Thirty years ago, both in South Africa and many other places in the world, women could not work underground. The few positions available in mining were reserved for exploration and other office-based jobs. Leadership in mining often requires one to have exposure and experience across the full value chain, which may require working on a mine for part of your career. The gender gap is a reality, given this historical legacy. But it’s one that can change, if we make our working and training environments—as well as our culture—more accessible to the young women considering a career in our industry.

What is needed to create change?

We need to increase the amount of women entering the mining industry at the operational level. This means continuing to enhance the working conditions in our mines (surface and underground) to facilitate the different facilities required. We also need to acknowledge that women bring unique skills—cognitive, behavioral, and emotional—that can be very complimentary to the working environment. Most importantly, we need to realize that any form of diversity requires greater emotional maturity—and we must all strive for this maturity.

What advice do you have for young women looking to pursue a career in mining?

Understand yourself well, don’t limit yourself, and just be great. If you earn respect, you will be valued. At the same time, be mindful of the local culture. Some societies in South America and Africa are more traditional and will present unique challenges.

Jeanette Mcgill 
Head of Technology and Innovation
Anglo American Plc

What do you enjoy most about your role in the industry?

I find my role in the mining industry very gratifying as I have the opportunity to drive change for the industry both through the application of technology and innovation as well as being a role-model for other women in mining. The ability to drive change in these areas means that I believe that my role is a highly relevant one.

Why do you think there is such a big gender gap in the industry?

Mining was traditionally not viewed as a career suitable for women. It was often convicts that worked in mining as hard labor sentences. The number of roles available to women have definitely increased over time. Also, many men aren’t necessarily attracted to working in the mining sector either. I believe that through time the gender gap will decrease, but, having said that, I firmly believe that significant career opportunities exist in the mining sector for those wanting to part of a challenging industry.

What advice do you have for young women looking to pursue a career in mining?

Be bold. Be brave. Take the extra effort to learn and understand some of the technical skills underpinning the knowledge base. But most of all have fun while you are doing it.

Vanessa Lickfold
Head of Early Mining Studies
Anglo American Plc

What do you enjoy most about your role in the industry?

Early in my career I realized that one of my passions is ‘seeing what could be’ from very early in the mining value chain. My current role as Head of Early Mining Studies combines this passion with solid business experience and principles. I find this combination very satisfying and enjoyable.

What do you consider the most successful aspect of your mining leadership to date?

Being able to convert my vision for the Geosciences department at Kumba Iron Ore into a work ethic that inspired the whole team at the time and continues to drive continuous improvement is particularly gratifying.

Why do you think there is such a big gender gap in the industry?

Although my response might be seen by some as controversial or provocative, I think it’s as much our own inability to be duly assertive, which is mistakenly perceived as being submissive, as it is the fact that the mining industry has been an historically male-dominated industry for millennia just by the sheer inhospitable nature of the environment  This is definitely not the case in all spheres and cultures nowadays, but it did play a part in the derivation of mining legislation decades ago that haven’t been updated uniformly across the world.

What is needed to create change?

I would say cultural acceptance of gender equality is key.  Such changes are happening, but does vary between cultures and countries.

What advice do you have for young women looking to pursue a career in mining?

It’s not an industry for everyone, but if you’re passionate about what you want, you will find a path forward. Be confident without being aggressive or malevolent; acknowledge and accept when you’ve made a mistake, but learn from it and don’t make the same mistake twice. Work hard AND smart—working harder isn’t enough anymore; you need to work smarter too.