EVERY year, a special day is dedicated to honour women around the world. But it’s not only annually that a corporation celebrates the role of women in their activities, shares their empowering stories and achievements while also highlighting important concerns and issues regarding gender equality in society.
For mining company Vale, which is among the largest miners in the world and operates in 30 countries including Malaysia as Vale Malaysia Minerals Sdn Bhd, this is a daily affair.
It is at this firm that women are claiming their space within the male-dominated mining industry and from now on, their presence will only increase.
The company has set a goal to double the representation of women in its workforce by 2030, intending to work tirelessly to make them feel represented in an environment that is truly inclusive for all.
It is almost as if the company is inspired by the 2005 movie “North Country” starring Charlize Theron which delivers a fictionalised account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States – Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines – where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
So why go to all the trouble when Vale can toe the line and maintain males at the forefront of its operations, transforming natural resources into prosperity and sustainable development?
The Vibes’ Anne Edwards speaks to Reena Talla, regional head of human resources (APAC-EME) of Vale, to find out why it is important for women to be the wind of change at the mines.
Anne Edwards: Why has Vale decided to take this stance to promote and elevate women’s participation in the mining industry?
Reena Talla: The world is changing, and the world is diverse. A diverse workplace commands greater heterogeneity of thoughts and ideas, and is therefore more attuned to the evolving needs of the world, and the society that we serve. Women have added tremendous value to Vale’s transformation. From net zero innovations, to rolling out new green shipping technology, women have been at the forefront of Vale’s transformation to become a company of the future. Over the years, Vale has benefited a lot from the insights, dynamism and innovative spirits of our female colleagues.
AE: What are the challenges faced by women in the mining industry, especially in traditionally male-dominated areas, such as the mines and operational sites, and what Vale is currently doing to address these imbalances?
RT: The mining industry is a traditionally male-dominated space. While Vale has had a solid amount of female representation in the sales and administrative functions for a while already, areas such as mines and operational sites remain largely male-dominated. Things are changing, and I am proud to acknowledge that we are witnessing the rise of young female leaders in Malaysia and Indonesia, taking up leadership roles in operational functions. This was unheard of as recently as five years ago. However, we still have a long way to go. Implicit, unconscious biases still exist. To address this situation, we focus on education to change mindset and the behaviour of the people working onsite.
Globally, since 2020, we have trained more than 4,000 leaders on Unconscious Biases, Female Leadership, Toxic Masculinity, Gender Intelligence. We aim to expand the training to include line leadership, and potentially, all employees in the future. We believe women’s rights are integral to human rights – they are indivisible, and non-negotiable. We have incorporated a human rights module as a compulsory training for all Vale employees, including those in the region. All our employees in Malaysia received the training last year. Vale’s human rights commitment is aligned to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; integral to this commitment is our resolve to create an environment where everyone, no matter who they are, is safe to be themselves, and fulfil their potential.
When everyone feels safe, women feel safe too.
AE: Women in STEM – what are Vale’s initiatives to provide opportunities for more women to lead in STEM?
RT: We have a long way to go in this area, as STEM jobs in the mining industry are usually concentrated in traditionally male-dominated operational sites, such as our mines and ports. But we have made significant progress to improve this scenario.
According to the UN, currently less than 30% of researchers worldwide are women. At Vale, we increased the number of women in the company by 49% in two years (between December 2019 to December 2021). There are now 4,500 more women working in our company, globally. Many of them are engineers, researchers and technical operators.
In Malaysia, we have achieved various milestones since 2019; from the first female operational leader in operations, to the first female forklift driver (which is also the first for Vale in APAC). This is progress.
However, having more women alone isn’t enough. We are committed to empowering more female leaders and decision makers across the organization. Since 2019, the number of women in management positions has increased by 51.2%.
We are also addressing unconscious biases in hiring – a common stumbling block that traditionally impeded the progress of women in the mining industry, by improving our recruitment process to be more inclusive. In 2021, over 40% of employees recruited through our selective process were women; in 2019, only 22% were women.
Ultimately, we aim to increase the percentage of workforce in Vale to 26% by 2025 – from 13.5% in 2019. Speaking of the region, in countries such as Singapore, we have already achieved near gender-parity, so our current focus is to enhance women participation in operational sites in Malaysia, Indonesia and Oman. Progress is being made in the area.
AE: Who are the women figures who have inspired you – what is special about them, and how have they affected and inspired your journey to transform Vale in the region?
RT: My mother has played a very important role in making me who I am today. She has always encouraged me to be the best version of myself and learn from my failures. Another woman who has inspired me is Jacinda Ardern who has effectively led New Zealand since she was elected to office. She inspires me as she chooses to exhibit traits that I admire every day – empathy, authenticity, tolerance and kindness. Although this may be perceived like she may be leading from a place of emotion, she is always decisive and strong in her decision-making – this is the type of leader I aspire to be.
AE: What are the efforts undertaken by Vale to make women feel safe, and thrive in an environment free of harassment and discrimination?
RT: Our aim is to create a safe space for all to thrive in the company; you can be yourself in the company, and we shall strive to make you feel safe and empowered here.
We have a mechanism in place to address harassment. Our whistle-blowers’ channel ensures that all complaints are being addressed while ensuring utmost privacy and protection for whistle-blowers. We also have an ombudsman team, based in Singapore for the region, that investigates every single complaint professionally.
Our stance is clear – we have zero tolerance towards sexism, harassment and discrimination. We do not tolerate, nor do we give any concessions in this area.
While our grievance management channels are in place to protect our people, we also understand that a safe space can only truly be built when everyone in the company truly understands their role and responsibility to treat each other with respect. To achieve this, internal advocacy is key.
That’s why we are investing in training, education and awareness-building campaigns in the company. We want to nurture more allies to stand up for their female colleagues, and women who support each other. This is a process that will take time, but our commitment to do this is unwavering.
AE: To what extent is the mining industry an environment of harassment and discrimination? What is the reason for this? Male domination? Salary structure?
RT: Fighting harassment is a challenge for the mining industry, a sector that has historically been predominantly male. Vale is attentive and sensitive to the issues of harassment, racism and discrimination, acting with rigor and based on its Code of Conduct and internal policies, such as Human Rights and Diversity and Inclusion. In this sense, any attitude that violates rights or that puts the physical and/or mental health of our employees at risk, or that conflicts the code of conduct, is dealt with in a timely manner, with consequence management and with respect for the parties involved, with guaranteed data protection and in compliance with the legislation of each country.
AE: There have been continuous and numerous calls for women to empower themselves and help each other but this is not particularly happening. What can be done to spur this, make it a reality?
RT: I love the idea of women supporting women. While individual experiences may differ, women share commonalities that bind us. As women, we might have faced common challenges, issues and stumbling blocks, especially in the mining industry.
At Vale, there are various initiatives in place to encourage established female leaders to support the development of junior professionals by providing mentorship and peer support.
I am glad that at Vale, we have many exceptional women who have shown us that anything is possible. Three of our global vice presidents are women. In the Asia Pacific region, let me give you two examples; our country managers in Indonesia and China are women. We have nickel mines in Indonesia, while China is the world’s biggest iron ore market. Women lead the operations in these two very important markets for us, and the fact that we have women occupying these positions is important, especially for the junior professionals in the company who look up to them.
We also promote the culture of open and transparent dialogue to understand women’s issues and devise the way forward that helps us to improve together. We have regular forums and engagements that also involve allies, as we view their role as essential in ensuring the success of our diversity, equity and inclusion agenda in the company.
In essence, I can say that we have seen many instances of women empowering each other. But can we do more? Yes, we can. But women cannot be alone in this, we need to also leverage on the influence of allies to build greater internal advocacy in the area.
AE: Do you believe in feminism and should it be championed?
RT: I believe that a woman’s place is anywhere she wants to be. I believe a woman has as much potential to thrive and succeed in any industry, including mining. Does this make me a feminist? Perhaps. But one doesn’t have to be a feminist to think that women deserve equity. One just has to be a decent human being, who believes in fairness and justice. And this is something that I believe should be championed.
AE: What should governments around the world do to uplift women and ensure their rights are taken care of?
RT: As a corporation, we are always keen to partner with governments of the countries where we operate, to champion women empowerment and create more opportunities for women to shine in the mining industry. – The Vibes, March 27, 2022
