Empowering Women in Mining
2007-11-19
Women travelled from as far as Gauteng to Phalaborwa’s municipal lapa on Monday 19 November to participate in a conference centred on the empowerment of women in the mining industry. The event was set up by Rio Tinto, Palabora Mining Company (PMC), the Palabora Foundation and SAWIMA (South African Women in Mining Association) with the aim of promoting opportunities for women in the Limpopo area. The event also covered safety awareness, an integral part of modern mining.
SAWIMA was founded by Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, who was then the Minister for Minerals and Energy, because she was dismayed at the absence of women in the mining industry. According to Alice Phatudi, national chairperson for SAWIMA, Limpopo’s branch of SAWIMA began in 2000 and currently has the highest membership in the country. Ms Phatudi gave delegates a thorough briefing on the activities of SAWIMA, whose main purpose is to promote understanding of the Mining Charter and implementation of its principles through partnerships, lobbying and networking. Membership is only R300 per year for individuals, and the chairperson urged all present to take advantage of the benefits extended to them through membership of SAWIMA.
The speeches began with an overview of PMC’s operations by its Managing Director, Keith Marshall. While acknowledging that the mine has not reached its target level of female employees (ten per cent by 2009), he asserted that the company is working towards that goal and actively encourages women to pursue the career of their choice. Currently, seven per cent of employees at PMC are women.
Part of the problem is in attracting suitably qualified local people: staff who move from other areas tend to miss home and move away again, whereas the local people who join PMC tend to stay. This would suggest that there are great opportunities for local women who have the necessary drive to take on work which is currently attracting outsiders.
Jean Chawapiwa-Pama of Rio Tinto urged delegates to take advantage of the billions being spent by the mines and to exploit all the opportunities being made available to them through training, skills development and SAWIMA’s support. She made the point that opportunities for women did not have to be menial: women should target professional careers as well. She expressed concern that few candidates approaching Rio Tinto through its graduate recruitment scheme are from Africa.
Jean’s own success is partly because she surrounds herself with successful people. She then asks herself, “What are they doing that I’m not doing?” She talked about the need to have goals, broken down into actions. Her favourite quote, from Aristotle, is: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”.
Adele Drake (PMC) gave a talk reminding delegates of the importance of safety within mining, and explained the various programmes in place at PMC to ensure the safety of all employees. She emphasised that safety is a culture that begins with individuals, including protection against HIV, and that managers should lead by example. She also talked about the mine’s environmental health activities, including waste management and protection of the ecology surrounding the mine’s operations.
Representatives from ZenZele Technology Demonstration Centre presented their innovative scheme to assist the small scale mining industry. Funded by SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency), ZenZele sees SAWIMA as an ideal partner. Already helping small scale miners to formalise their operations and improve their profitability, ZenZele also helps small businesses who want to add value to mined products, for example by creating jewellery. There was a lot of interest in the ZenZele team throughout the day.
PMC’s HR Manager, James Holmes, received applause for his statement that women are often better at operating heavy machinery than men. However, it is not so long ago that women were banned from working underground. PMC chooses not to create barriers to employment of women or any other group of people; Mr Holmes urged the delegates to think likewise.
Civil engineer Mampiti Matsabu, recently appointed to the board of directors at LA Crushers, expressed disappointment that South Africa is ranked 36th out of 38 countries for gender equality. She hopes that women empowerment programmes will close the gap.
The final talk was by Absa bank, presenting funding options for small businesses and underlining that a good business plan is critical to success.
Rio Tinto, PMC and the Palabora Foundation look forward to working with SAWIMA more closely in empowering women within the mining industry through creation of opportunities, education and safety initiatives.
Further information
Palabora Foundation: www.pafound.co.za / 015 769 5000
PMC: www.palabora.co.za / 015 780 2911
Rio Tinto: www.riotinto.com / 011 911 9700
SAWIMA: www.sawima.co.za / 015 291 4689 (Limpopo)
ZenZele Technology Demonstration Centre: www.zenzeletech.co.za / 011 709 4674
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