Women comprise a paltry share of top executives at global metals and mining companies, holding just 11.1% of C-suite positions, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Despite diversification targets and other initiatives, women comprise just 14.0% and 10.3% of employees in broader executive roles and on company boards in the sector, respectively. However, several large companies say they are taking steps to address the gender gap.

"The fiction that 'women are less ambitious than men' remains commonplace, and so the story goes, there are fewer women in the sector," Anglo American Platinum Ltd. CEO Natascha Viljoen told Market Intelligence. "Rather, the truth is that the lack of opportunities and exclusionary organizational cultures breed barriers to entry for women."

Women underrepresented at the top in mining, metals

S&P Market Intelligence reviewed Professionals Data from 2,291 metals and mining companies, assessing the gender of senior executives and board members based on the use of honorifics, pronouns, and first names. It is the second time Market Intelligence has conducted the analysis, but the 2020 study focused on only about 250 publicly traded companies. While the industrywide percentages cannot be directly compared, a comparison of the companies included in both studies indicates some progress in gender diversification for the larger companies. See methodology section for more details.

The low representation rate of women among metals and mining companies is similar across major geographies. Though companies based in the Middle East and Africa appear to have markedly higher levels of representation based on the analysis, the sample size of countries from those regions is much smaller.

Several studies have shown that when diversity is lacking, companies miss out on numerous benefits. For example, research published by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2013 found that the average profit margin for companies with women board members was 23% higher than the average net profit margin for the top 100 mining companies. In the two years after the appointments, companies with women CEOs saw a 20% increase in stock price momentum, while companies with women CFOs saw a 6% increase in profitability and 8% larger stock returns, according to an October 2019 study by Market Intelligence.

In a February 2020 article, BHP Group Ltd., the largest mining company in the world by market capitalization, shared findings on diversity and inclusion efforts that pointed to 67% fewer recordable injuries and an 11% increase in planned and scheduled work delivery from its most inclusive and diverse teams.

Two decades ago, companies "probably would not have dedicated time and energy to exploring how mining companies should be creating a growing culture of environmental, social responsibility and good governance," Viljoen said. However, investor focus on environmental, social and governance factors in decision-making has intensified in recent years and mining companies are increasingly assessed by how well they earn and build on their social license to operate.

"Society is demanding more from us as an industry," Viljoen said. "It is no longer enough for us to think of ESG as a fad that is wheeled out once a year for annual reporting purposes."

Perpetua Resources President and CEO Laurel Sayer addresses a crowd gathered at a community event in Yellow Pine, Idaho. Source: Perpetua Resources Corp.

Perpetua Resources Corp. President and CEO Laurel Sayer said in an interview that when it comes to investors, gender diversity comes up in "nearly every ESG conversation we're in" and investors are applauding diversity and increased representation. Nearly 70% of Perpetua's executive management team are women, and 40% of the company's workforce are women, Sayer noted.

"Everyone should be able to find a career in mining. It's our responsibility as leaders to open that door," Sayer said. "I think in order to diversify the workforce, you need to show that you have diversity at the top."

Industry leaders, labor unions, governmental and regulatory bodies and mine workers must work together to improve gender diversity in the sector, said Barbara Dischinger, director and founder of the U.K.-based nonprofit International Women in Mining,

"Mining is facing many challenges today, from digital disruption to sustainability and decarbonization," Dischinger said. "Diversity promotes diversity of thought, which is extremely important for creativity, and strategic resilience, which mining companies will need to tackle the next mining supercycle and current challenges the industry faces."

Company cultures pose barriers to women leaders

There are numerous obstacles to balancing out the disparities in the sector. For example, women reported finding it nearly twice as hard as men to adapt to the culture of the mining industry, according to 2016 research from the Mining Industry Human Resources Council.

McKinsey & Co. found through a survey of mining employees that women entering the mining industry are most attracted to the type and variety of work in mining, growth opportunities and higher compensation. However, women also said they left the industry because they were bored by the job and felt advancement opportunities were limited. They also noted that noninclusive culture was an oft-cited reason for women leaving the field.

The McKinsey survey also found that women are most likely to be uncertain about leaving or planning to leave before they reach middle management ranks.

Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen. Source: Anglo American Platinum Ltd.

"The industry needs to build a more empowering, safe and inclusive culture that allows women to thrive," Viljoen said.

In addition to providing infrastructure for women in the workforce, McKinsey also suggested mining companies rotate employees across units, functions and geographies to keep them engaged in new, interesting work. It also proposed sponsorships in which senior employees guide junior colleagues to encourage the promotion of mid-tenure women in the industry.

"A lot of our interviews relayed how effortful it feels to be the only woman at the table, the only diverse one, the only one that has to be pushing for change and pushing for inclusion, and how that becomes exhausting," said Marta Mussacaleca, a partner at McKinsey and co-lead of McKinsey's "Women in Mining" initiative.

Sayer recalled that, in the early days of her mining career, whether it was at a potential mining site or at a county commissioner meeting, she often found herself in such male-dominated spaces.

"Most of my career, I have been the only woman in a room," Sayer said.

The industry must also grapple with issues around sexual harassment.

Rio Tinto Group recently published a comprehensive external review of its workplace culture and found that bullying and sexism were systemic across its worksites, with almost half of employees experiencing bullying. The report said that 28.2% of women reported sexual harassment, much higher than the 6.7% of men who reported the same.

"I feel shame and enormous regret to have learned the extent to which bullying, sexual harassment and racism are happening at Rio Tinto," Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm said in a statement about the report.

Susan Lomas is president of Mineshift, an organization that aims to tackle a broader array of harassment, racism and bullying issues in the industry. Lomas said some of the cultural issues within the sector are improving with a younger and more diverse workforce taking root.

"Most people at most worksites want it to be a pleasant experience," Lomas said. "But nobody teaches you what to do. Nobody teaches you how to address bad behavior that happens in front of you or to you."

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Improving company culture

More women need to be visibly represented at all levels of the corporate ladder to attract more women, and companies must focus on retention and promotion, Dischinger said.

"You need an overhaul of systems, processes and policies, a change of culture and behaviors and to make the workplace, tools and equipment inclusive, which will also increase safety and employee loyalty," Dischinger said.

Lucara Diamond Corp. President, CEO and co-founder Eira Thomas noted her senior leadership team is comprised 85% of women while the company's broader workforce is more than 35% women companywide.

"The key piece is that I'm creating an environment where women want to work," Thomas said. "That is more about really focusing on a collegial working environment where women feel valued and part of a team and appreciate the culture. I think that's where the broader mining industry has to really dig deep."

Lucara Diamond President, CEO and co-founder Eira Thomas. Source: Lucara Diamond Corp.

Thomas said companies need to act as gender diversity is fast becoming a "differentiator between successful and not-as-successful companies."

"We have to really get out there and demonstrate that diversity and inclusion and an increased number of women leaders actually contributes to a better bottom line, which of course is the case," Thomas said. "There's a real prize there. It comes in the form of better performance and ultimately, better revenues."

The sector's two largest companies by market capitalization, Rio Tinto and BHP Group Ltd., are approaching the issue with specific targets alongside initiatives to increase diversity.

In its 2021 annual report, BHP said it aimed to increase women's representation to 40% from 29.8% by fiscal year 2025. It also noted a 2.8 percentage point rise, to 25.2%, of its company leadership roles that are held by women compared to the prior year. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its diversification efforts.

London-based miner Rio Tinto noted in its recent annual report that women's representation rose from 20.1% to 21.6% across its workforce in 2021. Gender diversity among senior leadership at the company rose 1.3% to 27.4% over the same period. A Rio Tinto representative pointed to initiatives to address gender disparity including forums to engage in dialogue to "break down gender bias and inequality" among employees as well as leadership development programs.

Rio Tinto's Chief People Officer James Martin said during an October 2021 investor seminar that while gender diversity had been improving among Rio Tinto's leadership, diversity among "frontline colleagues" was remaining "stubbornly flat."

"We're making progress," Martin said. "Not good enough, but we're making progress."

Since publishing its report on women in mining, Mussacaleca said McKinsey received responses from people who say they face similar challenges for women in other sectors such as pulp and paper, oil and gas, or manufacturing industries. She said there is nothing structural about mining that makes it less appealing to attracting diverse talent and suggests companies put forth the effort to "do something about it."

"The mining industry has overcome tougher challenges in the past," Mussacaleca said. "This is fixable."

. Methodology For the companies included in both our 2020 and 2022 analyses, women are now better represented across C-suites, broader executive ranks and boards. Our 2020 analysis found that women’s representation in C-suites, broader executive ranks and boards amounted to 13.2%, 14.9% and 18.1%, respectively. At first glance, the 2022 figures cited in this article compare unfavorably to the 2020 numbers. However, there are two key differences between these analyses, namely the companies included and the methodology used to count individuals. The 2020 data included only about 250 publicly traded companies. Market Intelligence expanded the 2022 analysis to include nearly 2,300 companies, including many with smaller market capitalization, on average. Expanding the company universe complicates comparisons to 2020 but arguably results in a more accurate assessment of the state of gender diversity in the industry and a better baseline for future comparisons. A methodology change between 2020 and 2022 accounts for additional differences in the numbers. The 2020 analysis counted each individual just once in each category — C-suite, executives and boards — even if they held multiple roles in a given category, such as president and CEO or director and chair. The 2022 analysis counted roles in each category held by women and men, as opposed to counting individuals who may hold multiple roles. Different roles may simply reflect formal business titles, but they can also entail additional responsibilities, prestige and compensation. The role-based analysis reflects our endeavor to measure the extent to which women are attaining more influential positions in the industry. Both the 2020 and 2022 analyses are based on Market Intelligence professionals data for various companies in the global mining industry. For the 2022 analysis, we identified individuals across 2,291 publicly traded metals and mining companies who held at least one of nine board roles or 70 executive roles tracked by Market Intelligence, as of Jan. 26. The C-suite analysis includes individuals holding at least one of 28 top executive roles at those companies. We identified the gender of the individuals covered in the analysis based on several factors, including honorifics, pronouns and first names. The analysis excluded companies for which we were not able to identify gender categories for all relevant individuals. For example, if gender classification was only possible for nine out of 10 of a given company's board members, we excluded that company from our board-focused analysis. .

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