Labour Minister Lisa Raitt encourages women to pursue mining careers

By Frank Giorno

Mining companies face a shortage of workers in key areas across Canada by 2017. The problem will start getting worse as early as next year when many miners become eligible to retire in 2014.

Lisa Raitt, Canadian Minister of Labour and members of Women in Mining have a great solution --- encourage more women to choose mining as a career.

“It is critical to address the growing skills and labour shortages faced by many industries across the country. Canadian businesses must find innovative ways to meet these shortages, and that includes strategies to attract and retain women in non-traditional jobs such as mining,” said Lisa Raitt Canada’s Minister of Labour.

Minister Raitt who hails from Cape Breton, a major mining region of Canada strongly supports the efforts of Women in Mining Canada to encourage more women to enter the field.

Supports a Diverse Workforce in

all Sectors

“I strongly believe it pays to open pathways to jobs for a diverse workforce in all sectors of the economy.” She added.

Mining has traditionally been a man’s work however with so many men miners eligible to retire as early as 2014 new sources of labour are desperately needed to fill the void.

Women in Mining (WIM) Canada is a national not-for-profit organization formed in 2009 focused on advancing the interests of women in the minerals exploration and mining sector.

Many experts agree that improving diversity within the mining workforce by attracting and retaining traditionally underrepresented groups such as women in Canada may be the best solution to the impending labour shortage in the mining sector.

Labour Minister Raitt Addresses

Women In Mining Canada Session

at PDAC

Last March Minister Raitt gave the keynote speech for the Women in Mining session at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention in Toronto.

“When we talk about the mining industry, we tend to visualize heavy equipment, trucks with king-sized wheels—all operated by strong men with sooty faces,” Minister Raitt said.

“It is changing, but it’s still a male-dominated industry,” she added.

Strides Have Been Made,

More Needs to Be Done

Some strides have been made and the proportion of women in mining and exploration in Canada has slowly increased from less than 11 percent in 1996 to more than 14 percent in 2006. But that is still significantly lower than the overall workforce where women account for 47 percent.

In her address to the Women in Mining session the Minister raised the question: Why then are there so few women in mining?

It’s not because women can’t do the work as some women are already demonstrating they can excel in the mining profession. New technology also has reduced the pick axe and shovel labour many associate with mining. Mining also enjoys one of the best safety records in Canada’s heavy industries.

Still very few students—male or female—are interested in the skilled trades that the mining industry needs. Only 1 percent of people aged 25 to 34 are pursuing a trade certification in Canada.

Study on Women in Canada’s

Mining Sector

Minister Raitt referred to “Ramp-Up: A Study on the Status of Women in Canada’s Mining and Exploration Sector”. It surveyed more than 2,000 female employees, employers, students and educators.

It found that one-quarter of respondents rejected mining as a career because the working environment or culture was unappealing. Many of them also said it was an industry in which they felt they would be subject to discrimination.

The minister concluded her remarks by saying that if the Canadian mining industry is to succeed in meeting its labour needs by recruiting more women it needs to address the obstacles to inclusion and advancement faced by women.

WIM Canada encourages young women to explore a career within the minerals sector; and helps its members connect and navigate their way through a successful career in the minerals sector, through mentorship, networking, educational forums, advocacy, topical debates, and industry speaking opportunities to ensure a sustainable minerals industry in Canada. The objectives of WIM Canada are:

• to develop tools and programs to increase the attraction, retention and advancement of women in mining;

• To sharing knowledge, best practices, and personal and professional development opportunities with WIM branches across Canada;

• To provide a supportive mentoring network and a national resource centre for connecting members to public and private sector entities looking to fill their ranks with qualified individuals

• To advocate for increased public support for the mining and exploration industry.

Trailblazer Award Honours Successful Women in Mining

Another way to encourage women to enter the mining arena is to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women in mining. This year Minister of Labour Lisa Raitt was on hand to bestow Women in Mining Canada’s Trailblazer Award to Samantha Epsley, an engineer with Vale in Sudbury, Ontario.

Women such as Samantha Epsley serve as role models and testimony that women can excel and succeed in mining. Samantha’s career progression is an inspiring climb for women in mining. After graduating with an engineering degree 25 years ago, she worked with Dome Limited in Northern Quebec, Denison-Potacan Potash Corporation in New Brunswick, and then moved to Falconbridge Ltd. working both in their Quebec and Sudbury operations.

Since 1990, she has worked for Inco Ltd. (now Vale) where she has held roles of increasing

responsibility, currently leading a multi-disciplinary group of mining and mineral processing engineers, geologists, metallurgists, technologists and other technical staff supporting Vale’s mining and milling operations in Sudbury. She is the only woman that has held many of

these roles for Vale and is a true trailblazer as well as a role model for young women striving to attain senior roles in the mining. For more information on Women in Mining Canada visit http://www.wimcanada.org