SAIMM DIMI CONFERENCE 2021

HOW TO REGISTER FOR AN EVENT

Background

Empowering the African minerals industry through diversity and inclusion
3-4 AUGUST 2021, ONLINE EVENT

The SAIMM through its committee for Diversity and Inclusion in the Minerals Industry (DIMI) and in collaboration with Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA) is excited to announce its first ever conference focusing on the issues of diversity and inclusion in the mining and minerals industry.

The Southern African Mining sector, just like the global mining industry, still faces huge challenges when it comes to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. While the landscape might be changing due to a lot of companies becoming more aware of the need for a more representative and diverse workforce, there is still a lot to be done. Beside issues of gender disparity in the industry, safe spaces in the workplace, protective equipment, sanitation facilities, pregnancy and childcare facilities for women are some of the challenges that continue to plague the sector. The industry also needs to go beyond workforce diversity to inclusion. Identifying individuals from different geographic, gender, economic and cultural groups, creating safe spaces for them, providing support for them to grow into their roles and creating conditions that promote inclusion on a daily basis can go a long way in retaining and advancing the careers of these individuals and hence contribute to the long term growth of the mining sector. There is thus, a need for platforms that allow for discussions that can lead to the development of strategies for advancing and encouraging decisions that are in the best interest of a diverse workforce.

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THIS EVENT

Professionals from the mining and minerals industry and
related business sectors are encouraged to attend. The aim of
the event is to;

• Highlight the challenges and benefits associated with an inclusive and diverse workforce.
• Provide an excellent opportunity for the industry eaders and professionals, policy makers, researchers and academics and other stakeholders who are driving strategies that promote diversity and inclusion in the mining and minerals industry to come together to openly debate, deliberate and interrogate the current landscape in this regard.
• Provide a forum for professionals working in the field to celebrate achievements, share experiences and thus empower others in the field.
• Uncover challenges and approaches to attracting and retaining a diverse future workforce, and
• Collectively empower and transform the industry.

CONFERENCE TOPICS

The conference topics include but are not limited to;

• The meaning of diversity, equality and inclusion in today’s
  workplace
• unconscious/implicit bias in the workplace/ addressing
  our blind spots
• Fostering championship and allyship/ probably aligns with
  creating a positive environment
• Creating a positive environment for diversity
• Gender inclusivity in a workplace
• Growth mind-set: the key to career growth in the industry
• Medical and mental health issues
• Entrepreneurship in the industry
• Growing a pipeline of diverse leaders.

Speakers

Mark Munroe,
CE, Impala Rustenburg

Mark Munroe, Chief Executive at Impala Rustenburg, believes that people are the heart of any organisation and that the leadership teams’ main objective is to set their teams and people up for success. This requires strategic focus on transformational leadership as well as diversity and inclusion, which will deliver innovative results and ensure consistent cultural change throughout the business.

Munroe is leading a dynamic and successful team of over 40 000 people at the Impala Rustenburg complex, where, over the past three years, he has spearheaded the turnaround of its operations and consequently saved 13 000 jobs.

Munroe’s 30-year plus career in a range of organisations and countries, his degrees in International Economics and Mining Engineering, his in-depth knowledge of surface and underground, gold, platinum, copper, zinc mining as well as his service on a number of mining sector institutes, have given him the insight and experience to fundamentally transform the teams and operations he leads.

His passion is steering companies through effective change, and his vision for the mining industry is to see it becoming more people-centered; focusing on what is invested into people and not only what can be extracted out of them.

Leila M Harris
is a Professor with the Institute on Resources Environment and Sustainability and with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada.

Dr. Harris’s work examines social, cultural, political-economic, institutional and equity dimensions of environmental and resource issues, particularly issues related to water politics, infrastructures, and governance. Along with several collaborators, she has been conducting some investigations on gender and mining in diverse sites. She will draw on insights from this work to outline some general themes and insights relevant for mining from a gender, intersectional and equity perspective.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• HR executives
• Managers
• C-suite executives
• Industry leaders
• Professionals working in the mining, minerals and related fields
• Policy makers
• Researchers and academics

CALL FOR PAPERS

• SUBMISSION OF ABSTRACTS: 3 March 2021
• ACCEPTANCE OF ABSTRACTS: 26 April 2021
• SUBMISSION OF PAPERS:3 May 2021
• CONFERENCE DATES: 3-4 August 2021