The 2021 International Women in Resources Mentorship Program (IWRMP) has just wrapped up, but its impact will be felt for years to come.
“The mining industry is awash with skilled and capable women, but they are often overlooked,” says IWRMP representative Barbara Dischinger. “We felt that a cross-company mentoring program as global as the industry itself would be a useful tool for companies to stretch their employees as mentees and mentors to develop women as leaders.”
What is the International Women in Resources Mentorship Program (IWRMP)?
Launched in 2018, the IWRMP seeks to promote and empower women to advance their careers, overcome professional challenges and build confidence for achievement and industry leadership. It places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion, aiming to reduce cross-cultural barriers by creating partnerships between talented, driven mentees and senior industry leaders committed to the promotion of women in mining. This annual 6-month initiative has, to date, facilitated the personal and professional growth of 200 mentees, with a record 70 mentees participating in 2021 from over 20 countries.
Agnico Eagle was an early supporter of IWRMP and in 2021, several employees participated in the program, including mentees Mélanie Cardinal-Gervais from Quebec and Olivia Tagalik from Nunavut, and mentors Kaisa Saarijarvi from Finland and Louise Grondin (retired) from Ontario. Whichever side of the mentorship equation, all agree the experience has been invaluable.
Mélanie, HR coordinator at the LaRonde mine, worked with her Oregon-based mentor to clarify her personal and professional goals, and gain a healthier work-life balance.
“My mentor pushed me to define my goals and put my development plan down on paper to have a clear vision and ‘make my best self’ in order to be more present, effective and accountable. The program helped me to feel more confident when interacting with different team members by focusing on developing my strengths and recognizing my value in the organization.”
For Olivia, Nunavut’s IIBA Coordinator, having the benefit of her South Korean mentor’s real-life experience in community engagement gave her new perspective, especially around issues of diversity.
“The mining industry is relatively new to Inuit and still heavily dominated by men, that is why I work hard to inspire and represent not only Women in Mining but Inuit in Mining. As a mining company, being active in the communities will help us be more inclusive. It will help us understand the realities our employees face and value people for their contributions to the workforce regardless of their differences.”
Throughout her career, Kaisa, Senior HR Manager, Europe, has participated in many mentoring programs, both as mentee and mentor.
“I am a sounding board for my mentees. We sometimes talk about how to build a career in a very male-dominated organization. It is not always easy to be the only female in a leadership team or any team for that matter. But we need to make organizations understand that we can’t afford to ‘waste’ any brilliant brains due to gender.”
Louise Grondin, a retired senior executive from Agnico Eagle’s Corporate Office, has mentored two women to date and has found it very satisfying to help them contribute to their full potential.
“A mentorship should lead to a better understanding of who they are, what inspires them, where could they make a difference, what would bring them fulfillment and, in the end, happiness. You help them unearth insecurities and obstacles, the most frequent being self-confidence. This is one of the objectives of the program, to help women realize their worth and understand that their attributes can make a positive difference to their team and their company.”
With mining’s labour shortage, Agnico Eagle will continue to support the IWRMP and other programs designed to attract, retain and promote women in mining and help them realize their full potential.
How can the mining industry be more attractive to women?
- More women visibly represented at all levels of the corporate ladder
- Expanding the idea of diversity beyond people to systems, processes, and policies
- Changing cultures and behaviours to make the workplace more inclusive (i.e., flexible work hours and shift design)
- More outreach to students to encourage them to consider a career in mining
- More stories, both internally and externally, about talented women who are changing the landscape for others and attracting the future workforce of tomorrow