The TSM (Towards Sustainable Mining) Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Workplace webinar series, focused on the Mining Association of Canada’s (MAC) TSM program, wrapped up on March 27. The final webinar was led by Theresa Nyabeze, technical leader of diversity, equity inclusion and culture at Vale Base Metals and chair of the CIM Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (DIAC), and presented the audience with TSM-informed approaches to promote psychological safety in mining workplaces.  

The TSM program was launched in 2004 and encourages responsible mining practices. Its most recently introduced protocol, the EDI (Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive) Workplaces protocol, is focused on evaluating company performances of EDI through the application of three indicators: leadership and strategy; advancing equity, diversity and inclusion; and monitoring, performance and reporting.  

Lynn MacKinnon, the principal advisor of everyday respect, leadership and behaviour change at Rio Tinto, shared how Rio Tinto implemented TSM-informed change in the workplace after the results of an external workplace culture review, the findings and recommendations of which were published in 2022. The intent with the review was to better understand the harmful behaviours taking place across the company’s sites located in 35 different countries, and how to prevent and respond to them.  

MacKinnon stated that they surveyed over 10,000 employees, and conducted 109 group listening sessions offered in seven languages, while also holding 85 confidential, one-on-one listening sessions. She shared some alarming findings from the review, noting that one in four women reported they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, 21 women had reported instances of actual or attempted rape and sexual assault, and almost 50 per cent of overall participants reported experiencing bullying in some form.  

Mackinnon found the results to be both confronting and devastating, but that they have ultimately informed the company’s future actions. “Uncovering this, and really knowing what’s going on, as opposed to this kind of ‘unknown’ that we lived in before, has been really helpful,” she said. 

The report was shared publicly, and Rio Tinto announced it was planning to work on all of the 26 recommendations made in it.  

Some actions the company has taken as a response to these unsettling results included the launch of a new code of conduct that MacKinnon deems to be “more human centric” with a greater overall focus on psychological safety and well-being, and by offering training on psychosocial hazards in the workplace.  

One of the company’s biggest initiatives that came out of this research involved the creation of a “Care Hub,” a new mechanism built around trauma-informed investigations, where employees who may not trust the traditional whistleblowing processes can confidentially report instances of harm through an anonymous hotline, while also gaining support by speaking with third-party mental health experts.  

Shauna Goldenberg, director of inclusion and engagement at El Dorado Gold, gave an overview of El Dorado Gold’s redesigned respectful workplace policy.  

She stated that the new policy released in 2022 classifies disrespectful behaviours on a range from physical violence to subtle prejudice, such as microaggressions. According to Goldenberg, this spectrum that the team created has aided employees in better identifying the form of harassment they may have faced at work, and they can use it as a reference point if they want to submit a complaint.  

Goldenberg noticed during the company’s policy redesign that, in considering ESG (environmental, social and governance) standards, the company was spending more time on the "E” and “G” aspects as opposed to the "S” aspect. She noted how this is also important to people looking to work at the company.  

“We’re now seeing a lot of dominance in moving towards the “S” in ESG,” she said. “Prospective employees are starting to ask as part of the interview process, what does a respectful workplace look like at your workplace?” She added that she’s noticed that potential hires are also browsing the company’s policies online more frequently, as well as inquiring about the type of employee training available to ensure that the workplace is respectful. “This could really be a different differentiator for organizations to build your brand and help with the recruitment and attraction aspect,” she said. The company’s policies are located online, along with some useful resources related to ESG and safety, and information on the company’s redesigned respectful workplace policy.  

This series was organized by CIM’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee in partnership with the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR), MAC and CIM. A recording of this recent webinar session, along with the previous sessions, can be accessed on MiHR’s website.