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Raleigh Finlayson
finally develop the leadership capabilities vue Gold Ltd, also commended the mining
of its female talent pool so that their influ- sector for addressing the gender equity
ence in the industry is coming from the top. gap at board level even thought it has been
At the time of print, applications for a long time coming.
WLA’s 2020 Mining and Resources Fe- “The mining industry has been slow to
male Leader’s Scholarship programme, identify where female talent exists which
which offers partial funding of $1,000- can add value at board level. Tradition-
5,000 for its career building scholarships, ally, across all industries in Australia, the
were about to close. classic board member has either been a
Finkelstein said 60 expressions of inter- former CEO or a partner from one of the
est for the scholarship had been received, big law or accounting firms. If you look at
with almost 100 women participating in the the talent pipeline of former female CEOs
programme since 2017. in the mining industry, there isn’t a large
Groups such as the Association of Min- number to choose from,” Robertson told
ing and Exploration Companies (AMEC) Paydirt.
have supported such initiatives. “Since initiatives like the ASX’s 30%
“We have seen really good support from board gender diversity target have come
associations and mining companies; there into play, the mining industry, like other
is a willingness in mining unlike some sec- sectors, has realised there is a broader
tors where we are still having to educate. universe of people out there who can add
Sectors like health are female-dominated, value at board level and that’s seen more
but not at the top level,” Finkelstein said. women being recruited to NED [non-exec-
“It is the same in law and some of those utive director] roles.
financial services sectors. Even though “For example, we are seeing women
there are a lot of women involved in the who have risen to senior positions across
industry, they are not there at the top. At a diversity of disciplines in mining, mining
the moment, about 17% of the mining services or related industries being recog-
workforce is women. However, there is an nised as having a contribution to make at
awareness that we need to do better and board level. It has been a long time com-
the mining sector understands that.” ing but it has been really good to see the
Fiona Robertson, newly appointed inde- diversity of backgrounds and depth and
pendent non-executive director of Belle- breadth of mining industry experience as

Fiona Robertson stepped out of banking
30 years ago and into a senior finance role
with a junior miner.

“That organisation gave me senior management experience and “But it has been slow for that representation to permeate across the
exposure to a breadth of public company disciplines and strategic mining sector more widely. In the past 8-10 years we have been start-
decision-making that would be hard to replicate except at the very ing to see really significant change and, in my view, that has brought
highest level of a multinational organisation,” real improvement to workplace culture. We
she said. have a much more inclusive culture emerging
“Working with junior companies also allowed in the industry with all the benefits that brings
me a great deal more work flexibility than I ever in safety performance, productivity, innovation
could have found in either banking or one of and management of sustainability.”
the majors at that time. That was a function of Furthermore, Robertson, now an independ-
the senior management who were prepared ent non-executive director of Bellevue Gold
to accommodate a more flexible employment Ltd, says junior companies are fertile breeding
model recognising my needs as a mother of grounds to produce the next wave of emerging
young children.” leaders in the sector.
In the 1990s, Robertson was chief financial of- “Juniors, and more particularly emerging pro-
ficer with Delta Gold which at the time had the ducers, have the capacity to provide women
Granny Smith and Kanowna Belle gold mines [and men] with the executive experience
in Western Australia. across broader management and corporate
Back then, the management teams at Placer governance responsibilities that is necessary
Pacific and North, respectively, instigated sig- to be a candidate for board roles,” Robertson
nificant female representation in their work- said.
forces. “Equally, a quality junior with an experienced
“The open cut gold mines in the 1990s benefit- board can provide a good starting point for a
ted from strong female representation, led by first-time director whose professional experi-
female truck drivers among the mine contrac- ence may add a much-needed discipline to a
tors and female geologists in the exploration smaller board.”
teams,” she said.
Fiona Robertson

Page 14 JULY 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT