‘Require, Not Ask’ for Women in Mining, Urges Ex-Anglo Chief

(Bloomberg) -- Mining is not only for men. Companies have to do more to push gender diversity, according to Cynthia Carroll, former chief executive officer of Anglo American Plc, who says the industry needs to change.

“Companies should require, not ask that executives promote, recruit and include women,” Carroll said in an interview in Singapore. Heading the miner from 2007 to 2013, Carroll was Anglo American’s first female chief executive, and now sits on the boards of several companies, including Hitachi Ltd.

Mining remains male-dominated. In a survey of 30 companies, the Responsible Mining Foundation found “little or no evidence of efforts” to strengthen the gender balance of leadership and governance teams. Women also accounted for less than 5% of senior management at trading houses, Bloomberg has reported.

Global majors have urged and taken steps to ensure diversity in recent years. No. 1 miner BHP Group in February boosted the number of women in its executive leadership team to 50%. The London Metal Exchange is also seeking to stamp out sexist entertainment that has long been a feature at some events during LME Week every fall. Still, change hasn’t been substantial, said Carroll.

"It’s a very, very conservative industry and it needs to change,” said Carroll. “They have got to be casting their net more broadly, and they’ve got to be looking at women.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Krystal Chia in Singapore at kchia48@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Phoebe Sedgman at psedgman2@bloomberg.net, Alpana Sarma, Jake Lloyd-Smith

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