Dear <<First Name>> 

International Women in Mining Community wishes you, and your organisation, a wonderful upcoming holiday season!
 
We had an amazing 2014! To celebrate it, we are highlighting this past year’s achievements by putting together our own version of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Hope you enjoy it!
 
12 Monthly newsletters … featuring news, views and photographs of women working in mining were sent to our members around the world.
 
11 Different mining professions… were asked for photographs, as we launched the WIM Stock Image/Photo Campaign.
 
10 Per cent or less… is how many women currently sit on mining company boards around the world. To increase this number, we established Women on Boards.
 
9 Amazing women…were profiled via a new interview series which focuses on one inspirational woman every month.
 
8000 members… from around the world have joined our LinkedIn Community.
 
7 per cent of keynote speakers…. were women at the 2014 Mines and Money conference in London this year. To begin changing this number, we have just launched a Women Speakers at Conferences project.
 
6 Key services…. are now offered in the Community section of our portal, including Advice to New WIM Groups, listing of WIM Events around the world, and information on Government Events and Scholarships.
 
5 Minutes With a Skeptic… is just one of the many articles we published in the “Engaging Men in the Conversation” section of our portal.
 
4 New initiatives… were launched this past year:  WIM Photo Campaign, Women on Boards, More Female Speakers at Conferences and Engaging with the Mining Sector about recruitment and retention of female talent.
 
3 Accomplished female leaders…. joined our Advisory Council, offering expertise in all aspects of the mining industry.  
 
2 Important recruitment surveys…. one for organisations,  to research what difficulties they face when recruiting and retaining female talent; and one for individuals, to tell us about their job satisfaction and job security, were launched in 2014. We will share the results of this global initiative with you when they become available in Q1 2015.
 
1^st of its kind. That is us! Established in 2007 to be a global community of women professionals working in the mining and metals sector, we are stronger than ever, thanks to your support!
 
We plan to continue our exciting work in 2015. In the meantime, a very Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!

Best seasonal wishes
Barbara
 

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Interview of the month

Vanessa Torres- Mining Can Make a Difference 

“Our job is to resource the world out of poverty,” says Vanessa Torres, Head of Investments and Value Management at BHP Billiton. A Brazilian with Australian citizenship, she believes that mining is in her blood. Her 22 years’ experience, have taken her across continents. She is passionate about mining bringing wealth to countries and resource companies developing communities. She wants to make a difference. Volunteering is vital to her and she’s been a director of the NGO, Projeto Colmeia, for the past 11 years. 
Read her interview here.

Projects Update

We are developing project ideas that are international in nature, transcend all groups and promote women in mining. Our projects fall into two categories: 1. Making a fundamental contribution to change in the mining industry; 2. Provide an opportunity to our members to increase their knowledge and/or develop their careers.
 
WIM Stock Image/Photo Campaign
The campaign aims to create a photo library on our website to redress the lack of stock imagery available depicting women in mining and thereby improve visual representation of the female workforce in the sector, thereby also as well as increase awareness of just how many women work in what is perceived to be a male-dominated sector. 
This campaign has a number of objectives:
* Accurate depiction of women working in the sector
* Visual role models for younger generation, and even for families and friends of the women portrayed who don’t get to see them at work
* Showcase the amazing variety of roles in which women are employed in the industry
* Reflect the growing number of female employees in the industry
* Help towards culture change in a male-dominated industry
All photos will be displayed on our photo gallery on the website. Many have kindly submitted photos and they can be viewed here.  In Phase II we want to make a selection of the photos available as stock images for publications.
 
Women on Boards
We want to roll out a webinar series and have two confirmed speakers
The webinar series would not count as official board certification, our series is therefore a practical guide to anyone who wants to sit on a board one day.
We are also building a board-ready database of women globally, candidates to serve on mining company boards that we want to start introducing to mining companies.
 
*NEW Women Speakers at Conferences
We realise time and time again when looking at conference programmes that the percentage of female speakers is far lower than the actual number of women working in the industry and often there are no female speakers at all.
As we don’t believe we can or should wait for change to happen in the distant future we would like to start talking with conference organisers to put them in touch with women in the industry that would fit the skill or experience requested. 
 
This link to our press release from last week touches on these points
 
*NEW Establishing a long-term dialogue with all stakeholders in the industry to discuss and share best practice around attraction and retention of female talent
We have launched two surveys:  one for organisations – to research what difficulties they face when recruiting and retaining female talent; and we are asking individuals to complete a survey on job satisfaction and job security. We have sent our members the individual questionnaire but also invite them to fill out the company survey acting in their professional capacity.
We are simultaneously asking both sides for feedback as we believe that only looking at both sides of the equation will we be able to add value to company decisions and provide organisations with a snapshot of the industry and of what their colleagues in the industry are doing.
This is the first global initiative of its kind. We will share the results with you when they become available in Q1 2015.
Link to survey for individuals - note it is intended for female professionals only
Link to survey for organisations
 

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Global WIM News by country

Australia

As part of a national initiative to support the advancement of women in mining, Women in Leadership Australia are once again providing scholarship funding to assist AusIMM members to participate in Australia’s preeminent women’s leadership programs in 2015. 
Specifically, scholarship funding is available for two programs:
Senior and Executive level women are encouraged to apply for the $11,000 grant to undertake the globally respected Advanced Leadership Program. 
High potential and middle management are encouraged to apply for the $4,500 grant to undertake the intensive Accelerated Leadership Performance Program.
Individuals and organisations wishing to secure scholarship funding for 2015 programs are reminded that applications must be made prior to December 19. For additional information or to discuss this important program, please contact Shaun Zapadlo on 03 9270 9000 or at szapadlo@asam.edu.au.

A unique training pathway which helps put Indigenous women behind the wheel of 100-tonne mining haul trucks has gained national recognition, winning an Australian Training Award.
Queensland-based ‘Sisters in Mining’ program wins national recognition



MCA, BHP Billiton and Downer Mining award scholarships to help women in mining become ‘board-ready’

WIMnet
WIMnet Newsletter, November 2014: Catch up on the latest news of the AusIMM Women in Mining Network (WIMnet) including WIMnet's Strategy Plan, developed following AusIMM Congress in Melbourne earlier this year. Read it here

WIMnet NSW
Congratulations to Stefanie Loader who has been elected Chair of the NSW Minerals Council

Women working in the NSW mining industry are being asked to participate in a mentoring program aimed to help females entering the sector or looking to further their careers. WIMnet NSW is holding its first Mentoring Program from May 2015 – September 2015 with 20 mentee application places available.Click here for more info

WIMWA (Women in Mining & Resources Western Australia)
Letter to the Editor: Strictly Boardroom by Sabina Shugg, Founder of WIMWA
In November, Strictly Boardroom column by Vikki Lauritsen and Allan Trench* prompted a response from Women in Mining Western Australia founder and chair Sabina Shugg.

Women on Boards: 
Ontario is changing securities rules in hopes of getting more women appointed to corporate boards and promoted to senior management teams.Starting Jan. 1, companies must disclose the number of women on the board and in executive officer positions, and policies regarding the representation of women at the director level and director term limits. More info here

Article Published in the Globe and Mail on 23 November - How are Canadian mining boards faring in terms of gender diversity? Badly
  WIM Canada announced the appointment of its newly elected Board of Directors. More info here

Women in Mining (WIM) Canada, a not-for-profit organization, has been granted funding from the Status of Women Canada (SWC) to develop and implement a national action plan to increase the number of women in the mining sector. The focus will be on women in senior executive roles and non-traditional occupations such as trades, heavy equipment operators, miners, and engineers.More information here

There is still time to nominate a colleague for the 2015 WIM Canada Trailblazer Award! See the Nomination Criteria and Guidelines here.The nomination deadline is January 7th