At the University of Saskatchewan, Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley is researching the state of diversity and inclusion in today’s mining industry.
University of Saskatchewan masters student Jocelyn Peltier-Huntley first started working in the mining industry in 2004, and eventually found herself in potash working on BHP’s Jansen Project. When she learned the company committed itself to a goal of gender parity by 2025, she was inspired to research the gender gap in mining.
“I thought, wow, that’s an impressive goal, but anywhere I’ve worked and travelled in mining I haven’t seen a lot of women, so how’s that going to happen?” With an undergrad degree in mechanical engineering, Peltier-Huntley began work on her masters exploring diversity and inclusion in the mining industry, with a focus on communication.
Peltier-Huntley spoke with CIM Magazine about where the mining industry currently stands on gender parity, and where it is headed.
CIM: Why do you think you’ve seen so many women leaving the mining industry?
Peltier-Huntley: I think a lot of it has to do with the culture. There’s a lot of talk about diversity, but inclusion is the cultural aspect – the welcoming of people. From my experience, and talking with others who’ve worked in mining, it’s not necessarily set up to support women because there weren’t traditionally women working in the mining industry.
They were banned from working in mining up until the late ‘70s and early ‘80s in Canada. There are not a lot of role models or mentors in that area, and the mining industry does tend to be more male-dominated.
For the rest of this article: http://magazine.cim.org/en/voices/we-are-mining-jocelyn-peltier-huntley/