A new Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee has formed at New Gold for 2021. The company-wide committee has 14 members, from all areas of the operation and all three New Gold locations: Corporate Head Office, Rainy River and New Afton. The committee aims to identify a baseline of where New Gold is now and identify areas in which they can improve diversity and inclusion across the company.
“It is one thing to be a leader in energy and automation, but we want to aim to become a leader in the areas of diversity and inclusion,” said Mary-Beth Harrison, New Afton’s Human Resources Manager and D&I Committee member. “The greater number of different perspectives and backgrounds we have on site, the more creative and innovative we can be, which aligns with our core values.”
Although New Gold is not far behind on the subject from a mining perspective, Harrison said there is still a lot of work to be done.
The D&I Committee plans to review current policies and job descriptions to ensure there are no gender-based biases which could be limiting in any way. They want to understand existing barriers at New Gold and look at best practices for recruitment and retention.
In the future, the committee will work to share their success stories in an effort to challenge the general stereotypes in the mining industry.
