Mining Team in Canada Reaches Gender Balance

The Potash team, which includes BHP’s Jansen project and corporate office in Saskatchewan, Canada, achieved 43.8 percent female representation at the end of the 2023 financial year. Including the functional roles that directly support Potash, total female representation rises to 57.4 percent.

By comparison, female representation across the mining industry in Canada sits at approximately 14 percent, reflecting a historical imbalance across the industry that exists in both Canada and around the world.

In 2016, BHP announced an ambition to achieve gender balance across its employee workforce globally by the end of the 2025 financial year. In Minerals Americas, the company has seen positive momentum in this regard, including at its Spence operation in Chile which recently reached 38.4 percent female representation.

Commenting on the milestone, President Potash Simon Thomas attributes it to the deliberate and carefully considered efforts of the asset and functional teams in Potash and globally across BHP.

“The desire behind building a workforce in Canada that reflects the communities we’re part of is really very simple,” Simon said. “We all benefit from an inclusive and diverse workforce that values safety, productivity and wellbeing.”

“That’s what gender balance helps us achieve and it supports our ambitions in Canada to be an employer and partner of choice,” Simon continued.

The Potash leadership team, made up of 19 senior operational and functional representatives, is 52 percent female, ensuring diverse decision-making perspectives. In addition, females also make up 40 percent of people leadership roles across Potash.

Potash was able to reach this milestone through a combination of targeted recruitment methodologies, embedding a flexible hybrid work culture, and designing a safe and inclusive workplace from the ground up.

Focus now shifts to maintaining gender balance in the lead-up to first production and achieving 20 percent Indigenous representation in the Jansen workforce by the end the 2026 financial year.

Once production commences, Jansen will deliver potash, which is listed as a critical mineral in Canada, to customers around the world. It is an essential input in nutrient-rich soils required for global food security.