Rosond celebrates ‘Make Safety Seen’ theme

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August 2023 News

Bolokang Mere in action on the Rosond next-generation drill rig.

In celebration of International Women in Engineering Day (INWED), drilling specialist, Rosond is highlighting how it is pioneering diversity and inclusion in the mining industry. Held under the banner of the Women’s Engineering Society, INWED celebrated its 10th year in 2023, by promoting the work being carried out by women engineers across the globe under the theme of ‘Make Safety Seen’. “Diversity in the workplace and the inclusivity of women is a business imperative,” says Rosond MD, Ricardo Ribeiro. “While the mining industry is making great strides to achieve greater gender equality in terms of women at middle and senior management level, the real impact lies at grassroots level.”

“At board level, women representation may reach as high as 50%, but at the lower employment levels in the mining industry there is still a lot of work to be done. At Rosond, we are passionate about making a difference at this level and our efforts are starting to reap real rewards,” says Ribeiro.

At a major iron ore mining operation in the Northern Cape, Rosond employs 42 women in a range of positions. This includes two safety officers, a foreperson (a geologist by profession), a logistics coordinator, 19 drill machine assistants, three operators, an assistant operator, a bit sharpener and a safety representative. One of the employees is disabled and the balance fulfil various administrative and office support roles. He adds that Rosond is particularly proud of its work in upskilling women and creating opportunities for them to be successful in roles traditionally performed by men.

“There is richness to decision making through diversity. Specifically, having women in the drilling workplace means that our company benefits from different points of view through different approaches and life experiences. Creativity and innovation are enhanced. We have also found that the men on the teams benefit from working with and learning from women in a traditionally male-dominated work environment,” concludes Ribeiro.

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Rosond celebrates ‘Make Safety Seen’ theme

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