Goldcorp Strives to Make Each Business Day Women’s Day
March 8th marks United Nations International Women’s Day around the world, but Goldcorp promotes the advancement of women in leadership roles all year round.
The latest testament to the company’s commitment is the recent signing of the Catalyst Accord, formalizing support to increase the representation of women on the Board by 2017. Goldcorp is the first company in the mining sector and the 28th company in Canada to adopt the Accord, an initiative by Catalyst, a nonprofit organization leading opportunities for business women throughout North America, Europe, India, Australia and Japan, with more than 700 eminent corporations as members.
“We celebrate Goldcorp for sending a powerful message to the business community, and the mining sector in particular, that the status quo is no longer acceptable when it comes to the lack of women on boards,” says Alex Johnston, Executive Director, Catalyst Canada. “By publicly committing to boardroom diversity and setting goals, Goldcorp serves as role models for others, demonstrating that leadership and accountability start at the top.”
Benefits Across the Board
Currently two women are members of Goldcorp’s Board: Beverley Anne Briscoe, a Chartered Accountant with expertise in financial and business sectors; and Blanca Treviño, founder of an international high-tech company and one of the most influential executives in Latin America. And the company welcomes additional talent.
“It has never been more evident globally that women leaders are essential to business success,” says Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp President and CEO. “Gender diversity on Boards helps drive better business results and strengthens Canada’s economic competitiveness. We encourage organizations across all industries to develop their own strategies and action plans for accelerating the advancement of women in leadership.”
The positive impact extends far beyond the boardroom table, says Goldcorp Chair Ian Telfer. “Goldcorp is committed to diversity and inclusion not only on its Board and executive levels, but also across its operations. We believe that diversity leads to higher performance in all aspects of the business.”
Powerful Choices
For years, Goldcorp has set the industry bar in this regard. In 2010, Creating Choices was launched, an enterprise-wide women’s development and mentorship program created by Anna Tudela, Goldcorp’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Secretary, to facilitate growth and builds skills in a traditionally male-dominated milieu.
“We need to do more to encourage women’s career development,” says Tudela. “One of Goldcorp’s Six Pillars is Growing People, so expanding women’s capabilities in mining makes sense for our company. It also benefits the entire resource sector.”
Creating Choices is offered across all levels and operations in Canada, the US, Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Barbados, Chile and Honduras, with more than 1,200 women participating – from welders, truck drivers and forewomen to IT analysts and executives. In fact, the program has proven so popular and successful, the second phase is being rolled out in 2015. Growing Choices expands on assisting women to brand themselves as leaders, build key relationships, achieve work/life balance and plan a SMART career path.
Kaeli Gattens, a Goldcorp IT Change Management Coordinator in Mexico City, has witnessed the positive effect. “It has been inspiring to see the personal and professional growth being made by Creating Choices graduates across Latin America. The program has helped initiate conversations for women to explore new opportunities, and has created a supportive network of women at every level of our organization.” Kaeli was an intern at Goldcorp in the Corporate Communications department in Vancouver when she took Creating Choices. She has since become a full-time employee with the Communications department before transferring to Mexico City to work in IT.
