INNOVATION March-April 2017

f ea t u r e s

This visibility and advocacy component is what led the Mining Industry Human Resources Council to launch the Gender Equity in Mining (GEM) program in March 2015, with federal funding from Status of Women Canada. The program provides tools to identify and mitigate largely unintentional barriers in policies, processes and procedures within an organization and increase recruitment and retention of women. Ten mining companies across Canada are participating in the program, including Teck Resources Ltd. and Taseko Mines Ltd. in BC. Each has appointed a senior executive champion and a support team of change agents who implement gender-policy reviews. Robyn West, human resources superintendent at Taseko’s Gibraltar copper–molybdenum mine in south–central BC, is the GEM champion at her workplace. Gibraltar is Canada’s second-largest open pit copper mine and employs more than 600 people. About 10 percent of the employees are women. With support from senior management,

APEGBC Supports Diversity in the Professions APEGBC is undertaking a number of initiatives to support members as they foster diverse workplace environments that welcome all members of our society and enable them to contribute to their full potential. Our professional practice guidelines for human rights and diversity, published in January 2017, clarify APEGBC’s expectations of members and licensees and provide guidance and best practices to APEGBC professionals with respect to human rights and diversity in professional practice. In addition, we provide ongoing professional development opportunities for members related to diversity, including developing and projecting leadership presence, supporting “30 by 30” goals to increase the percentage of newly licensed members who are women to 30 percent by 2030, and communicating with Indigenous communities. The APEGBC Career Awareness Program, which fosters awareness of engineering and geoscience as possible careers among BC’s youth, also targets girls, First Nations and other groups under-represented in the professions. Each year, we see significant growth in the number of female members presenting at APEGBC Career Awareness and community events. Supporting university outreach and engagement of women in engineering and geoscience remains a key priority. APEGBC has appointed a “30 by 30” champion on Council, and in 2015/2016 saw the number of female practising and active members increase to 13.5 percent, with 15.6 percent of new members being female. During the same period, 33 percent of new applicants were trained outside of Canada. Our Mentoring Program connects young members with engineering and geoscience mentors and role models that reflect the diversity of APEGBC membership. In 2016/2017, 135 female members volunteered as APEGBC mentors. We also support the joint Geoscientists Canada– Engineers Canada dialogue with the federal government on parental leave restrictions in Canada, with the objective of creating working environments that better support parents who raise young families while they continue to work as professionals. In late-2015, APEGBC Council approved a motion that exempts designated refugees who apply for enrollment, registration or licence from payment of the examination of credentials application fee. Designated refugees meet the criteria of “refugee” under the 1951 Geneva Convention or are defined as a “person in need of protection” under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

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