Rutendo Chirume
Bikita Minerals has begun reserving 20 percent of all job vacancies for female candidates in what the lithium-producing company says is part of deliberate efforts to ensure that women have better chances of securing jobs, EnviroPress can report.
Bikita Minerals, which was taken over by the Shenzhen-listed Sino Mine Resource Group in January 2022, has constantly faced criticism of unfair labour practices and crass extractivism.
However, the implementation of the job quota policy can be considered a good starting point this women’s month.
Bikita Minerals corporate communications officer, Collen Nikisi revealed that the new system was meant to demonstrate the company’s commitment to women empowerment in line with national and international best practices.
He said there were currently 220 women out of a total of 1100 people employed by the lithium producing company.
“The women are spread across all our departments that include human resources and admin, quality assurance, mining, safety and health, stores and procurement, finance, marketing and logistics, and plant maintenance,” said Nikisi.
He said the 20 percent threshold only provided guidelines on the minimum recruitment standards that could be followed, adding that the company was working to bring even more women into its fold.
“This standard binds the contracted companies that work with us, and as part of our contractor-management practices, we have set the same threshold with some exceptions since most of the contractors are into mining, drilling and haulage,” said Nikisi.
He revealed that the company has often struggled to find the right female candidates, leading to the current situation where male employees far out-number females.
“To attract the right female candidates for the vacant posts is difficult. You might be aware that the mining sector has always been male dominated and it’s not a problem that can be solved in an instant.
We have been taking female candidates for our attachments and internships. As Bikita Minerals, we strive to represent all genders equally and ensure that there is equal pay for both female and male employees,” said Nikisi.
In his comments, Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers (ZDAMWU) secretary general Justice Chinhema applauded the policy and urged the company to extend its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities towards projects that empower women.
“We appreciated the fact that our union’s chairperson (Tendai Mpundu) for women works at Bikita Minerals, and we are pleased by the company’s commitment to promote gender equity. We hope the quota will increase to 40 percent or even 60 percent.
“Similarly, we urge the company to initiate projects that empower the girl child and even the wives of employees,” said Chinhema.
Meanwhile, the Women Empowerment in Mining Zimbabwe (WEMZ) has called upon mining companies to continuously improve the working environment for women.
“Creating a favourable environment for women in mining requires multifaceted approach with such strategies as policy and legislative reforms to promote women participation, training and capacity building to provide technical training programs that equip women with necessary skills to succeed in mining such as geology, engineering and equipment operation,” the organisation wrote on LinkedIn.
This project was made possible through a partnership with the Southern Africa Trust. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent that of the Trust or its associates. www.southernafricatrust.org
