Half of the survey respondents also say that the mine’s workplace culture has improved ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’.
More than a third of workers at Rio Tinto experienced bullying in the past 12 months, a progress review has found, nearly three years after the mining giant pledged to tackle sexism and discrimination in the workplace.
Among the nearly 12,000 workers surveyed at Rio Tinto, 39 percent reported being harassed, up from 31 percent in 2021, said a report released by the British-Australian company on Wednesday.
Female workers often said that they had been abused.
Half of women interviewed reported such incidents, compared to 36 percent of men, up from 36 percent of women and 29 percent of men, respectively, in 2021.
The increase in exploitation of women was partly due to “an increase in retaliation in the form of gender-based exploitation in response to Rio Tinto’s efforts to promote gender diversity and inclusion,” the report said.
Seven percent of respondents – 16 percent of women and 4 percent of men – said they had experienced sexual harassment, a proportion unchanged from 2021.
Eight workers said they had experienced actual or attempted sexual harassment or rape, compared to five in 2021.
Despite these findings, almost half of the employees reported that the workplace culture at the company had improved.
50 percent of respondents said the situation related to bullying had gotten “a lot” or “somewhat” better, while 47 percent and 46 percent of respondents, respectively, reported improvements in relation to sexual harassment and discrimination.
The review also found that 26 recommendations outlined in the 2022 Daily Respect Report commissioned by the company have been widely implemented.
Rio Tinto’s chief executive, Jakob Stausholm, said he was “deeply concerned” that workers still encountered harmful practices but was encouraged by the company’s efforts to change.
“The review also shows that while progress is being made, achieving the sustainable change we want to see in our culture will require continued focus and hard work,” Stausholm said in a statement.
“My message today is that we will continue with the lesson.”
The review, carried out by former Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, comes after a 2022 parliamentary inquiry in Western Australia found sexual harassment and abuse was rampant in the mining sector.
Source link
