The Power of Conversation: Insights from our Ambassadors
Change will only come when people talk about it.
That message is the motivation behind AusIMM’s International Women’s Day (IWD) Event Series, which works to shape conversations and drive positive change in the resources sector through inspiring speeches.
And the message is driven home further by 2025 IWD Series Ambassadors Brooke Adamson, Lisa Baptista, Odette Patterson, Rowena Albones, and Sharon Lo.
Australian Mining sat down with Adamson and Lo to discuss the IWD Series’ role in championing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and the women’s own contributions to this vital area.
Both Adamson and Lo, like the other Series Ambassadors, are seasoned professionals working in a traditionally male-dominated sector.
Adamson is an ore processing manager – final product at Newmont, while Lo is an area manager – New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji at Weir. Although they have vastly different jobs, championing DEI in their respective workplaces has seen them connect on common ground.
“DEI has always been a big passion of mine,” Adamson told Australian Mining. “I feel very honoured to be in this position because I’m among some phenomenal women.
“I often speak with my team about how DEI isn’t something we can further by just putting policies and systems in place; every single person at every level has to pitch in, be allies, and advocate for change.”
Lo echoed this statement. She credits the allies on her team as some of the driving forces behind her success.
“When I moved out to Cobar in New South Wales for six months, I worked in a very male-dominated team,” she said.
“But it was their support that helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my career and helped me to believe in myself and my abilities.
“Being a Series Ambassador is important because I want to show other people that you can go into an industry like mining and succeed; that being a female in these roles isn’t a barrier.”
Both Adamson and Lo are heavily involved in DEI initiatives at their respective workplaces.
Lo is involved with the Weir Women’s Network, both its global and Australian chapters, an affinity group dedicated to the attraction, retention and continued development of women at Weir.
“We create events to promote women in the workplace and provide training to advance their careers,” Lo said. “I help to support our local chapters, who tailor those events to each area, because we know there are cultural differences within different parts of our global business.
“We recently had an event centred around storytelling, where our global business leaders shared their personal stories about how they came to be in their roles and the challenges they faced.”
Adamson is involved with similar initiatives at Newmont.
“We run women’s mentoring programs across the business,” she said. “But one of the most powerful things we do is create a safe space for everyone.
“There’s a lot of power in talking openly about conscious and unconscious biases and teaching people that diversity isn’t just split between male and female.
“At Newmont, we have pillars of diversity. We have LGBTQIA+, families and careers, family and domestic violence, gender, disability and cultural identity. Members of our senior leadership team drive particular initiatives under each pillar.”
Adamson and Lo both agree that conversations and speaking openly about DEI will lead to the most change in the industry – and it’s one of the reasons both women are looking forward to AusIMM’s 2025 IWD Event Series.
“The IWD event series creates awareness, which is maybe one of the most important things about championing DEI,” Adamson said.
“Like last year, we have phenomenal ambassadors involved in the Series and I was blown away listening to their achievements when I met them.
“It’s important to understand that we all have a role to play. We need diversity advocates and sponsors from across the industry. The more allies we have, the better.”
Lo said events like AusIMM’s IWD Event Series lets people know that it’s okay to talk about DEI and how to increase it in the industry.
“The series gives us an open platform where there isn’t any judgment, and it gets men and our allies involved in conversations which they might not usually be comfortable to have,” she said.
“When I tell people I’m a Series Ambassador, it gives me a chance to explain what IWD and DEI is, and why it’s so important.”
Going forward, championing DEI and recruitment will be key focuses for both Adamson and Lo.
“Diversity shouldn’t be seen as a quota,” Lo said. “The thought process needs to change from ‘you were probably hired so the company can meet their diversity goal’ to ‘you were hired because you were the best person for job’.
“People shouldn’t have to feel as though they have to prove their worth or that they belong.”
Adamson echoed Lo’s sentiments.
“It’s easy to just focus on the ‘female quota’,” she said. “But we don’t want to be just a number. We’re all exceptional, and that’s why we’re in the positions that we are.”
This feature was written by AusIMM's International Women's Day Event Series Media Partner, Australian Mining, and was orginally posted in their December 2024 issue.