Florence Drummond

AAusIMM, CEO & Founder, Indigenous Women in Mining & Resources Australia (IWIMRA)

Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to showcase our stories within the industry. Focusing on solutions based outcomes for quality progression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce, Florence has grown the reach of the network not only nationally, but alongside international Women In Mining networks, to understand the global conversations of equality in culturally safe workplaces for continued positive relations and upholding the values of host communities. Florence, a Dauareb/Wuthathi woman was born and raised on Thursday Island. The eldest of eight children, has been developing her leadership mindset from a very young age. Her parents valuing the importance of western education sent her away to boarding school, The Kooralbyn International School. Understanding this was the most impressionable time of her life, where she learnt of worldy cultures and people, she now understands that it was at the cost of indepth learning of her own culture and traditions. The valuable knowledge between grandparents and grandchildren were only in brief, as the desires of a lifestyle away from community provided much more dazzle, which has significantly impacted the completion of a kinship story. Wanting to understand this connection better, Florence is continuing research into cultural connections of people living away from home, specifically in mining and resources industry. Being the largest employer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Florence strongly believes it is a significant lever to helping communities heal by empowering and developing quality progression for the indigenous workforce.