Now one of the largest and most influential events on the mining industry calendar, the Gold Industry Group’s annual Women in Gold Great Diversity Debate enters its fourth year in Perth, this time exploring whether a diversity debate that begins and ends with gender is doomed to fail.
The contemporary discussions, hosted in conjunction with Women in Mining WA, will once again be held in front of over 300 guests at the historic Perth Mint this Friday night.
Gold Industry Group Chairman and Perth Mint CEO Richard Hayes will conduct the event as Master of Ceremonies.
Gold Industry Group Vice Chairperson and Gold Fields Vice President Legal and Compliance Kelly Carter will reprise her role as adjudicator, leading the esteemed panel of speakers.
“I am delighted to see the support and enthusiasm that this event continues to generate, year on year. This is a fantastic opportunity to explore critical issues relating to diversity in our sector, and the debate format really promotes a lively and honest discussion,” Ms Carter said.
This year’s panellists include Raleigh Finlayson, Managing Director, Saracen Mineral Holdings; Stacey Marinkovich, Head Coach, West Coast Fever; Matthew Popham, Tax Director, Newmont Goldcorp Australia; and Tashana Jones, Student Curtin University and President, Women in Mining and Resources Curtin.
A mining engineer with over 20 years of technical and operational experience combined with a passion for mining education, Raleigh Finlayson is the Managing Director of Saracen Mineral Holdings.
“I’m looking forward to an energetic discussion about real diversity – this is an opportunity for our industry that we need to grab hold of and not just look at as a numbers game,” Mr Finlayson said.
An elite netball player and long-standing coach, Stacey Marinkovich is the Head Coach of West Coast Fever.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to present alongside some of the leading men and women in their chosen fields. Hopefully I can offer a unique perspective as a woman in sport,” Ms Marinkovich said.
A passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity through board roles and working groups, Matthew Popham is the Director of Taxation at Newmont Goldcorp Australia.
“The key to getting the best diversity outcomes is inclusion. However, inclusion is about much more than diversity. It is a mindset that when practiced well, benefits all those within that organisation or community, not just a target ‘group’,” Mr Popham said.
Young trailblazer and geology and environmental biology student, Tashana Jones is a founding member and president of Women In Mining and Resources at Curtin University.
"Focusing on just one social area, such as gender, is inherently contradictory to diversity itself. The modern world has pushed gender equality so aggressively, that we are left stumbling over our own feet and feeling fatigued to all other areas encompassed by diversity. If we continue to seek change just for the sake of change, we are doomed to feel like we’re chasing a moving mountain," Ms Jones said.
The 2019 Women in Gold Great Diversity Debate in Perth has been made possible thanks to sponsors Gold Fields, The Perth Mint, Saracen Mineral Holdings, ABC Refinery, Ramelius Resources, Independence Group, Swick Mining, Newmont Goldcorp Australia, AngloGold Ashanti Australia, Regis Resources and Northern Star Resources.
Due to its success, the debate is also being held in Sydney and Melbourne next week, with eight different speakers taking to the stage.