AusIMM’s International Women’s Day Event Series returns in 2024 to celebrate the achievements of women in the resources sector.
AusIMM is not accustomed to doing things by halves.
It’s for that reason that as the world celebrates International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, AusIMM will be at the tail end of a week-long celebration for women in the resources sector.
Inspirational celebratory lunches will be held from February 29 – March 8 in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The 2024 IWD Event Series will centre around a new theme: Driving positive change together.
This theme signifies the power of collaboration and the importance of coming together to address challenges and share initiatives to support a more inclusive sector for all resource industry professionals.
Adding to the significance of this year’s IWD Event Series, three outstanding women in resources will act as series ambassadors to champion diversity, equity and inclusion.
This will see Mel Cooper (Rio Tinto), Dr Elham Hosseinzadehsabeti (Veracio) and Julie Truss (Weir) share their personal stories and unique approaches to driving positive change in the workplace.
As the faces of AusIMM’s IWD Event Series, the series ambassadors will play an active role in shaping conversations in gender equality in the resources sector in the lead up to IWD.
Mel Cooper
As global head of equity inclusion and diversity at Rio Tinto, Cooper has been instrumental in driving respect and inclusion across the company.
She has worked in a variety of roles at Rio Tinto for the past 17 years and led the Everyday Respect Taskforce for the major miner, releasing a report on workplace culture in a transparent way.
The winner of the QRC Exceptional Woman in Queensland Resources category at the 2023 Women in Resources Awards, Cooper is passionate about creating an equal and safe environment to allow people to achieve their full potential.
“Positive change together really starts with recognising the systems that are holding women back, and being brave enough to disrupt them,” Cooper said.
“When you can’t do that, just find the next right thing to do.”
Dr Elham Hosseinzadehsabeti
Known to her colleagues as Ellie, Hosseinzadehsabeti is a leading orebody knowledge expert at Veracio.
From her hometown of Tehran, Iran, Hosseinzadehsabeti cultivated her interest in geology and mining before travelling to the US to purse a PhD in earth and energy sciences.
A key player in cataloguing critical and reference minerals with Harvard University’s Mineralogical and Geological Museum in 2021, Hosseinzadehsabeti finds joy in mineral art and the blend of creativity and scientific enquiry it creates.
expert Dr Elham Hosseinzadehsabeti. Image: AusIMM
A new opportunity with Veracio has seen Hosseinzadehsabeti transferred to Perth, where she is part of a diverse geoscience team with more than 50 per cent female representation – a powerful story in itself about women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Hosseinzadehsabeti is excited about being an ambassador for the 2024 AusIMM IWD Event Series.
“I look forward to empowering change through unity and a shared purpose,” she said.
Julie Truss
Having worked in the industry for more than 20 years, Truss has had the opportunity to champion diversity in the resources sector in many ways.
She is currently chair of the Weir Women’s Network Australian Chapter, which extends across Weir’s minerals and ESCO businesses in Australia.
Truss believes that the foundation of strong diversity, equity and inclusion is collaboration and commitment.
“Through empathy and inclusion, we will create workplaces that empower women to be their whole selves – sharing all of their skills and experiences,” she said.
“Leading in this way will inspire others to value, understand and celebrate women’s inclusion.”
With such a stellar lineup of series ambassadors, the 2024 AusIMM IWD Event Series will celebrate the achievements of women and demonstrate the collective power of coming together to drive positive change.
To learn more about AusIMM’s 2024 International Women’s Day Event Series, visit the AusIMM website.
This feature appeared in the February 2024 issue of Australian Mining.