Increasing Diversity in Geoscience

How does our programme support people experiencing gender-based or domestic violence?

The Living with Dignity programme is designed to create safe spaces for people - at work, at home, at school, and in the community - where they can live their lives with dignity. We have made good progress on workplace programmes, but our plans for the other environments had to be adjusted as Covid-19 took hold earlier this year.

The changes in our South African workplaces have been wide-ranging and are underpinned by vocal commitment and modelling behaviour from our leadership teams – in our PGMs business, for example, every member of the senior leadership team has received coaching on gender-based violence and harassment. Sexual harassment is a standing agenda item at Executive Committee meetings and features regularly on leadership calls and town hall agendas.

Similarly, in Coal South Africa, where the second of last year’s baseline studies was conducted, CEO, July Ndlovu, gave his workforce frank feedback on the results of the study. This included a workshop with unions to tackle the issue collaboratively. Coal South Africa now includes a module on gender-based violence and harassment in their induction programmes.

A complete overhaul of South Africa-wide policies and procedures relating to gender-based violence and sexual harassment is almost complete. We will soon be aligned with ILO (International Labour Organization) Convention 190 which represents one of the most progressive approaches to addressing workplace violence and harassment. The revised policy will be supported by a new team run by people who are expert in investigation, counselling, and advice.

There are also physical changes, with improved and safer changing areas for women, improved security, fit-for-purpose lactation rooms, and a “buddy” system that means a woman never works without another female colleague being present.

You mentioned that Covid-19 had slowed down progress with Living with Dignity in environments outside the workplace. How did we work around that?

It was very clear early on that the pressures of Covid-19 were increasing incidents of domestic violence the world over. This was especially apparent in South Africa, which already has very high levels of violence against women and children.

In response, we made Living with Dignity the fourth pillar of our WeCare programme and worked to fight the ‘shadow pandemic’ alongside the health and economic impacts of Covid-19.

Our immediate priority was to communicate how and where to get help at a time when South Africa was facing one of the most stringent lockdowns in the world.

We used every channel available to us, internally and externally, to spread the word: flyers, slots on local radio stations, newspaper articles written by leaders in the company, our Makarapa City soap opera, internal webinars, apps, and intranet articles. 

The second part of our intervention involved our partnership with the University of Pretoria on community-orientated primary care (COPC). COPC was developed by the PGMs business to bring basic health services to the homes of community members through a network of clinical associates and community health workers.

This programme helped to support operations and mining communities in their fight against Covid-19. The presence of clinical associates, some of whom were specially trained in spotting and handling gender-based violence, meant that they were uniquely positioned to identify cases of domestic violence and ensure they were referred to the correct support service.

Hundreds of cases of abuse have been identified this way and it has also given us valuable information on the extent of the problem and where to focus future efforts.

Thirdly, we worked with the National Shelter Movement (and De Beers with UN Women) to support shelters in our mining areas with donations of food, PPE and financial aid for basics such as phone data and transportation.

What kind of impact is the programme having?

We have also seen some huge emotional shifts or changes in behaviour: leaders have opened up about their own experiences and shown that vulnerability can be a strength.

Employees are openly talking about the issue, demonstrating that we’re getting past gender-based violence being a taboo subject. There has also been an increase in cases reported, which we believe is because people now feel safe to speak up.

And we have seen a significant increase in employees wanting to make a difference in their own spheres of influence at work and at home.

Why is this initiative so important to Anglo American?

We want everyone at Anglo American to feel valued for who they are and work in an environment that promotes dignity and respect. There is no way we can achieve that unless gender-based violence and harassment are eliminated in our workplace. It also links to our ambition to increase diversity at Anglo American – we want to be the mining employer of choice for women and all other groups that are currently under-represented here.

From a community point of view, we extended our efforts beyond the mine gate because we don’t believe we can sustain meaningful change inside the business without tackling the root causes in homes, schools, and communities - we have a responsibility to use our influence and resources to be part of a positive change in all those environments.

Is Living with Dignity being rolled out globally?

We started in South Africa because the country is home to the majority of our operations, and because levels of violence against women and children are so high. However, the problem is by no means unique to South Africa.

We have kicked off our work in Brazil with two baseline studies that will start before 2020 is over and we are talking to our team in Peru. We want the programme to be adopted, in some form, in all our geographies.

What does success look like for Living with Dignity?

We want to completely eliminate gender-based violence and sexual harassment at Anglo American. Just like safety, it will take sustained effort over many years to get there - and stay there.

Outside of work, we want to make a meaningful contribution, along with governments, NGOs, and other players, to realise the UN’s vision of safe spaces for all.

What are you most proud of so far?

The way we were able to respond at speed when the pandemic hit: by the time the lockdown in South Africa was announced in March, we were already planning how we could support survivors of abuse. The Anglo American Foundation board approved the project in just one week, which shows how committed we are as a company to supporting survivors of violence.

What can we do as individuals to tackle gender-based violence?

As parents, we can break the cycle by eliminating violence in our own homes; by teaching our children about peaceful conflict resolution and gender equality; and allowing our boys to express healthy emotions.

As family members, community members and colleagues, we must not accept any form of sexism or abuse. And we must never stay silent about gender-based violence.