Quotas and targets “dead wrong” as way to increase mining sector female leadership

SETTING quotas or targets was not the way to sustainably increase women in leadership positions in the mining industry, said Jody Kuzenko, president and CEO of Torex Gold, a Canadian-headquartered gold producer.

Commenting in an article for Thomson Reuters Foundation, Kuzenko – who is also a board member of the World Gold Council – said that a multi-faceted approach may take longer, but it would represent a more lasting route to gender diversity in sectoral leadership.

Kuzenko’s recommendations included hiring for competence rather than from ‘the club’, creating a pipeline of a variety of entry level leadership positions, and for women “… to find the confidence to push ourselves beyond what we think we can do”.

In the latter, women must also support other women, said Kuzenko.

“Complex, generational issues are never effectively solved through singular solutions. The enthusiasm to make things better by applying quotas at the most senior levels of organizations is a quick fix working the wrong end of the pipeline,” said Kuzenko.

“Quotas imply that women get a reserved spot at the table. I want to be at the table because I earned it and because I’m the best person for the job, not to fill a quota. Inevitably, quotas will see some women ascend to positions of power before they are ready which has the potential to move women backward,” she said.