PDAC 2019: Booth, Panel Discussions and Harassment at the Conference

Me Too Mining Association rented booth space at PDAC 2019 to introduce our association and our message to the mining industry.  Let everyone know that we are out there.  The response from conference attendees was overall very positive. 
Our messaging of

• Safe, Inclusive and Respectful workplaces through better reporting options,

• Better policy support and training around appropriate workplace behaviours and bystander intervention strategies, and

• Messaging that sexual harassment in the workplace impacts all workers and is a Health and Safety issue and should be included in H&S policies, tool boxes, daily H&S talks and explicitly included in whistleblower reporting policies.

Having a presence at the major mining conferences this year has really helped to start and continue the conversation in the mining industry around sexualized violence, sexual harassment, Intimidation and Discrimination.

Our Active Bystandter Intervention Pledge was well received and we gathered a lot of new signatures on our table runner.

Susan Lomas, President of Me Too Mining Association was invited to participate on the panel discussion sponsored by Goldcorp Inc. on Gender Diverse and Inclusive Workplaces.  The panel was organized and moderated by Valerie Pascale of Goldcorp Inc. 

Other Panel members included Anna Tudela of Goldcorp Inc., Shastri Ramnath from Orix Geoscience and , Susan Lasecki-Coiro from BHP.  

It was a lively discussion on many aspects of inclusion and diversity in the workplace with a lot of active discussions with the audience.

Many of the discussions at the booth and while participating in other events at the conference, included sexual harassment of female conference attendees at the PDAC in 2019 and also historically.  

Susan Lomas, President of MTMA started attending the PDAC conference back in the late 1980s and has experienced a lot of inappropriate behaviours from other conference attendees over the years.  Especially when attending as a university student and as a young geologist.