Diversity and Equal Opportunity
The demand for young leaders in the mining industry exceeds available supply. In a historically male dominated industry, the imbalance is even greater for women who aspire to be future leaders. We became a participating company of the United Nations Global Compact in 2007 and support the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through this commitment. The MDGs are eight global goals developed by the United Nations in 2000 and committed to by countries all over the world to combat some of the world’s most critical issues by 2015, including poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and gender inequality. These goals can only be achieved with full participation by women and equal opportunity. In fact, one of the MDGs is to promote gender equality and empower women. We have the ability to create opportunities for women in the workplace and in communities.
Teck's diversity policy is reflected in the Human Rights section of the Code of Ethics, which states: Teck supports and promotes a work environment where individuals are treated with respect, provided with equality of opportunity based on merit and kept free of all forms of discrimination. To monitor our progress in this area, we track the percentage of women in the workforce and the percentage of women in management and governance positions. The mining industry has historically employed a greater proportion of men than women. However, women are increasingly assuming roles traditionally held by men including both management and frontline operational vocations.
Consistent with the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines, we also track the number of Indigenous Peoples in the workforce where possible. We continue to promote the hiring of local Indigenous Peoples. For example, Teck operates the Red Dog mine through agreements with NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. (a corporation wholly owned by the Inupiaq People of NW Alaska), covering preferential hiring, contracting and revenue sharing. As a result, over 56% of the workforce is composed of shareholders of NANA Regional Corporation. For more information on Indigenous Peoples in the workforce, please go to the Indigenous Peoples section.
Percentage of Women in the Workforce
| Operation |
2009(%) |
2008 (%) |
2007 (%) |
| Cardinal River Operations |
7.00 |
6.00 |
2.00 |
| Carmen de Andacollo |
11.00 |
12.00 |
|
| Coal Mountain Operations |
13.00 |
15.00 |
14.00 |
| Duck Pond Operations |
10.00 |
11.00 |
|
| Elkview Operations |
9.00 |
10.00 |
11.00 |
| Fording River Operations |
8.00 |
10.00 |
9.00 |
| Greenhills Operations |
9.00 |
8.00 |
8.00 |
| Highland Valley Copper |
7.00 |
7.00 |
6.00 |
| Line Creek Operations |
12.00 |
10.00 |
9.00 |
| Pend Oreille Operations |
14.00 |
16.00 |
14.00 |
| Quebrada Blanca Operations |
4.00 |
5.00 |
|
| Red Dog Operations |
10.00 |
13.00 |
13.00 |
| Trail Operations |
7.00 |
7.00 |
8.00 |
In our corporate offices in 2009 we had the following percentage of women in the workforce:
- Calgary: 31%
- Chile: 21%
- Spokane: 62%
- Toronto: 49%
- Vancouver: 48%
Percentage of Women in Management, Governance, Professional and Administrative Positions as at December 31, 2009
| Job Level |
Percentage (%) |
| Executive |
2 |
| Senior Management |
10 |
| Management |
7 |
| Professional |
15 |
| Professional Support |
16 |
| Administration |
30 |
Employee Remuneration
Employees' remuneration depends on the salary band (jobs based on similar knowledge and level of responsibility required are placed in the same band) the employee's job is in within the organization. An employee's remuneration is based on a combination of base pay and variable pay. The employee's base pay within the salary range (from 80% of the midpoint of the salary band to 120% of the midpoint) is based on the employee's experience and personal performance. The employee's variable pay is based primarily on the employee's personal performance with part of it being based on the company and business unit financial results. All jobs in the same salary band have the same midpoint or job rate, based on market data, and the same target bonus, again based on market data. All components are heavily influenced by individual performance. We do not analyze wage differentials between male and females. Therefore as per the explanation above GRI indicator LA14 is currently not applicable.