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A ROADMAP FOR MINERALS PROCESSING EDUCATION
Where are the Women in Mineral Processing?

KATHRYN HADLER
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London,

Introduction

Throughout my career in the minerals processing academic community,
it has often seemed that women are in a minority, both in terms of
presence at meetings and conferences, and on site. In this study, I have
set out to quantify the number of women in mineral processing, using
data on those graduating with mineral processing degrees, delegates
lists from selected conferences and other sources (namely the Minerals
Council of Australia report ‘Unearthing New Resources’). The purpose
of this study is not to propose reasons for or solutions to any indicated
imbalance, but to draw attention to the numbers of women in the
industry, in order to generate discussion on the topic of attracting and
retaining a broad diversity of skilled workers and innovators.

The Gender Diversity in Positions of Esteem

In order to quantify the proportion of women working in mineral
processing (both academia and industry), we can look first to the
International Mineral Processing Council; the body whose “principal
purpose” is to “maintain oversight over the various formal activities of
the international mineral processing community and to represent the
views of the international community of mineral processors” (www.
impc-council.com). The council comprises 18 members, predominantly
from the academic community, of which one member is female (Diana
Drinkwater) (www.impc-council.com). This means the proportion of

Where are the Women in 155
Mineral Processing?