International WIM Alliance

The International WIM Alliance is a pioneering initiative that brings WIM organisations together to leverage our collective strength in pursuit of gender equality. The Alliance was established to provide a global, multilateral platform that will facilitate collaboration among WIM organisations and promote the emergence of a strong, unified WIM voice. The Alliance is open to all WIM organisations. the Alliance’s Secretariat is hosted by IWiM, under the guidance of a Steering Committee of WIM organisation representatives.

The Alliance also has an internal objective in addition to the external facing mentioned already: giving support to WIM organisations in many forms during the initial phases and throughout the growth of their organisation, introducing WIM organisations to each other to foster partnerships and providing a space to learn from each other including making resources and templates available.

The Official Declaration of the International WIM Alliance was co-authored by the WIM organisations which were instrumental in structuring it to the benefit of all of us. The Alliance was launched during the Global WIM Summit in March 2021.

The presentation and Declaration are available via the links below, in three languages.

In English	En français	En español
International WIM Alliance Declaration – March 2021	International WIM Alliance – Déclaration – mars 2021	International WIM Alliance – Declaración – marzo 2021
International WIM Alliance in 10 Questions – May 2021	International WIM Alliance en 10 questions – mai 2021	International WIM Alliance en 10 preguntas – mayo 2021
Steering Committee Charter – December 2021	Charte du Comité Directeur – décembre 2021	Estatuto del Comité Directivo – diciembre 2021
2021 Alliance Report & 2022 Plans – December 2021	Bilan 2021 & Prévisions 2022 – décembre 2021	Informe 2021 & Propuesta 2022 – diciembre 2021

See below participating WIM Organisations in the Global WIM Summit – March 2021

Work Plan 2021/22

Working Groups

WIM organisations selected four priority themes for collaboration in 2021, which were discussed in round tables during the inaugural Global WIM Summit in March 2021. The four themes are: STEM Women in Mining, Inclusive Workplace Design, Global Data Deficit and Role Models & Mentors.

Thematic working groups meeting monthly were convened in July 2021 and we aim to publish the review and recommendations in 2022.

Global WIM Calls

Global WIM Calls take place every two months among WIM organisation leaders and focus either on leadership of WIM organisations or advocacy: email us at info@internationalwim.org to register. The aim is for WIM organisations to come together, learn from one another and brainstorm new ideas to lead change in the mining sector.

These are replaced in 2022 by 8 round tables running from February to May and August to November and will now be open to organisation members as well as leaders and volunteers.

New themes will be circulated and voted on in 2022. The first AGM will be held in December 2022

Background & Next Steps for the WIM Movement

Global stakeholders, such as international organisations and global businesses, have long expressed the need for a conduit or coordinator to facilitate more consistent engagement with WIM organisations worldwide, which have themselves called for better coordination over the last few years. With increasing societal expectations, diversity and inclusion are now significant stakes across the mining sector, at the heart of strategic issues including social licence to operate, availability of skills necessary to transform the mining industry and meeting the challenges of the energy transition.

It became clear in 2020 that we were at a turning point for the WIM movement: like many change-driven grass roots movements, the time has come for us to seek to leverage collective strength to achieve deeper, more durable and more systemic effects. It is actually a sign of success and progress that WIM organisations are now facing the challenges of alignment on a common agenda and multilateral cooperation. Building on the success of WIM organisations in delivering constructive initiatives and thought leadership locally, we chose to explore avenues to realise our common purpose on a global scale, focusing on issues of strategic importance both to women and to the mining industry.

Following discussions among WIM organisations and with stakeholders including international organisations focusing on gender in extractives, IWIM launched the concept of a multilateral collaboration platform in June 2020.

A Founding Committee comprised of leaders of 15 WIM organisations volunteered their time and energy to this important work, focused on:

defining the specific purpose, objectives and mission beyond statements of principle focusing on the emergence of a strong, united WIM voice;
defining a preliminary strategy and action plan for the next three years; and
assessing organisational models and options in support of the mission and strategy.

A series of meetings and email consultations took place in Q4 2020, culminating in proposals circulated to leaders of WIM organisations worldwide in the form of a comprehensive survey in December 2020.

This established a clear consensus on the Founding Committee’s proposals, common themes of interest and well-defined areas of collaboration and common expression for WIM organisations. The results of this survey were analysed and adopted by the Founding Committee in January 2021 and form the basis of the International WIM Alliance Declaration, which was then published at the Global WIM Summit.

One of the conclusions that quickly emerged was the choice of a loose structure, with an internal focus on coordination and an external focus on advocacy: this is the foundation of the International WIM Alliance. Its actions and positions will be guided by the following values and principles:

Respect and Inclusivity, intrinsic to the WIM movement: Women in mining come from all backgrounds, beliefs, abilities and experiences and we recognise the value of each individual and are committed to treating every person with due regard for their rights, dignity and well-being;
Collaboration, in that we work with others in a spirit of mutuality and solidarity, celebrate diversity and respect others’ choices in the pursuit of common goals for an equitable world free of the systems marginalising women; and
Integrity and Transparency: We act with honesty and are guided by ethical and moral principles in all that we do; we work with transparency, hold ourselves to the highest standards and strive to deliver concrete, positive change for women in mining.

WIM organisations selected four priority themes for collaboration in 2021, which were discussed in round tables during the inaugural Global WIM Summit and will be the subject of thematic working groups convened from July 2021, with a focus on initiatives which complete and support WIM organisations’ own work in 2021. the four themes are: STEM Women in Mining, Inclusive Workplace Design, Global Data Deficit and Role Models & Mentors.

This is indeed a turning point for women in mining. Together, we will leverage our collective strength, creativity, expertise and resilience to change not only our own role, but transform the mining industry to improve diversity, governance and sustainability. Our ambitions are limitless, our determination is robust and our collective achievements will be inspiring.

International WIM Alliance Founders

More about WIM Organisations

More about the Global WIM Summit