IWRMP - International Women in Mining (IWiM)

About the Programme

The International Women in Resources Mentoring Programme (IWRMP) is an annual cross-company programme established in 2018 to promote and empower women to progress their careers, overcome professional challenges and build confidence for achievement and industry leadership.

This unique 6-month, structured and results-orientated initiative is very successful, growing year on year and continuously improving, for consistently excellent ratings from mentees and mentors. To date, IWRMP has facilitated the personal and professional growth of 200 mentees, including 56 scholars, with 70 mentees participating in 2021 from over 20 countries and 108 from 29 countries in 2022. We are increasingly offering the opportunity for mentees to be matched in their native language, in addition to English.

Our goal is to have given 500 women a mentor by 2025. In September 2022 we will reach 308 of which 61 were scholars.

IWRMP places a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion, aiming to reduce cross-cultural barriers by creating partnerships between talented, driven mentees and senior industry leaders committed to the promotion of women in mining. Mentees benefit greatly from the guidance and insight of the inspirational men and women mentoring them, who in turn expand their understanding of younger professionals’ perspectives and challenges. These individual benefits extend to positively impact participants’ teams and organisations, improving the position and opportunities of women across the mining sector.

How it works

IWRMP provides a high-quality framework which facilitates the mentoring relationship and allows both mentee and mentor to benefit from the experience. The focus of mentorship is on setting career goals and plans and achieving them.

IWRMP strategically aligns mentors with mentees. The structured format provides the highest level of support and regular engagement milestones, beginning with a thought-provoking training session and comprehensive guidance documents for mentors and mentees.

The programme usually runs from April to September. Each mentee has at least six sessions with their mentor. The programme also offers webinars on additional leadership topics and opportunities for participants to connect and network.

As mentees and mentors often hail from different places, communities and disciplines, the relationships also serve to reduce cross-cultural barriers. IWRMP promoters ensure that women from all continents participate, including from emerging markets.

Mentee Eligibility

This programme is aimed at mentees with at least five years’ experience
Perfect for recently promoted professionals, or people who find themselves at a pivotal moment in their careers or who feel that there is a glass ceiling above them
Can be used by multinational employers to support talent in jurisdictions where they need to focus on their licence to operate and build capacity in local workforce
Can also be offered across multiple seniority levels and professions

Time Commitment for Mentees

Mentees will be expected to dedicate quite a number of hours on top of their busy schedule and home life to focus on the programme.

Compulsory: initial training session, 6 to 9 sessions with their mentor, session preparation and follow up work
Optional: webinars and networking opportunities, programme finale celebration

Scholar Eligibility

Creating unique opportunities for women, including wholly or partially-funded access to pioneering initiatives such as IWRMP, is integral to IWiM’s purpose and impact. Scholarships will be offered to women working in, with and around the mining sector, primarily in emerging markets or among disadvantaged groups, who do not have an industry sponsor and are unable to self-fund their participation in IWRMP. IWiM’s Scholarship Committee apply a rigorous selection process and criteria including candidates’ leadership potential. Candidates must have at least 5 years’ experience in mining and 25 years of age, and hold a university degree, technical college qualification or trade training.

please contact us at info@iwrmp.com for more information

Mentor Eligibility

IWRMP mentors are female and male senior leaders in the resources industry, inspirational men and women committed to the promotion of women in mining.

At least 20 years’ experience (most of our mentors have 25+), with seniority and experience with mining companies/mining consultancies across all professions and industry roles
International work experience (having lived and worked abroad)
Head of department, senior manager reporting to executive level/C-suite or any level above
A passion for giving back, and capacity for empathy, as mentees may be in challenging situations and conversations may sometimes veer into the personal and family realms
Commitment to make themselves available to their mentee every 3 weeks for a period of 6 months, to maintain focus and momentum in the discussions

Mentors play a vital role as senior role models in enhancing global retention and promotion of women in mining; they support but also push mentees beyond their expectations, sharing valuable tools and insight to help them progress on their own leadership journey.

Time commitment for Mentors

Compulsory: initial training session (if first time as mentor on the programme), at least 6-8 sessions with their mentee (12 hours)
Optional: additional sessions with their mentee, webinars and networking opportunities, programme finale celebration

Sponsorship

Would your organisation like to be a champion for change and participate in a global cross-company mentoring programme?

Does the International Women in Resources Mentoring Programme (IWRMP) align with your company values?

Applications for IWRMP 2023 are now open. Contact us at info@iwrmp.com

Mentee Testimonials

“Knowing that Sherritt supports my career goals through its sponsorship is just one of the many benefits of this program. By giving me the resources and encouragement to participate, I feel recognized and valued. Not to mention, one of our senior leaders is a mentor. To me, that shows the world that Sherritt has something of value to share too and that as a company, we care about women succeeding in the industry.”

– Nancy Fedyniak, Sherritt 2019 Mentee

“The mentorship programme has offered me the opportunity to make great career improvement decisions and set achievable goals. I have also established contact with a lot of women in mining. This experience is a lifetime asset. I am very grateful for the exposure. Thank you very much organisers for such an initiative.”

-Anonymous, 2020 Mentee

Mentor Testimonials

“As a mentor, what I like best about IWRMP is the connection with a younger professional in a different part of the world and learning about her daily job and career aspirations. It reinforces that although we are from different countries and different stages of our careers, our aspirations to be the best we can be, are the same. Mentoring has taught me how to reach out and guide other mining career women to achieve more than they are currently thinking they can achieve.”

– Anonymous 2020 Mentor

“I have found the program to be very beneficial and very structured, which is something that has been lacking in other mentoring programs I’ve been a part of. I’ve really enjoyed my interactions with X and hope that she has found them as beneficial as I have”

-Anonymous 2019 Mentor

“I really enjoyed being part of this work and felt like I could share actionable ideas that my mentee adapted and used. I also took so much away from the discussion in understanding how a different company works, seeing my mentee develop thinking for herself and the perspective and challenges of a younger workforce. It also reinforced for me how much more work is needed in mining capability development”