IWRMP - International Women in Mining (IWiM)

About IWRMP

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 with consistently excellent ratings from mentees and mentors. To date, IWRMP has facilitated the personal and professional growth of 308 mentees, including 61 scholars with 108 mentees from 28 countries participating in 2023. Our goal is to have given 500 women a mentor by 2025.

We are increasingly offering the opportunity for mentees to be matched in their native language, in addition to English.

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.

IWRMP 2024

Applications for IWRMP 2024 are now open. The mentee application deadline is 23 February 2024, and the training week starts from 15 April 2024.

Individuals need to be sponsored by their employers to gain a slot or self-fund. If you have any questions or comments, please contact info@iwrmp.com

Programme details

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 March/April to September/October. 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 and time commitment

This programme is aimed at mentees with at least five years’ experience in the mining sector post qualification (ideally 10+)
Minimum age: 27 years
Open to all professions
IWRMP does not cater to students including PhDs

Time commitment: 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, sessions with their mentor every 3-4 weeks, session preparation and follow up work
Optional but highly encouraged: webinars and networking opportunities, programme finale celebration

Scholarships and 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. Applicants from emerging markets who work for large mining companies and consultancies or engineering firms can’t apply for scholarship and need to be sponsored by their employer.

IWiM’s Scholarship Committee apply a rigorous selection process and criteria including candidates’ leadership potential. Candidates must have at least 10 years’ experience in mining and be at least 30 years of age, hold a university degree, technical college qualification or trade training.

Scholarships for 2024 will open in November/December 2023. If you have any questions, contact us at info@iwrmp.com

Mentor eligibility and time commitment

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

At least 25 years’ work experience, with seniority and experience with mining companies/mining consultancies across all professions and industry roles
International work experience (ideally 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

Time Commitment: Mentors commit to make themselves available to their mentee every 3 to 4 weeks for a period of 6 months, to maintain focus and momentum in the discussions

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

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”