Canada’s KWG Resources recently came under scrutiny for a supposedly ‘educational’ YouTube video they released. The video, entitled 5 Interesting Ring of Fire Facts seems innocuous enough, until you realise that these facts are being presented by women in bikinis, in an apparent attempt to entice younger workers to the industry.
We do not agree with this point of view, and it seems we are not alone. And rather than write an entire post denouncing this video, here are a few excellent articles which already articulate our thoughts on the matter:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/mining-video-bikini-model-1.3715098
http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/Industry-News/mining/2016/08/Ring-of-Fire-video-draws-mixed-reaction-from-women-professionals.aspx
http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/comment-can-sex-sell-junior-mines/
http://www.republicofmining.com/2016/08/19/ring-of-miner-junior-needs-to-mend-fences-with-first-nations-by-ian-ross-northern-ontario-business-august-19-2016/
http://business.financialpost.com/entrepreneur/growth-strategies/how-to-stop-your-video-from-going-viral-for-all-the-wrong-reasons
It is disappointing that in 2016 women are still not being fairly represented in the mining industry. We at IWiM are constantly striving to remedy this, which is why we provide unique resources such as our Stock Photo Gallery, PPE Project, and IWiM SpeakUp, which we encourage companies and individuals to share and make use of.
Women must be taken seriously in order to be recruited to and retained in the industry. Hopefully KWG Resources have learned that inappropriate marketing campaigns are not the most effective way to achieve this.