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SAFE AND EFFECTIVE PEOPLE WHO RESPECT AND CARE
Promoting diversity and transformation

The recruitment and retention of highly sought-after skilled HDSAs, particularly women, is an ongoing challenge

We believe strongly that a transformed and more diverse organisation is more resilient and better positioned to be competitive in the country and region.

Our strategic approach to diversity

In seeking to meet and go beyond the expectations of the Mining Charter and Employment Equity Act, our employment equity (EE) strategy has two priority focus areas:

• Integrating transformation and EE considerations within our talent-management activities
• Accelerating the recruitment, development and promotion of designated groups into occupational levels that are under-represented.

The Group transformation committee and Implats' operational EE structures follow a common framework aimed at driving the strategy throughout the Group. During this year, we appointed EE managers for all our operations and we established representative transformation committees to address our employment equity imperatives.

The recruitment and retention of highly sought-after skilled HDSAs, particularly women, is an ongoing challenge, as the widespread lack of skills in South Africa has resulted in extreme competition for suitable candidates. Given the current operating challenges, our efforts remain directed towards retention and promotion. To further develop our understanding of where our strengths and weaknesses lie in promoting diversity, we have commissioned external consultants to conduct a diversity audit in 2015. The findings of this exercise will be incorporated into our diversity management programme.

We encourage female representation at all levels of the organisation. Our approach classifies women into two specific groups: women at all levels, and women in mining (specifically those working in underground conditions). As we progressively mechanise our mining methods, there will be greater opportunity to advance women representation in the long term. In Zimbabwe, there is no legal target set for gender equity. Nonetheless, at Zimplats we are committed to promoting gender equity at all levels of the organisation, particularly at managerial level. The operation aims to achieve at least a ratio of 10% of new recruits as females, specifically targeting surface engagements.

Our 2014 performance on diversity

As part of South Africa's process of transformation, we must meet the Mining Charter's requirement that by the end of 2014 HDSA employees make up 40% of each management level (junior, middle, senior and top management), as well as in the core and critical skills category.

We made good progress this year in promoting equitable representation, especially at Exco level which increased from 22% to 50% HDSA representation. At year end, despite a setback in our efforts during the prolonged strike, we had achieved, and in most cases exceeded, the charter's targets (see table overleaf).

At our South African operations, at year end we had 146 women in management representing 19% of total management. Our overall women representation in our workforce remained at 10%. We also have a number of ‘women in mining' initiatives, and women representation in mining development programmes continues to improve in all mining training streams. Although the mining charter does not stipulate a target for women, we continue to focus on women advancement. For 2014 we increased our targeted intake of females at entry level/novices from 10% to 15%; we achieved 13%, just short of this increased target.

At Zimplats, this year 17% of all surface engagements were women, surpassing our target of 10%. The number of women in mining is improving year-on-year, with females currently constituting 6% of the total Zimplats workforce.

HDSA excl. non-executives is 377 which represents 50% of management. Senior management representation is E levels (excluding Exco), middle management is D upper and junior management is D lower.

The table below summarises the HDSA representation at all levels across our South African operations.

Employment equity South African operations