New Gold earns Artemis award for empowering women

New Gold (TSX, NYSE: NGD), which this year extended the life of its Rainy River mine in Ontario near the Manitoba border, has earned an award for advancing gender equality from the Artemis Project, a Toronto-based advocacy group for women in mining.   

The miner, which also has the New Afton underground gold-copper mine in British Columbia, was joined by Eldorado Gold (TSX: ELD; NYSE: EGO) and Rio Tinto (NYSE, LSE, ASX: RIO). They’re Artemis’ top three mining companies in Canada for exemplary commitments to gender-responsive procurement in 2024. 

New Gold showed its commitment by partnering with women-owned businesses through annual meetings, senior leadership support and introductions to key opportunities, Artemis said. The miner revised its vendor onboarding process to include female entrepreneurs, reflecting a dedication to fostering diversity, inclusion and innovation within its supply chain. 

“When we support women-owned businesses, we do so not only to advance gender equity in mining, but to tap into an abundance of skill, talent, and innovation,” New Gold president and CEO Patrick Godin said in a news release this month. “It is our belief that an inclusive and diverse approach to procurement is an essential component of our success.” 

Industry gap

Canada is recognized globally for its commitment to gender equality, ranking 19th out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Global Gender Gap Index. However, women constitute about 16% of the mining workforce in Canada, a figure significantly lower than the 48% representation of women across all Canadian industries.  

​The underrepresentation is consistent across various roles and skill levels within the industry. Even in professional and management positions, women’s participation remains below that of other sectors, according to McKinsey & Co.  

Systemic challenges such as gender pay gaps, limited access to support networks, and higher incidences of discrimination and harassment contribute to the lower retention and advancement rates of women in mining. 

Artemis selected the companies after an evaluation process based on criteria such as the extent of their outreach and partnerships with the organization’s list of women-owned businesses, and the impact of their initiatives in fostering gender equality within their supply chains. 

“These companies are setting a powerful example of how the mining industry can tap into innovative, specialized talent while advancing gender equality,” Artemis CEO Heather Gamble said in the same release.  

Eldorado Gold

In 2024, Eldorado led the industry with the highest spend on Artemis-affiliated women-owned businesses, demonstrating its strong commitment to gender-responsive procurement and economic empowerment.  

The miner, which has the Lamaque gold complex in Quebec and two mines each in Greece and Turkey, collaborates with those women-owned businesses through annual delegation meetings, participation in industry panels, senior leadership support, and strategic policy shifts to foster more inclusive sourcing practices.  

By engaging with these women-owned businesses, many of which are typically hard for large companies to find, Eldorado is not only advancing inclusion but also tapping into specialized talent and innovative solutions within the supply chain. 

“Actively including diverse individuals is essential to unlocking our full potential at Eldorado Gold, and this extends to our procurement and supply chains,” Paul Ferneyhough, executive vice president and chief financial officer for Eldorado Gold, said in the release.  

“We’re proud of our partnership with the Artemis Project and how it has enabled us to reach a broader spectrum of women-owned businesses, benefiting both our company and the advancement of women’s inclusion in the mining industry.” 

Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto, the second-largest miner by stock market value, actively engages with Artemis women-owned businesses primarily through innovative programs that advance young female technical leaders in mining. The company promotes sustainable and inclusive practices across the iron ore, titanium and diamond mines and aluminum smelters it operates in Canada.  

“The Artemis Sponsorship Program is an innovative approach to talent recruitment, development and retention,” Sophie Bergeron, managing director of Rio Tinto iron and titanium and diamonds, said in the release. “Through this initiative, we can attract and support more mining engineers with the skills our operations need, both now and in the future.  

“We are honoured to be recognized by Artemis as one of the top three mining companies for our progressive practices and remain committed to working alongside Canada’s educational institutions, Women in Mining Canada, and other organizations to drive greater gender diversity in the mining sector.” 

With files from Joseph Quesnel