Farah Alibay in Jonquière to talk about diversity and inclusion

2023-12-01 01:59:37

Rio Tinto has made a big push to diversify its operations staff in recent months. No less than 500 resumes of female candidates were analyzed and 14 of them were added to the Quebec ranks of the multinational.

“It was an honor for us to be able to welcome such an inspiring woman as Farah Alibay. Already, in the afternoon, when she spoke to our employees before the event organized in partnership with the Saguenay-Le Fjord Chamber of Commerce and Industry, we could see illuminated faces, people “listen,” said the Executive Director of Operations in Quebec at Rio Tinto, Stéphanie Gignac.

Stéphanie Gignac, executive director of Operations in Quebec at Rio Tinto, Farah Alibay, aerospace engineer for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a space research center managed by the California Institute of Technology and affiliated with NASA and Sandra Rossignol, president and CEO of the Saguenay-Le Fjord Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (Rocket Lavoie / Le Quotidien)

The one who is originally from Montreal, who has Indian roots, and who works in a laboratory affiliated with NASA, did not want to grant an interview on the sidelines of the event. However, his speech was quite touching.

Navigating through the trials of her life, whether they were linked to her belonging to diversity or simply to her ethnicity, the speaker recounted how she was able, as a woman, to find her place in a typically masculine environment. The crowd, mainly made up of spectators, was attentive throughout his speech.

And Rio Tinto in there

With only 6% women in positions in its Quebec operational sector, the industrial giant aims to expand its female leadership in the coming years.

“Just with the hiring of our 14 supervisors, we doubled our number of women. We are possibly aiming for a symbolic 15% of female representation. We think we can increase the male/female ratio by 2% per year,” explained Ms. Gignac.

Far from simply wanting to recruit for the sake of recruiting, Rio Tinto, explained the executive director of operations, wishes to work to retain its new hires. “We want to keep them. We want to take care of it. It involves support, support and also networking. We want to do everything we can to make it work,” added the company executive.

Stéphanie Gignac is a great example of female success within the company. Having started in the vats in Saguenay 16 years ago, the woman who is now director of operations across the province has had a long, winding path, “not always easy,” she admits. (Rocket Lavoie / Le Quotidien)

Regarding cultural diversity this time, the Australian company assured that it was making efforts in the same way as its approach to female leadership.

“There is a partnership with the First Nations. In the next 18 months, our 4,300 employees will be trained on the history of the first peoples and their issues. It is part of our desire to be both proactive in terms of gender diversity, but also in terms of cultural diversity,” concluded Stéphanie Gignac.

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