Gender balance1
We have an aspirational goal to achieve gender balance globally by CY2025. In FY2019 we increased the representation of women working at BHP by 2.1 percent, resulting in 1,156 more female employees than the same time in FY2018. Our overall representation of women is 24.5 per cent. In FY2019, the percentage of people newly hired to work for BHP was 62.3 per cent male and 37.7 per cent female. This female representation outcome is a marked increase when compared to FY2015 (10.4 per cent).
Respectful Behaviours campaign
In FY2019 we began a Group-wide Respectful Behaviours campaign to create greater awareness and build understanding of what disrespectful behaviour is and how it affects our people. We shared real-life examples from within BHP to highlight the initiative and generate conversations. Further development of a ‘culture of care’ within our business is a fundamental element of our FY2020 business plan.
Flexible working
Flexible work supports greater workforce diversity. Some 41 per cent of our people worked flexibly in FY2019 and we continue to educate our workforce about flexible working at BHP.
For example, the Crib Relief Program at BMA changed the existing approach to truck crib relief by reducing the shift length to better align with school hours. This helped unlock a new and more diverse talent pool that also increased the workforce’s local community representation. It helped improve workforce culture and morale as employees shared skills and knowledge with those new to the industry.
Indigenous employment
In communities in which we operate, we aim to provide employment opportunities that contribute to sustainable social and economic benefits for Indigenous peoples. In Minerals Australia, Indigenous employment within our overall workforce increased from 4.4 per cent to 5 per cent (1,090 to 1,168) as we aim to achieve 5.75 per cent by the end of FY2020. Twenty per cent of all apprentices were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
In North America, we have focused on working with our contracting partners to support the employment of First Nations and Métis peoples, who now comprise 9 per cent of our workforce at the Jansen Potash Project. Chile has implemented a number of initiatives that will result in formal performance reporting in FY2020.
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Footnote:
1 Based on a ‘point in time’ snapshot of employees as at 30 June 2019, as used in internal management reporting for the purposes of monitoring progress against our goals. This does not include contractors. This methodology differs from the data reported in section 1.9.2, which is calculated based on the average of the number of employees at the last day of each calendar month for a 10-month period from July through to April and in accordance with our reporting requirement under the UK Companies Act 2006.