In CY2016, we announced our aspiration to achieve gender balance within our employee workforce globally by the end of FY2025, which we define as a minimum 40 per cent women and 40 per cent men in line with the definitions used by entities such as the International Labour Organisation and HESTA.

We increased the representation of women working at BHP in FY2022 by 2.5 percentage points, with almost 8,000 more female employees at the end of the year than in 2016. At 30 June 2022, women represented 32.3 per cent of our employee workforce up from 17.6 per cent when we set our aspirational goal. We are confident of achieving gender balance by the end of FY2025. 

The percentage of employees newly hired to work for BHP in FY2022 was 52.7 per cent male and 47.3 per cent female. This is a marked increase on our baseline for our aspirational goal, which was 10.4 per cent female hired in FY2015. 

We also improved our representation of women in leadership by 2.7 percentage points compared to FY2021, with 27.9 per cent female people leaders at the end of FY2022.

To further accelerate female representation, in FY2022 we:

• continued market mapping to proactively target people or groups of people not actively looking to work for BHP or our industry 
• implemented a ‘Tell Us About You’ survey, our first self-identification survey to measure the rich diversity of our workforce 
• integrated inclusive leadership capabilities at all levels of our leadership learning curriculum  
• embedded the Ways of Working Framework to guide employees and leaders to ‘Work where you get great outcomes’  
• launched Phase 3 of the Respectful Behaviour campaign to reinforce our zero tolerance of sexual harassment, racism and bullying including global ‘Stop for Safety’ sessions for all employees and contractors 

¹ Based on a ‘point-in-time’ snapshot of employees as at 30 June 2022, including employees on extended absence, as used in internal management reporting for the purposes of monitoring progress against our goals. This does not include contractors. People leaders as defined as employees with one or more direct report.

Indigenous peoples are critical partners of BHP’s operations around the world. We recognise, as part of our Global Indigenous Peoples Strategy, that we can contribute to the economic empowerment of Indigenous peoples through providing opportunities for employment, training, procurement and by supporting Indigenous enterprises. 

We have set targets to increase Indigenous employment in our Minerals Australia operations, Minerals Americas operations in Chile and our Jansen Potash Project and operations in Canada. For more information on our 2030 goals related to Indigenous partnerships refer to BHP’s Operating and Financial Review 7.13 - Indigenous peoples.

In our Minerals Australia operations, we have achieved the Australian Indigenous employment target of 8 per cent ahead of schedule (8.3 per cent of employees at 30 June 2022) through significant effort with targeted Indigenous recruitment campaigns, a tailored application process focused on the cultural needs of applicants and BHP’s commitment to the regional communities where we operate. A key focus in Australia now is the retention and development of our Indigenous workforce. New targets have been set and engagement strategies are being developed as part of BHP’s next Minerals Australia Reconciliation Action Plan.

From FY2023 the targets for Indigenous employee representation are 9.7 per cent by the end of FY2027 in our Minerals Australia operations, 10 per cent by the end of FY2025 in our Minerals Americas operations in Chile and 20 per cent by the end of FY2026 in our Jansen Potash Project and operations in Canada. 

At BHP, we value inclusion of all people. Disability is a valuable aspect of society and the culture of our workforce. In support of BHP’s commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, our Accessibility & Inclusion Network, Amber, was established in 2022.

Amber is an employee-led network sponsored at the executive level, designed to drive change through leadership and influence. The network was named after the amber gem, which often contains fossilised material called “inclusions.” These inclusions are one of the reasons amber is so coveted.

The value placed on the inclusions within amber contrasts with the valuation of stones like diamond, where “perfection” or “purity” is held in high regard. Due to these inclusions, amber can also be found in a diverse range of shapes, shades, and colours. This reflects the diversity and intersectionality of the disability community.

Our Amber Accessibility & Inclusion Network provides a platform for employees to share their perspective, connect with others who have similar experiences, and provide peer support. Amber is focused on those who identify as having any kind of disability, as well as carers and allies. The network also encompasses our already established Neurodiversity@BHP group, which supports all neurodivergent people at BHP, as well as our commitment to mental health and wellbeing.

BHP is acting across all our regions to ensure an accessible and inclusive workplace for people with disability. Minerals Americas has taken the lead on this, with Chile reaching its target of 1.5% people with disability – above the legally mandated requirement.

Our LGBT+ ally employee inclusion group, Jasper, established in 2017, is a natural extension of our inclusion and diversity aspirations and reflects our value of Respect under Our Charter.

Its membership base grew to around 2,000 in FY2022, with eight regional chapters globally.

It also has a Global Committee, which works across seven key pillars that map to the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI):

• HR policy and diversity practice 
• Sustainability, strategy and accountability
• Employee and leadership engagement
• Visibility and awareness
• Education, training and professional development
• Data collection and reporting
• Community engagement

In 2022, BHP reached the bronze ranking in the AWEI, which benchmarks best practice for LGBT+ inclusion in the workplace. For the first time, BHP also indexed against best practice for LGBT+ inclusion in the Americas. We reached a ‘Company tier rating A’ in the Radiografía Pride Connection 2022 benchmarking survey organised by Fundación Iguales, Pride Connection in Chile.

In February 2021, we launched our Gender Affirmation Policy and leader toolkit outlining how we will support employees affirming their gender. 

The Gender Affirmation Policy reflects BHP’s commitment to creating a culture that is inclusive of transgender and gender diverse  team members – where everyone is treated with dignity and respect and can realise their full potential without discrimination.

In FY2022, we continued to close gaps for LGBT+ inclusion, such as releasing guidelines and implementing support for transgender and gender diverse recruitment, and updated our parental leave policy to be more inclusive by making language more gender neutral and ensuring it applies to birth, long-term guardianship and adoption aligned to changes in Australia.

Our flexible working has evolved throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and we have embedded a hybrid working model for employees in non-operational roles, allowing office and home-based working arrangements, while requiring 30 to 50 per cent of work to be based in the office, depending on the nature of work. 

We understand many site-based employees are in roles that cannot be performed remotely. We continue to seek to provide flexible working through lifestyle-friendly rosters with some sites within WAIO moving away from two weeks on (seven days, seven nights)/one week off rosters to eight days on (day shift)/six days off then seven days on (night shift)/seven days off rosters. Part-time and job-share arrangements have increased including at senior levels. 

We continue to work with our supply partners to ensure their products and services are suitable for our workforce, as well as encouraging diversity in their own work teams.
 
In FY2022 this included:

• supplier inclusion and diversity 
• continuing to focus on Indigenous procurement 
• collaborating  with suppliers on programs and BHP's expectations to prevent sexual harassment