Case study: How Quebec Iron Ore promotes workplace diversity
Founded in 2015, Quebec Iron Ore is a leading independent producer of high-grade iron ore, meeting the world’s highest steelmaking process standards of clients located mainly in China, Japan, Europe, India, Korea and the Middle East. Quebec Iron Ore seeks to foster an open and inclusive work environment Tweet This!, and strongly supports the principle that all individuals should have an equal opportunity to participate in the success of its business.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Quebec Iron Ore published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Quebec Iron Ore believes that a diverse workforce is essential to optimising the business’s overall performance and, also, helps make the local economy more resilient. In order to promote workplace diversity Quebec Iron Ore took action to:
- promote female employment
- support indigenous employment
- promote cultural diversity
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Quebec Iron Ore has identified;
- How Quebec Iron Ore proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Quebec Iron Ore to promote workplace diversity
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Quebec Iron Ore identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics, health, safety and well-being, water stewardship, mine tailings management, energy and GHG emissions management. Among these, promoting workplace diversity stands out as a key material issue for Quebec Iron Ore.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Quebec Iron Ore engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Governments |
| Investors |
| Employees |
| Clients |
| Indigenous groups |
| Media |
| Local communities |
| Society |
| Shareholders |
| Suppliers |
| Union |
| Non-governmental organisations |
| Industry peers |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Quebec Iron Ore consulted a total of 564 stakeholders – including employees, managers, the union, indigenous groups, suppliers, investors, clients, governments, municipalities, associations, and industry peers – through a survey and interview. Quebec Iron Ore asked them to rate the importance of topics by ranking them on a scale of 0 (no importance) to 4 (great importance), and to indicate their level of satisfaction with how Quebec Iron Ore managed key issues.
What actions were taken by Quebec Iron Ore to promote workplace diversity?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Quebec Iron Ore reports that it took the following actions for promoting workplace diversity:
- Promoting female employment
- Positions held by women represented 11% of Quebec Iron Ore’s workforce
in 2019, mostly in traditional administrative jobs. Some of these positions are associated with operations, including the operation of heavy machinery. To increase the proportion of women in the short and medium term, Quebec Iron Ore applies the following measures:
- Increase marketing showcasing the possibilities of non- traditional jobs aimed at young women through educational institutions, specialised job placement agencies and recruitment partners.
- Give preference to equally qualified female candidates in the selection process, especially for management and leadership positions.
- Supporting indigenous employment
- Members of Indigenous groups represented 4% of Quebec Iron Ore’s workforce on December 31, 2019. When considering Indigenous jobs contracted out to the Bloom Lake Mine site, the number of Indigenous jobs exceeded 70 at some point during the year. However, maintaining employment and managing seasonal variations in some activities posed certain challenges regarding the employability of Indigenous individuals in 2019. The year 2019 highlighted the need to change how Quebec Iron Ore promotes Indigenous employment, as the traditional one-on-one interview was found not to be suitable for members of these groups, because their core values often prevent individuals from self-promoting. As for the various selection tests and questionnaires, Quebec Iron Ore found that they were not adjusted to their learning style. Quebec Iron Ore has therefore replaced the conventional tests with a questionnaire to assess the candidate’s ability to get started in the job. Quebec Iron Ore has also traded one-on- one interviews for group activities, in which games allow Indigenous candidates to showcase their talents and help Quebec Iron Ore identify job opportunities for them.
- Promoting cultural diversity
- Quebec Iron Ore implemented new measures to support diversity and inclusion in its workforce in 2019. First, it created a strategic alliance with the Club de recherche d’emploi de Montréal Centre-Ville (a job search club), which specialises in assisting immigrant professionals find jobs. Quebec Iron Ore also conducted a pilot project by inviting 23 immigrants for a two-day exploration exercise at the Bloom Lake Mine site. The project included presentations to participants and one-on-one meetings with mine managers to promote opportunities to hire people from diverse backgrounds. Two candidates who took part in the pilot project were later hired.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees
Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Gender Equality
- Targets: 5.1, 5.5
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.5
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Quebec Iron Ore, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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