Abstract
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion have become cultural pillars in many industries, and as a result, have become valuable ideals that can be used to drive innovation. Historically, mining companies have generally employed a regimented, hierarchal management system, which, while very simple can also be highly inefficient in traditional management systems. Embracing diversity in the transition to an inter-organizational relational model presents an opportunity for innovation and improved efficiency in the workplace, and in workplace management. A relational model encourages employee autonomy and can be best applied when companies embrace diversity, as diverse viewpoints allow a team to create optimal solutions to problems that a team of like-minded individuals with a lack of varying perspectives could miss. Not only can innovative problem-solving take place in the field, but teams with gender, ethnic, and background diversity can improve risk mitigation, enhance safety, and enjoy personal growth in a culturally enriched workplace. Being diverse drives innovation and synergy, which are arguably lacking or deficient in the mining industry, particularly where adoption of new technologies and management techniques are concerned. By embracing diversity, operations can become more efficient as collective thinking is leveraged to find solutions for common issues arising in day-to-day operations that may not have otherwise been identified.
This paper is a literature review of the effect of diversity in improving operational efficiently in all aspects of mining operations. It is shown that diversity can improve the workers’ morale, reduce stress, improve safety, and promote innovation.