Half of survey respondents additionally say mining large’s office tradition has improved ‘loads’ or ‘somewhat’.
Multiple-third of staff at Rio Tinto skilled bullying within the earlier 12 months, a progress evaluate has discovered, almost three years after the mining large pledged to sort out pervasive sexism and racism within the office.
Among the many almost 12,000 surveyed Rio Tinto workers, 39 p.c reported being bullied, up from 31 p.c in 2021, the report commissioned by the British-Australian firm confirmed on Wednesday.
Feminine workers have been extra prone to say they skilled bullying.
Half of the ladies surveyed reported such experiences, in contrast with 36 p.c of males, up from 36 p.c of girls and 29 p.c of males, respectively, in 2021.
The rise in bullying towards ladies was partly on account of “growing retaliation within the type of gendered bullying as a response to Rio Tinto’s efforts to advertise gender range and inclusion,” the report stated.
Seven p.c of respondents – 16 p.c of girls and 4 p.c of males – stated they’d skilled sexual harassment, a proportion unchanged from 2021.
Eight workers stated they’d skilled precise or tried sexual assault or rape, in contrast with 5 in 2021.
Regardless of the findings, about half of the staff reported that the office tradition on the firm had improved.
Fifty p.c of respondents stated the state of affairs in relation to bullying had gotten “loads” or “somewhat” higher, whereas 47 p.c and 46 p.c of respondents, respectively, reported enhancements in relation to sexual harassment and racism.
The evaluate additionally discovered that 26 of the suggestions outlined within the 2022 On a regular basis Respect Report commissioned by the corporate had been largely applied.
Rio Tinto’s chief govt, Jakob Stausholm, stated he was “vastly troubled” that staff have been nonetheless experiencing dangerous behaviours however inspired by the corporate’s efforts to vary.
“The evaluate additionally exhibits that whereas progress is being made, reaching the sustained change we wish to see in our tradition would require ongoing focus and energy,” Stausholm stated in a press release.
“My message at present is that we are going to keep the course.”
The evaluate, performed by former Australian Intercourse Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, comes after a 2022 parliamentary inquiry in Western Australia discovered that sexual harassment and assault have been widespread within the mining sector.
