Commitment to equal opportunity/diversity
In The way we work, Rio Tinto's statement of business practice, the minimum standard is that both potential and active employees will be treated in a way which is free of bias on the grounds of race, gender, religion, age, national origin or handicap status. Companies like Luzenac in the US have affirmative action plans and Richards Bay Minerals has an employment equity plan.
Work is in hand looking at the impediments to diversity of management at a macro and senior level. Two that have been identified among early career non Anglo Saxon employees are the need for English fluency and the need for experience in a large operation and developed country familiarity. Legislation in all jurisdictions requires statutory reporting of some of these figures and programmes.
Operations have procedures to monitor Rio Tinto policy. Breaches of these policies can be identified through the annual internal control audit of financial, business and employee risks including environment and community relations and are communicated to the Board. All operations audit their own systems. In many countries including Australia, the US, South Africa and in Europe, companies are required by law to submit workforce policies, analysis and action plans on an annual basis.
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