“Building bridges in higher education”: A route between professional training and the mining industry of 2035

Abstract

While the public sector and extractive industries have implemented measures to increase the participation of women in mining, higher education is at the margin of these initiatives. Through a focus group and interviews, we find that female students are not able to counter the machismo of their professors or of their fellow students. Therefore, professional training must strive to strengthen self-esteem, character, assertiveness, and leadership in women, while also working to reverse gender biases present in higher education, in order to build bridges that can lead to a more inclusive, sustainable and virtuous industry by 2035.