The Rock Women program is a call fostered by the Chamber of Commerce of Canada – Peru and the World Organization of Education Support – OMA, the objective of which is to contribute to the gender diversity in managerial positions of the Peruvian mining sector, thus promoting a high-level professional orientation towards young women that desire to develop in the Mining Sector. We talked with Brigitte Bermúdez Santander, student of the major in Mining Engineering, who was chosen to be a part of this valuable initiative.
How was the process of program candidature?
Applying for the 2017 Rock Women program was a very enriching and challenging experience. Thanks to my academic performance, responsibility and discipline, I was supported from the Mining Engineering major coordinator, Dr. Adolfo Pillihuamán Zambrano, and professors Marco Murillo Gutarra, MSc., and Jorge Soto Yen, Ph.D., who bet on me and who helped me during the selection process. This initiative is a big opportunity to highlight the most significant aspect a woman can possess in the mining sector and the only gender difference is created by ourselves. To be a part of the call, we request an applicant profile; and also, academic and professional requirements.
Regarding the applicant profile, Peruvian women aged between 23 and 28 years old are sought. These women are following the last semester of a mining-related career or who have an academic interest proven in the mining sector, and, lastly, are interested in developing an executive professional trajectory in mining issues. In addition, they require soft skills, for example, excellent interpersonal relations, being curious, attentive and interested in learning from others.
Regarding the academic and professional requirements, the applicant must have excellent academic qualifications and proper professional performance, a curriculum vitae oriented towards the mining sector, conducting an essay on why she should be selected and the contribution to be made to the female gender at the end of program.
The selection process is made by an evaluating committee in collaboration with private and public universities of Peru, thus selecting 10 young women only.
What are the activities conducted?
The program duration is of one week and it is purported to provide a high-level professional orientation towards the selected persons. For this, we will participate in a coaching workshop, named Kallpa Warmi, which will strengthen soft skills. Likewise, knowledge will be exchanged with managers and/or mining company chairpersons operating in Peru. To conclude the program, workshops led by the participants will be organized.
Explain us, from your perspective, the importance of participating in programs like this.
Being a student of the major in Mining Engineering showed me that, although women are taking over the task of many sectors of the industry, the extractive sector, in particular, mining, refused to accept women as equal to men, because from ancient times, they were considered as exclusive activities of men participation.
Participation in this type of programs is of utmost importance, Rock Women offers an opportunity to show how important a woman can be in this sector. Showing our perseverance, initiative and appetite for getting better is essential to opt for a job in the mining or other sector, being a man or a woman should not be a difference and only having a conviction is necessary to achieve proposed and overcome goals.