MAC elects the first female chair in its 78-year history

1 of 2Zoe Yujnovich is the first female to be elected as chair of the Mining Association of Canada in its 78-year history. — Photo courtesy Iron Ore Company

2 of 2Zoe Yujnovich encourages women to not be bound by stereotypes but pave their own way. — Photo courtesy Iron Ore Company

Zoe Yujnovich, president and CEO of Canada’s largest iron ore producer, the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), has always enjoyed the excitement of beginning a new journey. This surely will come in handy as she was recently elected the Mining Association of Canada's (MAC) first female chair in its 78-year history.

This incredible woman has had a prosperous career in the mining sector and has always enjoyed paving a new path for herself, whether it was leaving her home and family at 17 years of age to set up her life on the other side of Australia or completing a 21-day trek to the base camp of Mount Everest.

For Yujnovich, a career in the mining industry started out with a natural interest and talent in math and chemistry in high school.

"Like Canada, Australia has a strong and attractive mining industry, which has a strong positive image, so moving into the mining industry felt like a natural career choice," she said. "Additionally, once I joined the industry, I valued the immense focus and effort invested by mining companies both into their people through training and challenging work but also in their communities – whether that be the adjacent neighbours to our operations or the environment."

Yujnovich said she never expected mining to provide her with a window into exploring the world like it has. She began her career in 1996 with Rio Tinto (Comalco Smelting) in Australia as a process and development engineer.

After holding positions as a crew supervisor for Comalco and senior business analyst with Rio Tinto Procurement, she relocated to the United States where she held management positions at Quadrem and Kennecott Land from 2000 to 2004. She returned to Australia to work as plant operations manager for the Rio Tinto Pilbara Iron Mine. From 2007 to 2008, she was selected to provide advisory support to the chief executive of Rio Tinto at the company’s headquarters in London, England. She then moved on to become president of Rio Tinto Brazil in 2008, while pregnant with her third child, until her appointment to IOC in 2009.

"Throughout my career, the mining industry has continued to nurture this sense of adventure and has offered me a variety of opportunities in traditionally male-dominated roles," said Yujnovich. "Each opportunity has given me the life experience and confidence to be where I am today."

When it comes to some highlights of such an illustrious career, Yujnovich said the biggest highlight so far in her career was being offered, at the age of 33, a role to lead Rio Tinto in Brazil for a major $2 billion expansion project.

"The challenges were tremendous, leading a large expansion, being very young in a male-dominated industry, learning a new language, moving my family to a new country and being a very pregnant woman in a foreign country," she explained. "I arrived in Brazil just as the global financial crisis struck. The expansion I had been excited to lead turned into a divestment. This was a turning point for me in testing my resilience and confidence for sure."

But Yujnovich said she is proud that she didn’t shy away from the challenge and is also proud of Rio Tinto for not focusing on her gender or pregnancy as negatives as they offered her the role; instead, they saw her credentials and adaptability.
When it comes to gender, things have changed a lot over the last 10 years in regards to women in the mining workforce.

"Over the last 10 years we have seen an increase in opportunities within the mining industry and we have also seen an increased interest from women in employment in mining and in non-traditional roles," said Yujnovich. "At IOC, women are involved in every aspect of our business. From driving haul trucks, to apprenticeships, to management roles, women are making significant contributions at all levels in mining every day. That said, overall, women are still under-represented within the industry and I hope, through my new role as MAC chair, to promote a career in mining as a viable option for women."

Yujnovich said role models certainly encourage young women to explore career options. She said more and more women are taking on senior roles within the mining community, demonstrating their ability to be successful in a field that is no longer just a man’s world.

"I am lucky to work for a company that is progressive and innovative in many ways, and one that empowers women to build exciting and successful careers," said Yujnovich. "IOC’s main shareholder is Rio Tinto, a global company which strives for higher levels of diversity and equality in the workplace. Diversity is a core value because it makes good business sense. With 77,000 employees in over 40 countries, Rio Tinto strives to create an environment that is not only welcoming, but celebrates differences."

To be elected as MAC's first female chair in its history is an honour to Yujnovich clearly, her continued efforts to become a leader and role model, and to make a difference in the industry are paying off.

"To be elected by my industry peers is certainly a privilege, and also signifies the growing leadership role of women in mining," said Yujnovich. "My focus as chair will be on ensuring the industry can continue to benefit Canadians by improving our competitiveness and maintaining our reputation for excellence in corporate responsibility. In order to do this, we need to maintain and strengthen our focus on workplace diversity, which will also enable our sector to address our human resources challenges directly."