DPA Looks at Women in Diamond Industry to Mark Int'l Women's Day

(IDEX Online) – The Diamond Producers Association (DPA) launched a story-telling series about the role women play in the business to celebrate International Women’s Day.

“Stories Behind The Brilliance Of Diamonds,” is a series that features articles from and about women who represent different stages in the diamond’s evolution from mine to market.

Among the women featured were Stefanie Loader, a geologist and mining executive, who takes viewers into the mines for a behind-the-scenes look at the increasingly prominent role women play. “The diamond mining industry,” she says, “provides an excellent opportunity for women to find a stable and positive career.” As she points out, close to one-third of the workforce of the world’s largest diamond producers are female, and one-third of the labor workers at major mines are women, too. In South Africa, women held 53,000 mining jobs in 2015, a more than three-fold increase since 2002. Even so, she urges the industry to make the progress toward the gender equality that’s still needed.

The line-up also features Kimi Basillie, an environmental officer at Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Her position focuses on employee safety and environmental standards. Kimi quotes a common saying among her elders: “If you protect the land, the land will protect you.” In her role, she lives by three golden rules: “Zero harm, improve continually and always be resource-compliant.”

There are also videos of jewelers and the reasons they became involved in the industry.

Tiffany Stevens, CEO of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, speaks about the 101-year-old nonprofit organization and its education and guidance to the jewelry industry about legal compliance.