Women in the Mining Industry in Arizona & Sonora | What Lies Beneath, Part 3

In this episode, the last in a three-part series on women in mining called "What Lies Beneath," Jennifer Burge with WorldWise Coaching & Training, Nancy Morales-Arango with Bureau Veritas, and Melissa Sanderson with Mel Sanderson Consulting talk with Dr. Adrian McIntyre about the MegaWomen of the MegaRegion project focused on empowering women in the mining industry in Arizona and Sonora.

A recent study by McKinsey & Company found that when it comes to women's representation in senior leadership in the global mining workforce, the sector is a "laggard among laggards." Female representation within mining company C-suites is just 13%. Among S&P 500 companies, there are only 30 female CEOs — not one of them from mining.

Topics discussed during today's conversation include:

Leadership skills and characteristics inherent to women that enhance our chances of success in hierarchies built and maintained by men

Recognition of men as collaborators and mentors

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) to Ethical Sustainable Growth (ESG+)

How to be your authentic self in both national and corporate cultures that are not your own

Self-awareness as the key to successful communication

Need to catch up? Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of this mini-series on women in mining.

Featured Guests

Jennifer Burge is CEO of WorldWise Coaching & Training based in Phoenix, Arizona and Hermosillo, Sonora. With experience on four continents and over fifty countries, WorldWise Coaching prepares its clients to thrive in international environments across the globe. The company provides private executive coaching and customized team training in the field of intercultural business communication and multicultural team building. Their expertise includes strategic consulting services to assist in conflict resolution across worldviews, international expansions, and T-MEC/USMCA Mexican Labor Reform Laws. WorldWise has been working with clients and partners in the Mexican mining industry since 2019. The relationship was formalized in 2020 when WorldWise Coaching became the first strategic ally of the Mining Cluster of Sonora in the United States. In 2021, WorldWise and the Sonora Mining Cluster co-organized Las Mineras: MegaWomen of the MegaRegion, in partnership with the US Consulate General of Nogales and the US Department of State, Bureau of Economic Affairs. This partnership has been the catalyst for ongoing cross-border women’s empowerment collaboration activities in mining across Arizona and Sonora. A dual national of the US and Australia, Jennifer uses her broad business experience and technology background to assist others to thrive in global business environments. Her experience includes Fortune 100 companies, such as Honeywell and Fortune Global 500 companies—Accenture Consulting and EDS. She achieved her PMP certification in Amsterdam in 2007. Her certification to teach English as a Second Language (specialization in Business English) was earned with distinction in Madrid in 2017. Following that, she was a Fellow at the Institute for Intercultural Communication in Portland, Oregon in 2018 and Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2019. In August 2019, Mayor Kate Gallego appointed Jennifer to the Pacific Rim Advisory Council for the City of Phoenix where she is now the Vice Chairwoman. The Diplomatic Corps of Arizona appointed Jennifer to its Board of Advisors and she accepted the invitation to join the US Global Leadership Coalition’s Advisory Committee for the state of Arizona in 2020. Jennifer is also an expert contributor to Mexico Business News for the mining industry.

Nancy Morales-Arango is Business Development Manager for Mexico for Bureau Veritas. Founded in 1828, Bureau Veritas is a world leader in laboratory testing, inspection, and certification services, with 78,000 employees located in more than 1,600 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps clients in 140+ countries to improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure, and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility. The company operates in a variety of sectors, including Building & Infrastructure, Agri-food & Commodities, Marine & Offshore, Industry, Certification and Consumer Products. Nancy Morales-Arango has been in sales for over 17 years. She started her career in the tech industry in Silicon Valley before joining the mining industry in Mexico.

Melissa Sanderson is President of Mel Sanderson Consulting. Mel served in the US Foreign Service in various capacities around the world for 21 years before joining the mining sector as Vice President for Africa for Freeport McMoRan, Inc. Today, Mel advises companies on improving their sustainability, profitability and reputation by integrating her trademarked system of Ethical Sustainable Growth+ principles and procedures.

Additional Resources

Las Mineras: MegaWomen of the MegaRegion, a conference organized by the Mining Cluster of Sonora and WorldWise Coaching LLC, was held on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021, sponsored by the US Consulate General in Nogales and the US Department of State, Bureau of Energy Affairs.

Pre-event press release

Post-event press release

MegaWomen MegaRegion event recording

Follow-up event on Mexican Labor Reform presented by WorldWise

The 7th Discoveries Mining Conference will be held October 5-7, 2021 in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

Conference website

Conference speakers

Jennifer Burge of WorldWise Coaching will speak on "Effective Intercultural Communication in Global Mining"

The Valley Business Radio show, hosted by Dr. Adrian McIntyre, is recorded and produced in the studio of PHX.fm, the leading independent B2B online radio station and podcast studio in Phoenix.