Today the mining industry in South Africa has become a viable choice for women who want to work in the technical and mechanical sphere. Compared to twenty years ago, when society couldn’t fathom the prospect of a woman working underground in a mine, great strides have been made in skills and capacity development and women can now be found in all ranks within the mining sector.

One such exemplary woman in leadership is Mpumi Zikalala who has recently been appointed to the board of De Beers Consolidated Mines. Here she will utilise her wealth of experience in mining and diamond trading to advance the economic and social transformation of mining communities.

Times have indeed changed for women in the mining industry. Anglo American is leading the charge on recognising credible and capable women leaders. This will is reflected by a 23% representation of women in management positions. Khanyisile Kweyama, executive director at Anglo American, notes that the organisation has come a long way in empowering women through its transformation programme yet there is still room for improvement. She reiterates that establishing a workforce that is demographically representative of the nation is a strategic business imperative.

Kweyama adds, "As one of the largest private sector employers in South Africa, investing in the development and transformation of our skills base is important. It goes without saying that at Anglo American treating all employees equitably is fundamental to our employment practices, which is also aligned with our ambition to become the employer of choice."

Anglo American strives to attract the best people in the industry and facilitate professional and personal development for all employees across career paths. Managing diversity in talent is a key output to developing and attracting a vibrant workforce that reflects South Africa's unique and diverse cultures.

However, the shortage of specialised skills in the mining industry is linked to low numbers of learners entering technical study fields, which resulted in limited throughput and quality of graduates in the fields of mining, metallurgy and geosciences.

Zikalala has come full circle. Becoming a chemical engineer was not part of her dream. It was only when De Beers came to her small town of Vryheid to offer bursaries to study mining engineering that she jumped at the opportunity.

Post completing her studies, she worked in a number of junior and senior roles in mining and diamond trading at De Beers, paving the way for women as she progressed up the corporate ladder. When she left the head office, where she was technical assistant to the chief operating officer, Zikalala ensured that another woman was groomed to take her place.

In 2007, Zikalala made history when she was appointed as the first female general manager of Kimberly mine, a major diamond mine. She moved to the Voorspoed mine in 2010 where she was also general manager. In May 2013, she was appointed senior vice-president of De Beers Sightholder Sales South Africa, the company’s rough diamond trading division.

Mining and engineering has until recently been a male-dominated sector, but women such as Zikalala make a significant difference by opening up opportunities within the industry for women.

They constantly work towards achieving this by coaching and training women in the field. Zikalala also uses her leadership role towards enabling the creation of a working environment is woman-friendly. Under her leadership Kimberley Mines – where she was appointed the first female general manager of a major diamond mine in 2007 – and Voorspoed Mine in 2010 exceeded its target of 10% female employees in mining and technical positions. Voorspoed Mine prides itself on having 27% of employees in mining position being women and 2% of the positions on the entire mine being filled by people with disabilities.

Using her influence as a woman in leadership, Zikalala has ensured that other women can follow in her footsteps. Her contribution is invaluable to the mining industry making huge strides in advancing women.