Updating Results

BHP

4.2
  • > 100,000 employees

Diversity and Inclusion at BHP

BHP is a leading global resources company that extracts and processes minerals, oil and gas; resources necessary for families, towns, regions and nations. Their purpose is to bring people and resources together to build a better world.

Gender

In 2016, BHP announced its goal to achieve gender balance by 2025. By aspiring for gender balance, BHP seeks to create a safer, more harmonious culture. BHP wants their workplaces to be a place where everyone is respected and valued, a place that is an enjoyable and inclusive place to work.

  • As of 2019, almost 1 in every 4 employees is female (up from 17.6 per cent in 2016), equal to an increase of 2070 women in BHP compared to July 2017. 
  • BHP highlights inclusivity and diversity by analysing and sharing data on global dashboards the same way they do for ‘hard’ performance metrics. 
  • Their data shows that their most inclusive and diverse teams outperform other teams on safety, culture and productivity. People in these teams feel safe to speak up (up to 68 per cent more likely), share ideas and work together to solve problems and make better decisions, and they bring a diversity of views, backgrounds and experiences to the workplace that are respected and valued by their peers and leaders.

Indigenous

Many of BHP’s global operations are located on or near the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples. BHP acknowledges that they have a profound responsibility to recognise and respect their status as First Peoples. 

  • BHP’s Indigenous Peoples Strategy provides a global framework for how they engage with Indigenous peoples.
  • The Strategy focuses on 4 strategic areas: governance, economic empowerment, social & cultural support and public engagement. 
  • BHP has partnership agreements in place with Traditional Owner Groups which contain commitments to education, training and employment.  
  • Supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in BHP’s Australian host communities is an important part of their social licence to operate and is a key element of their Inclusion and Diversity agenda and Mineral Australia's Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). 
  • BHP was one of the first organisations in Australia to establish a RAP.
  • BHP employed 274 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees and apprentices over the duration of their last RAP.
  • BHP plans to increase Indigenous participation to 8% by 2025, with participation growing by 285% in the past year. 
  • BHP encourages cultural understanding through cultural competency training, which 22,340 Australia-based employees have completed.
  • In demonstrating its support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, during a three-year period, contracts totalling more than $354 million were awarded by BHP's Australian operations to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses. 
  • BHP has contributed over $52 million towards improved education, social and life outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Disability

In 2018, BHP outlined its commercial case for workplace neurodiversity. BHP has strengthened its partnerships with leading Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) organisations and institutions and extended their successful internship program to create ongoing roles with neurodiversity in mind.

  • BHP nurtures several career pathways that acknowledge a variety of neurological conditions, including ASD. 
  • BHP has adjusted hiring and management practices to reflect BHP’s focus on unlocking perspectives that view work differently. 
  • In partnership with the Autism Academy of Software Quality Assurance (AASQA), BHP has welcomed interns in roles for data science, software development and testing, engineering and environmental safety.
  • Alexandra Flannigan, a Perth-based employee, was recruited as part of the internship program and is now in her second year with the Technology team. She said, ‘From day one, everyone at BHP really made me feel like I was part of the team. My opinions were listened to, my ideas were considered and everyone was just really nice to me. The symbol for autistic pride is a puzzle piece because it’s hard for us sometimes to see where we fit in the bigger picture and because we’re often so very different from the non-autistic people around us. I think that’s really funny because I feel like my puzzle piece fits at BHP.’

LGBTI

BHP has established an employee inclusion group, called Jasper,  for their lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and others (LGBT+) community and its allies.

  • The name of the group was inspired by the mineral rock jasper, which is known for its unique multi-coloured patterns. The group was formally endorsed by BHP’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Council in 2017 and is sponsored by two BHP Executive team members. 
  • Jasper’s aim is to drive a safe, inclusive and supportive work environment for everyone by providing advice on ways to reduce bias and ensure LGBT+ people are respected and valued irrespective of their sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex variability. 
  • Since its formation in 2017, Jasper has grown to over 1000 members. 
  • In 2019 the Jasper community rolled out LGBT+ inclusion awareness and education sessions across all Functions, Assets and most operations, with plans to extend to all operations by end 2020. 
  • Jasper also celebrates days of significance, including IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia) and Wear It Purple Day (awareness day for young people).