Rio Tinto has released the findings of an independent external review into its workplace culture, revealing that while great progress has been made, there is still room to grow.
Two years into the company’s long-term cultural change program, the review found that some headway is being made in improving the culture, innovation and performance.
“I am proud and greatly encouraged by the genuine effort across Rio Tinto to change and to make Everyday Respect part of our daily conversations, and by the fact that this progress review shows the majority of our people believe we are heading in the right direction,” Rio Tinto chief executive officer Jakob Stausholm said.
“The review also shows that while progress is being made, achieving the sustained change we want to see in our culture will require ongoing focus and effort. My message today is that we will stay the course.”
In the report, 50 per cent of survey respondents reported a perceived improvement in relation to bullying, sexual harassment (47 per cent) and racism (46 per cent) compared to eight per cent that thought bullying got worse, two per cent that thought sexual harassment became worse and four per cent who thought racism got worse.
Over the past year, 39 per cent of respondents reported experiencing bullying (compared with 31 per cent in 2021) and seven per cent of respondents said they experienced racism (the same number as 2021).
Despite these figures, a majority of respondents expressed confidence that the company can make meaningful change to fix these areas in the coming years.
Stausholm acknowledged that the report showed areas still in need of improvement.
“People are still experiencing behaviours and attitudes in our company that are unacceptable and harmful,” Stausholm said.
“I am greatly troubled by this and sincerely apologise on behalf of our leadership team to anyone affected.
“I want to thank everyone across our business who has shown the courage to speak up, as your honesty will guide our ongoing efforts to become an organisation where every day is safe, respectful, and productive for everyone.”
The progress review was conducted by former Australian sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, who also undertook the ‘Everyday Respect’ report which reviewed Rio’s workplace culture in 2022.
“I applaud Rio Tinto’s continued leadership and commitment to transparency in driving cultural change,” Broderick said.
“This is a significant undertaking in a global company with a growing and dynamic workforce, diverse roles and complex working environments.”
Broderick said that two years into the company’s efforts, progress is evident and it has an ongoing commitment to this work.
“I am not surprised to see some areas where results haven’t improved, this is a normal part of the cultural change process,” she said.
“With sustained focus from Rio Tinto, we should expect to see the positive change spread over time.”
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