Fly-in-fly-out Operations: Opportunities and Challenges for Women in the Canadian Mining Industry

2006

Ana Carolina Silva, Vivien Hui,

The fly-in-fly-out mining model has significant implications for the industry as it plays an important role in fulfilling the economic, social and workforce needs of the contemporary Canadian mining industry. It has increasingly been used in countries such as Canada and Australia, and it is seen as the model for the future in Canada. But is the intermittent nature of fly-in-fly-out model challenging the place women have achieved in the mining workforce? Are the female employees being forced out of the future Canadian mining? In general, extended absence from the home can be challenging for both male and female employees. Research in the mining and oil and gas industries reveals that major sources of stress for fly-in mining workers are the times of parting and of reunion, the challenges in defining roles within the family, parenting, and conflict between spouses over the use of the leave time and money. So how are women in the industry coping with the fly-in schedules and consequent intermittent relationship with families and partners? How is the mining industry adapting to recruit and maintain female employees in fly-in operations? These are some of the questions tackled in this presentation, and part of research on fly-in-fly-out matters based at the Department of Mining Engineering at UBC.

Keywords: Human Resources, future of Canadian mining, female, fly in fly out, women