Diversity and Equality
Valuing diversity and promoting inclusion are ethical imperatives, which are indispensable for a sustainable company. One of our values
“act correctly” expresses clearly what we mean: we must respect and include everyone without distinction. We believe that because we are different, we have different perspectives on the same challenges, and we can bring simpler and more innovative solutions to our business. We are committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their singularities, can grow and thrive in the company, in an even more diverse and inclusive work environment, where everyone is valued, respected and has equal opportunities.
Human Rights Policy and Guide
Our guide advocates for decent work conditions and educational actions that enable professional and personal growth, always striving to maintain a healthy work environment.
"We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, including moral or sexual. We respect freedom of association and collective bargaining and diversity".
Code of Conduct
Our code values diversity and includes all people without distinction, giving opportunities on a meritocratic basis. We make sure that each person develops his/her potential, regardless of cultural or ideological differences, opinions, disabilities, gender, color, ethnicity, origin, political beliefs, religious beliefs, generation, marital status, union status, social class, sexual orientation, or degree of education.
It is the responsibility of each employee to comply with the Code of Conduct and report to the Ombudsman’s Office any inappropriate behavior, whether from a co-worker, manager or contractor.
Initiatives
The topic of diversity and inclusion is closely monitored by the Human Resources Department to ensure it traverses all our processes, and to promote an inclusive workforce with equal growth opportunities within the Company.
Eradicating gender inequalities is a huge challenge, but we believe that an approach of inclusion is key to eliminate the barriers that hinder the hiring and retention of women, and resulting performance improvement due to gender diversity. In 2019, we set out a bold goal: to double female workforce in Vale by 2030, from
13% to
26%. The strategy of diversity and inclusion is one of our top priorities within the pillar ‘People’.
Gender Balance Initiative
Vale has announced the goal to double its female workforce by 2030, from 13% to 26%, and to double the female presence in leadership roles from 12% to 20%.
Our goal to achieve 26% female workforce considers Vale’s current environment in Brazil and mining industry scenario. Brazilian background presents a gap in the training of women to carry out operational activities, such as mechanics, welders, electricians, and others.
Vale’s presence in Brazil, where around 80% of our employees are located, and the locations where we operate, especially remote regions with low development, Vale is implementing specific programs to train women to occupy positions in the operational areas.
The assumption adopted to define the goal were:
- Women's dismissal must be replaced by women;
- Men's dismissal: depending on each business, Vale defined a percentage of replacement per woman.
- Vale has also defined a percentage of substitution for the turnover rate of men for women.
- For 2020, technical training and the hiring of 700 women in operational functions are planned.
To deal with the issue of biases, which in most cases limits the hiring of women, Vale is training its leadership and the entire HR team. In February, 2020, Vale hold a Diversity and Inclusion workshop, with broad attendance from Vale's senior management team.
Differences between
generations occur not only due to the age of individuals, but also their values
and expectations regarding career and personal life.
At Vale we currently have several generations coexisting in the daily routine. The relations between generations allow the transmission of knowledge, as different generations have wisdom and knowledge that make it possible to experience different ways of thinking, acting and feeling, thus renewing opinions and visions about the world and people.
Workforce composition per age group (2019):
45 (<0.06%) up to 20 years old
10,642 (14.96%) from 21 to 30 years old
32,270 (45.36%) from 31 to 40 years old
19,526 (27.44%) from 41 to 50 years old
7,605 (10.69%) from 51 to 60 years old
1,056 (<1.49%) more than 60 years old
Number of employees per gender and seniority level (%)
Seniority level (2019) |
Female (%) |
Male (%) |
Director |
5% |
95% |
Executive Manager |
15% |
85% |
Manager & Specialist |
19% |
81% |
Supervisor |
9% |
91% |
Staff |
13% |
87% |
Median Salary per gender and seniority level (corporate and operational)
Corresponds to the value (%) above or below the median salary of our professionals, per gender, seniority level, and per area (Corporate or operational)
Corporate

Operational

*And equivalent positions in the technica carrer.
Maternity and paternity leave per region
In line with the best practices in the market, our company has adhered to the Brazilian Government program ‘Empresa Cidadã’, wich extends the maternity leave by 60 days (from 120 to 180 days), and the paternity leave by 15 days (from 5 to 20 days).
Number of days |
Maternity Leave |
Paternity Leave |
|
|
|
Brazil |
180 |
20 |
Oman |
60 |
3 |
Mozambique - Vale |
100 |
3 |
Mozambique - Nacala Logisttics Corridor |
90 |
5 |
Uruguay |
98 |
- |
Singapore |
112 |
10 working days |
Switzerland |
112 |
5 working days |
Malasya |
120 |
2 working days |
Malawi - CEAR |
100 |
N/A |
Dubai |
65 working days |
3 working days |
China |
128 |
10 |
Japan |
56 |
2 working days |
Australia |
120 |
14 |
Number od days
Brazil
Maternity Leave
180
Paternity Leave
20
Oman
Maternity Leave
60
Paternity Leave
3
Mozambique - Vale
Maternity Leave
100
Paternity Leave
3
Mozambique - Corredor Logístico Nacala
Maternity Leave
90
Paternity Leave
5
Uruguay
Maternity Leave
98
Paternity Leave
-
Singapore
Maternity Leave
112
Paternity Leave
10 working days
Switzerland
Maternity Leave
112
Paternity Leave
5 working days
Malasya
Maternity Leave
120
Paternity Leave
2 working days
Malawi - CEAR
Maternity Leave
100
Paternity Leave
N/A
Dubai
Maternity Leave
65 working days
Paternity Leave
3 working days
China
Maternity Leave
128
Paternity Leave
10
Japan
Maternity Leave
56
Paternity Leave
2 working days
Australia
Maternity Leave
120
Paternity Leave
14
Cultural Transformation
Cultural transformation involves recognizing the best we have and our vulnerabilities. This transformation also happens through the learning of our experiences, behaviors and values.
To transform Vale into one of the safest and most reliable companies in the mining sector in the world and to promote the integral reparation in Brumadinho, we understand the necessity of aligning these commitments with our organizational culture.
We dedicated 2019 to map the opportunities for improvement and define which cultural attributes will drive our company's cultural transformation.
This exercise was only possible through questioning our aspirations, key behaviors and strategic drivers, as well as through the alignment of the Executive Board and the
sponsorship of the Board of Directors in relation to the relevance of the topic.
Vale's global cultural transformation involves safety, people and reparation and aims to align the perception of the current situation of our company and identify priority actions that will lead us to be better.
Therefore, we started by defining the
key behaviors that must be present and developed across the entire organizational. We added new behaviors and, we understand that through adherence to them we can build a more solid and singular cultural narrative. They are:
Obsession with safety and risk management
Open and transparent dialogue
People development, through empowerment with responsibility and performance management
Responsibility for the Whole and Collaboration
Business Case
Therefore, we started to invest intensively in the development of our leadership and the result of this action was reflected in the organization of the Leaders' Forum, which despite occurring every year, in 2019 sought greater mobilization for the necessary changes and brought an external perception about our performance so that a self-analysis could be done.
“Behavior is what matters. To lead is to set an example. We all want a different Vale, but we cannot expect that to happen if we continue to do the same thing. There are great challenges ahead, but we have the strength of 70 thousand people. I'm sure that we will become a much better Vale. "
Eduardo Bartolomeo, CEO
The Forum ended with a commitment to spread the practice of the key behaviors and engage everyone who is part of their teams on the journey towards cultural evolution.
More actions in 2019 were carried out to raise awareness and empower those involved:
Our Management
In 2020, a new stage begins. In addition to continuing the work already started, we plan to measure the impact of the levers of change defined on strategic imperatives and systematize the measurement of defined key behaviors.
We intend to measure culture from a broad system that includes:
The creation of LGBTQ +, Women, PCD affinity networks and the inauguration of a new space that integrates the top leadership at our headquarters in Rio de Janeiro are already results of this new journey towards building stronger, plural, collaborative and genuine connections with all stakeholders.
“Having senior leadership in an open and collaborative space will help to break the silos, increase the circulation of information and the exchange of ideas. With genuine collaboration, we will be an even more agile, less bureaucratic company - of high performance. Collective decisions will certainly be more correct because together we multiply our potential”
Eduardo Bartolomeo, CEO
Long Term Goals
To achieve our goals, we have defined targets that involve our entire production chain and all departments. Our cultural transformation and goals are:
|
2020 Goals |
3-5 years |
|
|
|
People |
Improve in the attraction, development, meritocracy and retention of leadership talents |
Create a real talent pipeline ensuring 85% to 90% leadership readiness for cultural transformation |
The cultural transformation of an organization is everyone's job and it is a continuous and daily construction and we understand that these changes are necessary and are happening in several companies from different sectors.
Only through this evolution will Vale be able to reach a new level of performance and carry out its mission of transforming natural resources into prosperity and sustainable development.