With 15 years of history in the company, Michelle Marques has already worked in several strategic projects for Vale. Among them, Greenfield, Brownfield and due dilligence. Today, the master in Mineral Technology is responsible for the development of new technologies aiming at increasing productivity and safety in the iron ore treatment process.

Michelle is also in the group that helped develop two processes, patented by the company, that reduced the need for water to process the ore, contributing to Vale's goal of increasingly sustainable mining.

According to Michelle, even with so many advances, there are still barriers to the presence of women in mining, ranging from access to university to people who do not believe that women have the same capacity as anyone.

“For the women who dream about Vale, I say it is a company I am proud to be part of! It is committed to acting correctly, full of opportunities and challenges. So, be protagonists of your own life and make your dreams come true, because we have a lot to contribute. ”

Working at Vale for 2 years, Vera Zhao has a degree in Finance and Applied Mathematics. She started her career in the financial sector and then migrated to the asset management area.

The Chinese believes that the path for women newcomers to the field of science is to always seek to learn and acquire new skills and knowledge.

"Having women in a profession previously dominated by men can broaden the concept of diversity and potentially bring more solutions."

A trained biologist, Tereza Cristina Giannini has been an Adjunct Researcher in the research line “Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services” at Instituto Tecnológico Vale for 6 years.

In her daily life, Tereza works with conservation, restoration and management of nature. Despite knowing that there is still much to be done for gender equality in the sciences, the biologist believes that reality is changing. She says that in 2019 she participated in a congress that had the same number of women and men.

"I believe that the diversity of views, which involves multiple perspectives, including here not only women, is fundamental for a more comprehensive perception of the problems to be faced in the various areas of knowledge, and for the construction of more inclusive paths.

Yes! I’m a woman in Vale and this is who I am. With 6 years at Vale Malaysia, Nor Shazeera Ameera Binti Mat Zaini works in the maintenance planning department.

For her, representation matters because when there is a visibility of what women do in companies like Vale, the society’s mindset will also change with time.

“I believe that with our individual strength as a woman, combined with our passion and effort to succeed, nothing is impossible – and we can achieve anything.”