Endeavour Employees Honoured as Inspirational Women in Mining

We are delighted that two of our employees – Laetitia Gadegbeku-Outtara and Maimouna Guembre – have been selected and included in the 5th Edition of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining UK list (“WIM100”), published by Women in Mining UK (WIM UK).

WIM UK is an organisation which advocates for women in the mining sector as part of its mission to promote the employment, retention and progress of women in the industry.

The WIM100 highlights the diversity of talent in mining and celebrates inspirational women and their stories across all roles and seniority. The 100 women featured are selected for their inspiring contribution towards a stronger, safer and more sustainable mining industry.

Laetitia Gadegbeku-Outtara is Endeavour’s Country Manager for Côte d’Ivoire. Her role includes maintaining relations with government entities and national stakeholders, managing mining permits and authorisations, as well as negotiating mining agreements.Laetitia is also the sponsor of the women’s association, AFEMI, at Endeavour’s Ity mine, and she also mentors and coaches women working in the industry to help ensure a strong pipeline of future female leaders.

Maimouna Guembre is a Mine Closure Specialist for Endeavour, based in Burkina Faso, and was one of the country’s first female metallurgists. She is also the Vice President of AFEMIB, the Women in Mining Association in Burkina Faso. She works closely with colleagues, both within Endeavour as well as the broader industry, to advocate for the inclusion of more women in the mining sector.

I would like to congratulate Laetitia and Maimouna on this incredible achievement. Their inclusion in such a prestigious publication is testament to not only their expertise within their chosen fields, but the work they both do to promote female inclusion in the industry and generate awareness of the benefits the mining sector can bring to their host communities and countries.

David Dragone
Executive Vice President of HR and Communications

Congratulating Laetitia and Maimouna, our Executive Vice President of HR and Communications, David Dragone, said: “On behalf of everyone at Endeavour, I would like to congratulate Laetitia and Maimouna on this incredible achievement. Their inclusion in such a prestigious publication is testament to not only their expertise within their chosen fields, but the work they both do to promote female inclusion in the industry and generate awareness of the benefits the mining sector can bring to their host communities and countries. It is important that future generations can be inspired by the role models of today.”

We are committed to creating an inclusive work environment and promoting gender diversity, with a focus on increasing female representation within the company. In 2021, 9% of our employees were women and significant efforts are being made to continue increasing that number. At the leadership level, 14% of Endeavour’s Executive Management Committee are women and 24% of the direct reports to members of the Executive Management Committee are women.

We have Women in Mining groups at our operations that operate under the group-wide female networking group, EDV Femmes, which was established to facilitate women strengthening their networks within the business, and to provide a platform of support.

To encourage women to join the mining sector, AFEMI, Endeavour’s Women in Mining association at the Ity mine in Côte d’Ivoire, produced a video last year to illustrate all the different roles available to women and inspire women to join – available at this link.

Endeavour is also a signatory to the United Nations’ Women’s Empowerment Principles.