Teck Resources Limited

Bio:

Starting her journey as one of the few women leaders within the banking sector, Jackie Scales, the Director of Diversity & Inclusion at Teck Resources Limited, has undoubtedly made a mark as a renowned leader in driving inclusive workplace strategies and innovation through diversity. As a recognized change agent, Scales has shown tremendous prowess in leading initiatives that disrupt all forms of bias and drive employee engagement. Her combined experience of over two decades in financial services and human resources consulting has made her a sought-after advisor. 

• As Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Teck Resources Limited, what are some of your key roles and responsibilities that you have on a daily basis? 

As Director, Diversity & Inclusion for Teck, I oversee and drive equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) strategies and initiatives globally and locally at our projects, operations, and offices. I support our leadership team to advance their knowledge in service of our EDI strategy and be inclusive leaders. As one of Teck’s subject matter experts on EDI, I encourage everyone to ask questions and follow up to further discuss any particular topic. A great example of an encouraging discussion was during a recent visit to one of our operations, where I hosted office hours at the site and invited employees to drop by, ask questions, or provide feedback on Teck’s approach to EDI both on-site and globally.

On the governance front, I facilitate our senior executive Inclusive and Respectful Workplace Committee, which oversees Teck’s EDI Policy, Respectful Workplace Policy, and EDI Strategy. Chaired by our Chief Operating Officer and accountable to our Board of Directors, the committee provides essential leadership to reaching Teck’s goal of fostering a workplace where everyone is included, valued, and equipped for today and the future. 

When it comes to our people, training has been one of the main ways we’re supporting their learning around EDI. And because we operate across many jurisdictions and cultures, our training is often adapted to ensure it meets the needs of each location, including how it’s delivered, i.e., in person, online, or in a hybrid format. I like to be really hands-on when it comes to our training programs and usually travel to facilitate the sessions, host train-the-trainer sessions, and meet with our local EDI Committees to support action planning.  

“What I’ve found is that the best approach is inclusive, respectful, and not about blame. This builds trust and shifts behaviors so that change is not only possible but inevitable. I fundamentally believe that equity is an action, diversity is a fact, and inclusion is a choice”

I facilitated the first wave of training myself, but today, I co-facilitate with my team, and, to build capacity across Teck, we have started training facilitators at our sites. 

Beyond Teck, I’m fortunate to represent our company in different projects supporting industry and cross-industry partnerships. As a member of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board, I was part of the Safe Workplaces for All Steering Committee, which, through industry collaboration and research, developed Safe Workplaces for All: Addressing Sexual Harassment in Canadian Mining to support mineral exploration and mining companies across the sector to expand their knowledge and response to workplace sexual harassment and violence. In addition, I had the privilege to co-chair the International Council on Mining and Metals’ committee tasked with developing the Council’s EDI principles, which was a milestone in the mining industry and represents a strong commitment to improving EDI in the mining and metals industry and positively influencing the communities that mining companies are part of. 

• What are some of the challenges existing for the leaders looking to establish Diversity and Inclusion in their organizations?

The biggest challenges are buy-in and engaging employees in the conversation to participate and drive change. Once you build the business case for EDI, it’s crucial to have a senior executive as a sponsor to gain support from other senior leaders. Establishing strong partnerships across the organization is critical to recognizing that achieving EDI outcomes is part of everyone’s role. At Teck, we have overcome this challenge by establishing local EDI Committees; they provide a focused approach to inclusion activities across our business units and operations while sharing learnings and encouraging collaboration. 

Another challenge is depolarizing the discussion on EDI. At Teck, we have done this through education and the fundamentals of respect. Our EDI Foundations training is linked to our purpose and values of Respectful and Inclusive, Responsible and Courageous, and Humble and Driven. In the last few years, we have focused on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion by celebrating Pride with Our Pride. Our Teck. This is an employee-led movement that turns to 2SLGBTQ+ employees and allies across our company to share their perspectives and is an opportunity to hear from our people and learn about the value of individual differences and the importance of inclusion. In the last two years, we have hosted workshops on 2SLGBTQ+ inclusion that have been well received by our workforce as great opportunities to learn and familiarize themselves with the terms and meanings, hear and begin to understand the struggles of this community, and consider how to become active allies. 

Measuring progress can also be challenging for changes that take time. At Teck, we made the choice to measure our progress through a company-wide feedback program. Last year we launched our second Inclusion and Engagement (I&E) survey, the results of which are helping inform our strategy and priorities for the next three years. We are also committed to increasing the percentage of women working at Teck–including women in leadership positions–and advancing inclusion and diversity initiatives across the company by 2025. 

• 2022 will see a new wave of support, with organizations moving beyond setting the foundation to actively supporting gender identity and expression. These will include: Use of Gender-inclusive language and communication. What are your views on this trend?

Language matters. How we address each other matters. Using chosen names and proper pronouns matter(s?). It’s not a preference or an accommodation; it’s a basic human right and a fundamental part of a person’s identity. Today, we are seeing more employees enter the workplace whose gender identities and expressions do not conform to the more traditional views on gender. Gender-expansive employees—those that do not self-identify as male or female—often choose to use gender-expansive pronouns such as “they, them, and theirs” instead of the gendered “he, him and his” or “she, her, and hers.”

I’m often asked why pronouns matter. This question, in many ways, speaks to privilege—the privilege of having a gender identity that is the same as the sex assigned to you at birth. The privilege of never having to think about gender or being misgendered or having to out yourself to a group of new co-workers.

Ignorance and privilege often walk hand in hand, which is why we must educate ourselves and embrace change. Mistakes will happen; they are part of learning – but intolerance is not. Intolerance is hate, and there’s no room for that in the workplace.

Inclusive language is about learning to create a sense of belonging and a welcoming workplace for all. Using gender-inclusive language and communication can be more challenging for certain languages. We have seen this with Spanish in our operations and projects in Latin America. The language itself doesn’t have an official non-binary pronoun, and most words are categorized as feminine or masculine. This has led to a movement driven primarily by younger generations to normalize the use of an alternative to gendered language and the neutral pronoun ‘elle.' At Teck, we have gender-inclusive language guidelines that are used for all our corporate communications and are available in English and Spanish for employees who wish to use them for their presentations or communications. 

• What would be your piece of advice for your fellow peers and leaders?

Throughout my career, I’ve had successes and failures. And the thing with failures is they give you the feedback you need to adjust, pivot, and continue to evolve. EDI is not a static thing, nor can it operate outside of an organization’s culture, operations, and values.

What I’ve found is that the best approach is inclusive, respectful, and not about blame. This builds trust and shifts behaviors so that change is not only possible but inevitable. 

I fundamentally believe that equity is an action, diversity is a fact, and inclusion is a choice.

We all want an engaged workforce that feels safe, valued, and respected. To get there, leadership teams must understand and stand behind the language and actions supporting EDI. Employees have to see for themselves that senior leaders mean what they say – and that diversity and inclusion are real priorities.  

I am dedicated to making sure that people feel safe, valued, and included and that equity is not a number on a balance sheet but a tangible goal with actual actions to get there. A robust EDI program that aligns an organization’s stated values with behavior is the path forward.