Sexual harassment and safety at BHP
• BHP
The health and safety of its people is BHP’s first priority. Risk analysis is key to BHP’s safety-based approach, with the goal to identify and manage controls that can either prevent an incident occurring, or minimise consequences if it does happen.
Aligned with its goal of achieving gender balance globally by 2025, BHP applied this risk approach to the way sexual harassment is managed in its business.
It identified that most of its strategies to manage the risk of workplace sexual harassment were reactive (applied after the event had occurred), and proactive, preventative strategies were minimal.
Based on these insights, BHP has committed to a number of actions to improve proactive risk management:
- increase employee confidence in reporting concerns of sexual harassment and further develop complainant-centric reporting avenues, including by enhancing the independence and skills of those responsible for investigating reports
- increase awareness and understanding of the issue of sexual harassment and acceptable workplace behaviours
- drive cultural change through leadership driven openness; and
- mobilise bystanders.