The award was made in the wake of Taylor's presentation to the Institute of Quarrying Australia (IQA) on Komatsu's diversity and inclusion programme – which includes increasing female participation at all levels of the company, and developing its own Aboriginal reconciliation action plan – in late 2019.
The Institute of Quarrying (IQ) operates across five different countries (the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Africa and Hong Kong), with its members often engaging with each other’s individual knowledge and understanding of the industry through several papers and presentations.
Since 1989, the IQ’s Caernarfon Award has annually recognised the best presentation from its international members. Judged by all five IQ presidents, it is received by an individual who has been deemed to have made the most significant contribution to the advancement of the science and practice of the quarrying industry.
Sean Taylor was announced as the recipient of the 2019 Caernarfon Award for his 'Let’s talk about diversity and inclusion' presentation delivered at IQA’s conference in October 2019.
Current research shows that a pragmatic approach to diversity and inclusion in the workplace can lead to stronger resilience and performance – something that IQA sees as particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As an industry we have promoted the benefits of a diverse workforce for years,” said Sean Braddy, IQA president and Boral’s national quarries general manager for resources and development. "IQA members learned from Sean’s presentation what organisations can achieve when there is co-ordinated commitment from within to bring about real change."
“That our experiences have been recognised by IQ Australia and the rest of the IQ community as delivering value to the industry is an unexpected honour and we are thrilled to receive this award,” said Taylor.
