Rio Tinto PLC (LSE:RIO) said it is "deeply disturbed" by the findings of a report that has revealed systemic bullying and sexism as well as racism across the company and promised that it would implement all the recommendations from the review to improve its culture.
The report was released by the global mining company today after it launched an external review in March last year. The review was conducted by Australia’s former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
More than 10,000 of Rio Tinto's 45,000 employees took part in the review, and almost half of these said they have experienced bullying in the past five years.
Nearly a third of women and 6.7% of men have experienced sexual harassment at work, with 21 women reporting actual or attempted rape or sexual assault, the report found.
The survey reveal high rates of racism, with 39.8% of men and 31.8% of women who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in Australia experiencing racism.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jack Stausholm said he was "deeply disturbed" by the findings of the review.
“I offer my heartfelt apology to every team member, past or present, who has suffered as a result of these behaviours,” he said. “This is not the kind of company we want to be.”
"The eye opener for me was two-fold," Stausholm told Reuters. "I hadn't realised how much bullying exists in the company and secondly that it's quite systemic - the three issues of bullying, sexual harassment and racism ... that's extremely disturbing."
Rio Tinto said it would implement all 26 detailed recommendations outlined in the report, with reforms focusing on a commitment from the company's leadership to create a safe and inclusive working environment, including by increasing diversity within the company.
The review follows a backlash against Rio Tinto after the company after it blasted the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters to expand an iron ore mine.
Stausholm said Juukan Gorge had triggered the biggest management change in the history of Rio and the new team wanted to drive more change.
"It's a matter of using the momentum of the moment now and try to move these actions forward fast because we cannot change these from one day to another," he told Reuters.
The West Australia state government will later this year release a report on sexual harassment at mining camps in the state.