Diamonds in the Rough is a project initiated by Kari Lentowicz and Bruce Coley, in an effort to raise the profile of women in industry and in non-traditional roles through mine rescue. Our goal is to foster the development of a woman's underground mine rescue team to advance and retain the skill level necessary to provide emergency rescue services and compete at an international level in what is traditionally a male-dominated environment. There is a pressing need for diversity in the workplace which includes engaging women in the workplace for sustainable operations. We are very in tune to the lack of diversity that does exist and more specifically with women in non-traditional roles. The culture in industry – though it has changed significantly – needs to continue to change to promote the advantages of increased diversity, allow women to feel secure in their positions, and allow minorities to pursue a sustained career path in the industry. Our efforts to increase the profile of women in mining can’t take effect unless we have the support of everyone in our community. If you know of any women who are interested in learning more about mine rescue or emergency response, send them our way. The more people we connect with, the better chance we have of training competent women in the field and increasing a positive light on the need and acceptance of women in non-traditional gender roles. Current project: We have identified seven mine rescue certified women in Canada that are interested in dedicating the efforts to compete at an international level. These women are strong, resilient individuals from a variety of backgrounds and employers. The dynamics of our team presents many challenges but many opportunities as well. By acquiring your support, we hope to overcome some of the challenges we face as we pursue this adventure. At this time, we have recognized that there will be many costs to the individuals that are participating in this adventure. From registration fees, travel costs, equipment, and wages lost due to time off, there are many financial constraints in our future. We hope that by advertising our project, we can get more support. We have only five months until the IMRC in Russia in September of 2018. Please share away!