On March 8, International Women’s Day, the Diamond Producers Association (DPA) launched a new content series featuring women working in the diamond industry. Hosted on DPA’s newest platform, Stories Behind the Brilliance of Diamonds, the series sheds new light on the positive impact the industry has on women around the world.

The series has personal accounts from individuals working at mine sites, jewellery manufacturers, jewellery designers, and retailers.

DPA Chief Marketing Officer Deborah Marquardt said, “The Diamond Producers Association launched this storytelling series on International Women’s Day to celebrate the professional, economic, social and cultural contributions and achievements of women in the diamond industry.”

This is a concept that has been inspired by many reports over the last 20 years, including Ernst & Young’s Has Mining Discovered Its Next Great Resource, which says, “Women’s advancement and leadership are central to business performance and economic prosperity. Profitability, return on investment, and innovation all increase when women are counted among senior leadership”.

Emphasising that “the diamond industry champions the values of International Women’s Day year-round within its own workforce and via its international development programs around the world”, DPA points out that this “helps to create economic opportunities that improve the lives of women and communities around the world by offering an array of mentoring, micro-commerce grants and academic scholarships, as well as teaching trade skills that enable women to start their own businesses”.

DPA says that this kind of “long term commitment and investment in women - and communities - ensures that lives and livelihoods continue to thrive beyond the life of a mine”.

Read the series at https://medium.com/diamondproducersassociation