The IGF recently delivered a three-day capacity building and strategy workshop equipping participants with analytical skills to empower women working in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM).
The workshop brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from the Women in Mining of West Africa (WIMOWA) network, which is made up of national associations of women in the mining and oil sector in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) region and beyond.
Over the course of the three days, experts addressed structural barriers that limit women’s full participation in ASM and provided a platform for exploring strategies to respond to the realities faced by women miners.
Through a combination of presentations, discussions, and group exercises, the workshop covered seven key areas:
- introduction to ASM governance
- barriers to women’s participation in ASM
- women’s health and safety challenges in ASM
- inclusive approaches to ASM formalization and gender equality
- women’s involvement in extraction, processing and value addition
- considerations for gender inclusive mine waste systems
- charting a path forward for women in ASM