Gender impact assessments (GIAs) are key to assessing the potential and ongoing impacts of mining operations on people of different genders, ages, and sociocultural backgrounds. However
Mining operations can change societies in profound ways, from transforming livelihoods to disrupting established community structures. These changes impact men and women differently in both large and small operations across the globe.
An estimated 40 million people work in the global artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, with women making up about 50% of this workforce.
Despite their significant contributions to mineral production and related services, women continue to face marginalization in ASM that often sees them restricted to poorly paid roles and carrying the double burden of working in and outside their homes.
In large-scale mining, the drop-off from entry-level to executive roles for women is staggering. Women are underrepresented in decision-making roles and do not have access to the same retention and advancement opportunities compared to their male counterparts due to gender biases and discrimination in the workplace. Women’s meaningful participation in mining, whether in mining-affected communities or in the workplace, is a driving force for sustainable livelihoods, communities, and environments and is critical in moving the sector toward sustainability.
Improving Women’s Well-Being Through Mining Policy
Many governments face a similar challenge: mining laws and regulations do not mainstream the principle of gender equality or acknowledge women as active participants in the sector.
We provide capacity building, technical assistance, events, and publications for policy-makers to build legislative frameworks promoting women’s participation in the mining workforce and the active inclusion of local communities and women in mining governance.
This enables governments to support not only gender equality but poverty eradication, healthy natural landscapes, and social development.
We work with governments to establish legislative frameworks, policy options, and tools to:
- Create national and local gender-responsive solutions to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in ASM
- Promote women’s roles and rights as community members and meaningfully incorporate them into environmental and social impact assessments
- Address the rapid evolution of new technologies in mining and their impact on women working in the sector and related supply chains
- Empower governments and other decision-makers to advance sound gender and mining governance and steps for meaningful inclusion of women.
Our work with policy-makers helps remedy inequalities exacerbated by the sector and empower women and girls impacted by mining operations.
Women and the Mine of the Future
Rapid technological advances, increasing calls for sustainability, and the low-carbon energy transition are transforming large-scale mining across the globe. But the lack of high-quality, gender disaggregated employment data leaves decision-makers ill-equipped to effectively support a more equal and inclusive mining workforce.
Our collaborative Women and the Mine of the Future project aims to increase understanding of the status quo for women in mining through accessible and granular data so stakeholders can anticipate, assess, and address gendered impacts as the sector evolves.
The Women and the Mine of the Future Global Report uncovers the gender-disaggregated employment profile for large-scale mining, focusing on women and their occupations in the sector.
Additional Resources
Gender Impact Assessments: Breaking the pattern of inaction
Women and the Mine of the Future Global Report
Rapid technological advances, increasing calls for sustainability, and the low-carbon energy transition are transforming large-scale mining across the globe. But the lack of high-qualit
Women and the Mine of the Future Country Reports
These country reports we produced to inform the Women and the Mine of the Future Global Report, and provide in-depth analysis of policies and data related to employment, education level
Gender and Local Content in the Mining Sector: Training for WIMOWA
The IGF received a request from the West African Monetary and Economic Union (UEMOA, in French) for capacity-building support for members of Women in Mining of West Africa (WIMOWA), a n
Global Review: Integrating Gender Into Mining Impact Assessments
There are numerous ways to analyze and document the potential and ongoing impacts of a mining operation on people from different genders, ages, and sociocultural backgrounds. This repo