Skip to main content

Women affected by mining beyond the workplace

Published by , Editor
Global Mining Review,


Lisl Pullinger, Principal ESG Consultant at SRK Consulting, explores the importance of including women in stakeholder groups, such as local communities and suppliers during the mine’s social engagement processes.

While most of the current focus on women in mining tends to be on their employment and advancement, there are a range of gender-related issues confronting the sector in its downstream value-chain.

These include the position of women in stakeholder groups such as local communities and suppliers, for instance, where mines can still improve their contribution to inclusive development. According to Lisl Pullinger, Principal ESG Consultant at SRK Consulting, this might express itself in the mine’s social engagement processes – where traditional community structures are often male-dominated.

“Being aware of gender dynamics not only in the workplace but among important stakeholder groups will enable mines to raise the bar on managing impacts on women,” said Pullinger. “It is important to make more space for women’s voices and input in mine decisions ranging from corporate social investment and procurement, to resettlement and environmental permitting.”

She highlighted a growing appreciation of the fact that women in mine-host communities are often impacted differently by the presence of a mining operation. While many women are engaged formally or informally in the mine’s supply chain, their contribution is seldom ‘mainstreamed’ in company policies or even national mining regulations.

“This has led to calls by organisations like the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development for clear standards for stakeholder consultation in licensing processes, for example,” she added. “Such clarity would emphasise the need for mines to consult equally with men and women in host communities.”

This was particularly important in the context of communities dealing with contributing factors to systemic vulnerability including poverty, illiteracy and women’s lack of access to education. Mines and their service providers would then have to take more meaningful measures to ensure women fully understand the scope of the project, what is being proposed, and potential consequences.

Equally important, an ongoing and effective gender strategy would allow mines to identify opportunities for interventions. The ways that this could be done include the mine’s CSI function – to support community-based initiatives against gender-based violence faced by women in local communities, making special provision to log grievances in a safe and protected manner – and through procurement playing a more active role in empowering women suppliers in the local area.

“The inclusion of more women in the workforce remains an important element of enhancing mines’ positive impact,” she said. “However, employment equity is not about numbers on their own. Women working in mining companies will add value when they participate more fully in daily decision-making.”

The insights that women bring can be well-leveraged in improving the mine’s broader impact among stakeholders, helping guide the company’s engagement, recruitment and procurement strategies to best effect. Numerous studies have showed, she said, that expenditure by women heading poor households has a more positive spin-off in terms of family welfare and education.

“As with any development effort, it is important for the mining sector’s impact on female stakeholders to be assessed regularly,” commented Pullinger. “This can be done by integrating gender into the impact assessment process, and reporting gender disaggregated data.”

Gender-sensitive monitoring can help understand how the changes that mining brings to a community often affect men and women differently. Women may not benefit directly from the financial gains of resettlement processes, for instance, if their ownership of certain assets is culturally or legally prescribed. At the same time, certain types of social change associated with mining such as site-induced migration, may raise the risk of gender-based violence.

“A broader focus on women’s participation in mining can ensure that mining’s impact does not exacerbate gender inequality and discrimination,” she concluded. “Rather, it needs to support women in sharing the benefits and opportunities the sector can offer.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/special-reports/26082021/women-affected-by-mining-beyond-the-workplace/

You might also like

EMI

Electrification in Mining virtual conference

Join us on 16 April 2024 for Global Mining Review's first Electrification in Mining event is an interactive virtual conference, focusing on electrification as the future of sustainable mining and exploring the innovative approaches and technologies being developed to facilitate its implementation.

Register for FREE »

 
 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):