Gendered Power Relations

Citation:

Sesele, Kentse, Lochner Marais, Deidre van Rooyen, and Jan Cloete. 2021. “Mine Decline and Women: Reflections from the Free State Goldfields.” The Extractive Industries and Society 8 (1): 211–19. 

Authors: Kentse Sesele, Lochner Marais, Deidre van Rooyen, Jan Cloete

Abstract:

The formal mining industry has marginalised women and created masculine and patriarchal societies. But research on the industry’s effect on women is minimal and mostly atheoretical. The finite nature of mining and its volatility makes mining societies vulnerable. The gender issue is under-recognised, particularly the way mine closure affects women. Most of the mine closure research focuses on the mines’ environmental liabilities. This paper assesses African women’s experience of mine decline and closure in South Africa’s Free State Goldfields. The transition to democracy brought equal economic and political rights (formal equality) to African women in 1994, but mine decline has reinforced gender inequalities since the early 1990s. Substantive equality remains elusive. Women were historically excluded from work in the mining industry and very few were employed in the formal mining sector. Closure of a mine makes it even more difficult for them to participate. It reinforces masculine dominance and women’s household roles while also placing pressure on them to support their households financially.

Keywords: mining, domestic labour, gender inequality

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Masculinity/ies, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Patriarchy Regions: Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2021

Citation:

Pugliese, Francesca. 2020. “Mining Companies and Gender(Ed) Policies: The Women of the Congolese Copperbelt, Past and Present.” The Extractive Industries and Society (August). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exis.2020.08.006.

Author: Francesca Pugliese

Abstract:

Mining companies of the past and present have promoted specific roles for men and women through their management practices. In DR Congo, first colonial and then state-owned companies naturalised the role of men as employees and breadwinners. At the same time, women were assigned responsibility for reproduction and were understood as being financially dependent on men’s salary, either that of their fathers or husbands. By contrast, some LSM (large-scale mining) companies today support gender equality programmes, mainly to improve their corporate reputation. Drawing on the literature on women in the industrial extractive sector elsewhere in the world, I show how these discourses and processes continue to produce Congolese Copperbelt mines as masculine spaces at different levels. I then move to the ethnographic component of the paper by arguing that new investors’ gender practices and equality policies are not easily implemented in the area. On the con­ trary, they have to confront a region marked by the paternalistic social policies of mining companies in the past, which have entrenched a certain gender hegemony. Through the biographies of different women involved in the industrial mining sector past and present, I show the effects of mining companies’ policies on gender roles in Haut-Katanga Province.

Keywords: women in mining, gendered policies, gender equality, Congolese Copperbelt

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Masculinity/ies, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Patriarchy, Multi-National Corporations Regions: Africa, Central Africa Countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Year: 2020

Citation:

Nsanzimana, Bernard, Aline Providence Nkundibiza, and Patricie Mwambarangwe. 2020. “Promoting Gender Equality in the Rwandan ASM: Efforts and Obstacles.” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des éTudes Africaines 54 (1): 119–38. 

Authors: Bernard Nsanzimana, Aline Providence Nkundibiza, Patricie Mwambarangwe

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Despite Rwanda getting high scores in international rankings for steps made in providing an enabling business environment, reducing maternal mortality, increasing the number of women in politics and other efforts relating to the promotion of gender equality in various activity sectors, the Rwandan mining sector is still male-dominated. Only 16% of its workforce is women whereas the 2009 mining policy had a target to increase the number of women in the mining industry to 20–30% of the workforce by the beginning of 2013. This article argues that various efforts were engaged by mining and gender stakeholders to promote gender equality in mining, though obstacles persist to this purpose. The efforts include the availability of a friendly legal and policy framework and willing stakeholders. The obstacles are centred on the nature of mining activities, gender norms, and taboos associated with the historical dominance of men in mining. In any case, the effective implementation of available policies and related instruments, upon the elaboration of strong tools and strategies, can lead to complete gender equality in the Rwandan mining industry.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Bien que le Rwanda ait obtenu des scores élevés dans les classements internationaux en raison de mesures prises pour créer un environnement favorable aux entreprises, réduire la mortalité maternelle, augmenter le nombre de femmes en politique, et d’autres efforts relatifs à la promotion de l’égalité entre les sexes dans divers secteurs d’activité, le secteur minier du pays est encore dominé par les hommes. Seulement 16 % de femmes composent la main d’oeuvre de ce secteur, alors que la politique minière de 2009 visait à atteindre 20 à 30 % de femmes dans l’industrie minière au début de l’année 2013. Cet article soutient que divers efforts ont été déployés par les parties prenantes du secteur minier et de l’égalité des sexes pour promouvoir l’égalité des sexes dans le secteur minier, bien que des obstacles persistent à cet effet. Les efforts comprennent la disponibilité d’un cadre juridique et politique favorable et des parties prenantes consentantes. Les obstacles sont centrés sur la nature des activités minières, les normes de genre et les tabous associés à la domination historique du secteur minier par les hommes. En tout état de cause, la mise en oeuvre effective des politiques disponibles et des instruments connexes, sur l’élaboration d’outils et de stratégies solides, peut conduire à l’égalité complète entre les sexes dans l’industrie minière rwandaise.

Keywords: gender equality, ASM, Rwandan mining sector, efforts, obstacles, égalité entre les sexes, EMAPE, secteur minier rwandais

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Murphy, Kathleen, Lola Strand, Linda Theron, and Michael Ungar. 2021. “‘I Just Gotta Have Tough Skin’: Women’s Experiences Working in the Oil and Gas Industry in Canada.” The Extractive Industries and Society 8 (2).

Authors: Kathleen Murphy, Lola Strand, Linda Theron, Michael Ungar

Abstract:

Women remain vastly underrepresented in the oil and gas workforce. As such, they are subject to gender-based discrimination and harassment, perpetuated by a hyper masculine work culture, yet little is known about their experiences working on the front lines. Guided by feminist interpretive inquiry, the purpose of this research was to understand the experiences of young women in blue collar and administrative positions within the oil and gas industry, in a small Canadian town. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 women ages 18–30 between February 2018 and March 2019. Data were analyzed using an inductive thematic content analysis, and findings were validated by a Local Advisory Committee. Participating women experienced gender-based discrimination and harassment. Still, many women enjoyed their work, took pride in defying gender-based expectations, and tended to persevere by having ‘tough skin’. Women’s coping mechanisms tended to reinforce the masculine culture that perpetuates the gender-based challenges they face. Findings suggest that industry practices must adapt to create a safe and inclusive workplace.

Keywords: women in industry, gender norms, gender equity, oil and gas workforce, inclusive workplace

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Gender Roles, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Masculinism Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Canada

Year: 2021

Citation:

Munir, Laine. 2020. “Gender Roles in Nigeria’s Non-Violent Oil Resistance Movement.” Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne Des éTudes Africaines 55 (1): 79–97.

Author: Laine Munir

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
Since the 1980s, Nigerians have engaged in non-violent protests against oil exploitation polluting their lands. This qualitative case study asks why Niger Delta women came to engage in seemingly separate, all-female protests starting in 2002, mobilizing in a long-standing resistance previously led by men. Using grounded theory methods, this multi-site ethnography draws on one-on-one interviews, participant observations, and university and non-governmental organization archival data. It finds that although women were indeed aggrieved by oil, their protests from 2002 to 2012 did not emerge autonomously from those of men, as described in scholarship elsewhere. Rather, these findings indicate that male elites may have had a role in initiating women’s collective action in response to their own failed prior negotiations, to increase the number of protesters, and to bolster men’s dialogue. This study provides a nuanced corrective to the Niger Delta narrative and expands our understanding of gender dynamics in social movements.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Depuis les années 80, les nigérians se sont engagés dans des protestations non-violentes contre l’exploitation pétrolière qui pollue leurs terres. Cette étude de cas qualitative examine pourquoi les femmes du delta du Niger en sont venues, à partir de 2002, à s’engager dans des protestations apparemment distinctes, entièrement féminines, en se mobilisant dans une résistance de longue date menée par des hommes auparavant. Fondée sur des méthodes de théorie ancrée, cette ethnographie multi-sites s’appuie sur des entretiens individuels, des observations participantes et des données d’archives universitaires et d’organisations non-gouvernementales. Elle révèle que si les femmes ont effectivement été lésées par l’exploitation pétrolière, leurs protestations de 2002 à 2012 n’ont pas émergé de celles des hommes de manière autonome, comme l’a décrit une autre étude. Ces résultats indiquent plutôt que les élites masculines ont peutêtre joué un rôle dans le lancement de l’action collective des femmes, en réaction à l’échec de leurs propres négociations préalables, pour augmenter le nombre de manifestants et renforcer le dialogue entre hommes. Cette étude apporte une correction nuancée au récit du delta du Niger et élargit notre compréhension de la dynamique des genres dans les mouvements sociaux.

Keywords: women, protest, Nigeria, environmental conflict, femmes, protestation, conflit environnemental, théorie ancrée, Grounded Theory

Topics: Conflict, Environment, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Nonviolence Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2020

Citation:

Lange, Siri, and Victoria Wyndham. 2021. “Gender, Regulation, and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Extractive Sector: The Case of Equinor’s Social Investments in Tanzania.” Women’s Studies International Forum 84 (January—February). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2020.102434.

Authors: Siri Lange, Victoria Wyndham

Abstract:

Multinational corporations have been criticised for their rhetorical support to - as opposed to substantive engagement with - gender equality in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in poor countries. Many host countries have started regularizing CSR in recent years, and there is great variation between countries and different sectors when it comes to the gendered dimensions of social investments. This article focuses on the factors that influence CSR in the petroleum sector, using Equinor in Tanzania as a case study. We argue that national regulations in host countries, perceptions of risk, as well as the need to gain ‘a social license to operate’ from host communities, means that the gendered dimensions of CSR in the petroleum sector differ in important ways from other sectors. The study also shows that company ownership by a state that profiles itself as a champion in gender equality does not in itself lead to gender sensitive social investments. The main ‘bene­ficiaries’ of Equinor’s social investments in Tanzania are men, but this fact is disguised by using a gender neutral language in CSR reporting.

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Multi-National Corporations Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania

Year: 2021

Citation:

Kilu, Rufai Haruna, Adesuwa Omorede, Maria Uden, and Mohammed-Aminu Sanda. 2020. "Women Leading Change: Re-Shaping Gender in Ghanaian Mines." International Journal of Development Issues 20 (1): 113-25.

Authors: Rufai Haruna Kilu, Adesuwa Omorede, Maria Uden, Mohammed-Aminu Sanda

Abstract:

Purpose
There is growing attention towards inclusive mining to make an economic case for gender equality and diversity in the industry. Available literature lacks sufficient empirical evidence on the subject matter in Ghana. Therefore, this paper aims to understudy women miners in Ghana and document their role in recent change regimes in mine works gender profiles. An observed change that is stimulating a shift in background dispositions leads to increasing number of women taking up mine jobs.

Design/methodology/approach
In working towards achieving the aim of the study, both qualitative design and a multiple case study approaches are deployed. Four multinational Ghanaian mines and a mining and technology university were used to understudy the women miners and their role towards a change in mine work gender perspectives.

Findings
The results showed a regime of “ore-solidarity movement” (women in mining – Ghana). A kind of solidarity identified conventionally as a social movement in active resource and self-mobilization, engaged in a symbolic contestation for change of the status quo (dominant masculinity cultures) in furtherance of gender equity and inclusion in milieu of mine works reforms in Ghana.

Originality/value
The study is of high scientific, political and public interest to better understand women’s movements in the mining industries in Ghana and to frame them theoretically. It offers solid empirical evidence on roles women miners play to ensure gender shape-shifting and liberalizing the mining space for women’s participation. This move towards inclusive mining implies poverty eradication among women, work towards achieving sustainable mining, competitiveness and assurance for gender-driven social innovative mining.

Keywords: social movements, equal opportunities, gender equality, change regimes, mine works, women in mining, Ghana

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2021

Citation:

Kansake, Bruno Ayaga, Georgette Barnes Sakyi-Addo, and Nelson Kofi Dumakor-Dupey. 2021. “Creating a Gender-Inclusive Mining Industry: Uncovering the Challenges of Female Mining Stakeholders.” Resources Policy 70 (March). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101962.

Authors: Bruno Ayaga Kansake, Georgette Barnes Sakyi-Addo, Nelson Kofi Dumakor-Dupey

Abstract:

The global mining industry is male dominated. In the US, women constitute 13% of the mining workforce and 16% of mining related college programs. Similar trends exist globally. Efforts are being made by educational institutions, mining companies and professional organizations to attract women to the industry to achieve a gender inclusive industry. Such efforts have yielded minimal dividends partly due to insufficient reliable data on challenges confronting female miners. To provide empirical data to guide such efforts, we undertook a survey to understand the reasons for low female participation in the industry with participants from Ghana, USA, Ireland, Canada and other countries. The survey sought to identify challenges faced by female mining stakeholders and availability of support facilities for handling these challenges. Open and closed ended questionnaires were administered through online platforms. The responses were analyzed quantitatively using summary statistics and qualitatively using thematic analysis. About 38% of the respondents expressed satisfaction with their current jobs. The high dissatisfaction rate stems from lower salaries compared to male counterparts (29%), gender-based discrimination (53%), sexual harassment (37%) and sexual demands during hiring (17%). The key hindrances to a gender inclusive mining sector have been grouped into seven themes including discrimination, harassment, gender ideologies, and lack of support. We propose a four-way mind map model requiring commitment from government, companies, chambers of mines, and employees to ensure a gender inclusive mining industry.

Keywords: gender inclusion, diversity, mining industry, female stakeholders, discrimination, harassment

Topics: Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Balance, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Africa, West Africa, Americas, North America, Europe, Western Europe Countries: Canada, Ghana, Ireland, United States of America

Year: 2021

Citation:

Buss, Doris, Sarah Katz-Lavigne, Otieno Aluoka, and Eileen Alma. 2020. “‘Remember the Women of Osiri’: Women and Gender in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining in Migori County, Kenya.” Canadian Journal of African Studies   / Revue Canadienne Des éTudes Africaines   54 (1): 177-195.

Authors: Doris Buss, Sarah Katz-Lavigne, Otieno Aluoka, Eileen Alma

Abstract:

ENGLISH ABSTRACT:
In this paper, we explore women’s livelihoods and the operation of gender norms and structures in the Osiri artisanal gold mining area in western Kenya. While “women” and “gender” are seen as increasingly important to policy frameworks for developing mineral resources on the African continent, understandings of women’s roles in artisanal and small-scale mining, and of the importance of gender in structuring those livelihoods, remain limited. Drawing on field research conducted from 2014 to 2018, we demonstrate that while gender norms and structures operate to delimit women’s mining roles, in daily encounters women and men navigate, resist and sometimes reframe those norms. Further, we explore how gender norms may not impact all women the same and how other social variables, such as age, may also influence how women navigate their mining livelihoods.

FRENCH ABSTRACT:
Dans cet article, nous examinons les moyens d’existence des femmes et le fonctionnement des normes et des structures liées au genre dans la région aurifère artisanale de Osiri, à l’Ouest du Kenya. Alors que les « femmes » et le « genre » sont considérés comme étant de plus en plus importants pour les cadres politiques de développement des ressources minérales sur le continent africain, la compréhension du rôle des femmes dans l’exploitation minière et à petite échelle, et de l’importance du genre dans la structuration de ces moyens d’existence, reste limitée. En nous appuyant sur des recherches de terrain conduites entre 2014 et 2018, nous démontrons que si les normes et les structures liées au genre servent à délimiter le rôle des femmes dans l’exploitation minière, lors de leurs rencontres quotidiennes, les femmes et les hommes maîtrisent, contestent et, quelquefois, recadrent ces normes. En outre, nous examinons comment les normes de genre peuvent ne pas affecter toutes les femmes de la même façon, et comment d’autres variables sociales, telles que l’âge, peuvent aussi influencer la manière dont les femmes gèrent leurs moyens d’existence dans le secteur minier.

Keywords: artisanal and small-scale mining, women, gender, Kenya, feminist political economy, exploitation minière artisanale et à petite échelle, femmes, genre, économie politique féministe

Topics: Age, Extractive Industries, Feminisms, Feminist Political Economy, Gender, Gender Roles, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2020

Citation:

Arthur-Holmes, Francis. 2021. “Gendered Division of Labour and ‘Sympathy’ in Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality, Ghana.” Journal of Rural Studies 81: 358–62. 

Author: Francis Arthur-Holmes

Abstract:

Understanding the gender relations and dynamics in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is crucial for formalization interventions and gender-sensitive on-site policies in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, there is very little research on how gender influences women’s economic opportunities and power relations at ASM sites in Ghana. Drawing from a qualitative research in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipality, Ghana, this paper examines the local gender dynamics and division of labour in ASM. Findings show that while men were mainly engaged in the extraction – digging, shoveling and loading of women’s head pans with mineral ore – and processing work at the colluvial mining sites, women were basically working as labourers for the men. The women were directly involved in three main activities – provision of water on mineralised sand, transportation of gold ore and forewomen role – where they received lower remuneration for their labour. In relation to women’s access to “dig and wash” work and hard rock mining sites, there was an element of “gendered sympathy” which involved some power dimensions in ASM. In this paper, the empirical analysis of gendered division of labour in ASM provides the basis to understand the gendered organization of ASM and its management structure.

Keywords: artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), gender relations, gendered division of labour, gendered sympathy, women artisanal miners, Ghana, Sub-Saharan Africa

Topics: Economies, Extractive Industries, Gender, Men, Women, Gendered Power Relations Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Ghana

Year: 2021