World Bank urges action for gender equality in artisanal, small-scale mining
The World Bank, in collaboration with the international development organisation Pact, presented the 2023 State of the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Sector report at the Mining Indaba Conference in Cape Town.This report sheds light on gender disparities within the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) workforce, where women constitute approximately one-third. The mining laws in 21 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America were scrutinized, revealing deeply ingrained barriers that impede women's full participation and hinder gender equality in ASM.
The report emphasises the urgent need for action to address discrimination, safety concerns, and limited economic opportunities faced by women in ASM. World Bank Global Director for Energy and Extractives, Demetrios Papathanasiou, stressed the importance of creating a more inclusive and equitable mining sector.
The key recommendation of the report is the implementation of gender-responsive legislation to safeguard women's rights in mining and create a sustainable sector. This involves enhancing mining codes to promote women's participation, rectifying discriminatory property laws, and ensuring better land tenure agreements that enable women to own land and access mineral resources for ASM.
Adverse impact
The report also highlights the disproportionately adverse impact of poor working conditions, sanitation, violence, and domestic responsibilities on women ASM miners. Their health and earnings suffer, relegating them to low-paying roles, and they are 90 times more at risk of death than men. The perception of the mining industry as male-dominated has led to the neglect of women's health, working conditions, and safety, prompting the report to call for specific measures to address these hazards.
Additionally, the report underscores the importance of empowering women's associations and female-led professional groups in advancing gender reforms in mining. Rachel Perks, World Bank Senior Mining Specialist and co-author of the report emphasised the necessity of creating an environment where women ASM miners can exercise their rights without discrimination.
Despite employing around 45 million people across 80 countries, ASM faces challenges such as informal operations, lack of licenses, and poor practices. The sector's vital role in supplying minerals essential for modern technologies, including clean energy, underscores the need for urgent interventions and support to improve working conditions and opportunities, particularly for women miners.