Gender Mainstreaming in Mining: Experiences across Countries

Abstract

Mining not only has a negative impact on livelihoods, communities, and the socioeconomic and physical environment; it specifically and profoundly affects women. This paper uses the gender analysis framework as a tool to make a comparative analysis of the impact of mining on the lives of women and men, and girls and boys. The objective is to examine the roles, responsibilities, and decision-making powers across genders in mining areas. It also attempts to find out their needs and priorities, benefits and incentives, and resources and constraints. An analysis of the situations from Burkina Faso to India and West Virginia to Indonesia shows the types of gender differences and inequalities existing in the mining sector. The paper concludes that mining can be an effective vehicle of economic development if gender concerns are built into every aspect of project development.