RESSOURCES SUR L’ÉGALITÉ ENTRE LES SEXES ET LES INDUSTRIES

EXTRACTIVES

RESOURCES ON GENDER EQUALITY AND EXTRACTIVE

INDUSTRIES
Claudie Gosselin, Spécialiste principale, Égalité entre les sexes, DSTS, DGPG, ACDI
Jennifer Izaguirre, Co-author

February 2013

INTRO: This is an evergreen document in two parts: first, an annotated bibliography of useful
resources on gender equality and extractive industries, and second, a list of relevant websites.
Please send suggested additions to the author.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eftimie, Adriana, Katherine Heller and John Strongman. 2009. Gender Dimensions of the
Extractive Industries: Mining for Equity. The World Bank, 58 pages. Available at
www.worldbank.org/eigender or EDRMS/SGDE # 6158517

Informs the World Bank’s fact sheet on women and extractive industries (see below).
Based on consultations conducted in Tanzania, Peru, Poland and Papua New Guinea, as
well as on an extensive review of the literature (useful bibliography). Provides data
(including numbers & stats), analysis and policy recommendations for improving gender
equality in extractive industries in terms of employment and income; environment;
community consultations; and artisanal and small-scale mining. Very useful for our work
is Annex 1, “Potential Indicators for Monitoring and Measuring the Impact of a
Gender Sensitive Approach to EI Projects”. Also useful is a small number of project
examples where some GE results have been achieved (pgs 26-27), as well as a list (pgs
28-29) of coalitions and women’s associations working in this sector, notably:

 Tanzanian Women Miners Association (TAWOMA) (see

www.womeninmining.net/who-groups.asp for contact information);
 Female Mining Association of Tanzania;
 The International Women in Mining Network (see Websites section below);
 The South African Women in Mining Association; and
 The African Women in Mining Network (AFWIMN) (N.B.: not clear if still
active – cannot find an active website for them).

Eftimie, Adriana et al. 2012. Gender Dimensions of Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining: A Rapid
Assessment Toolkit. World Bank, 120 pages. Available at www.worldbank.org/eigender

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 Women play a larger role in artisanal mining than in large-scale mining, making up 10 to
50% of miners in some Asian countries, between 10-30% in Latin America, and
“anywhere from 40 to 100 percent” in Africa (p. 6). Typically, as mechanization and
organization increase in mining, women’s participation declines. This thorough toolkit is
intended to assist those wanting to understand gender differences in access to the
resources and opportunities associated with artisanal and small-scale mining.

Friends of the Earth International and Gender Action. 2011. Broken Promises: Gender
Impacts of the World-Bank Financed West-African and Chad-Cameroon Pipelines. (34
pages). Available at http://www.genderaction.org/publications/11/chad-cam-wagp-pipelines.html

This report presents the gender impacts of the Chad-Cameroon oil Pipeline as well as the
West African Gas Pipeline. While underscoring the negative impacts of these pipelines on
women and communities, the major take away from this report is the problem of consistent
disconnect between policy statements and action put forth by international financial institutions,
such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank. With several case studies, this
report effectively highlights that, “IFIs publicly pledge poverty reduction and gender equality,
but their investments undermine the precarious rights and livelihoods of poor women” (p.25).
Friends of the Earth International and Gender Action call for IFIs to better integrate policy into
practice and conclude with a set of recommendations for international financial institutions when
funding extractive industry projects (p.26), i.e.:

 Implement enforceable gender policies that mandate gender safeguards to ensure that
women’s rights are not violated in project implementation, with regard to livelihood,
health, access to land, security and decision-making power.
 Adhere to international laws that recognize women’s rights to ensure that IFI loan
agreements do not undermine states’ or companies’ human rights obligations.
 Comprehensively integrate gender into all IFI investments and at all stages, including
planning, implementation and evaluation, as every intervention affects women and men
differently. Specifically:
- Conduct gender assessments of relevant communities prior to project approval in
order to determine gender dynamics and compensate for gender inequalities.
- Ensure that women and men have equal access to project benefits, such as
employment, compensation and infrastructure.
- Comply with decades-old calls to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data
throughout the life of projects in order to measure the project’s differential outcomes
and impacts on women and men.
 Engage in genuine and equitable community consultation by involving stakeholders
through transparent participatory processes, ensuring the equal representation of women
and men in community, national and IFI-level decision-making that impacts project
design and implementation.
 Strengthen accountability measures to ensure that communities are sufficiently
compensated for any failures to comply with human rights and environmental standards,
which disproportionately affect women’s livelihoods. Specifically:

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 - Make gender policies mandatory in order to facilitate submission of gender
discrimination cases to accountability mechanisms such as the World Bank Inspection
Panel.
- Remove the legal immunity of companies, which prevents communities from
obtaining justice in the form of legal redress for violations of their human rights.

Gender Action. 2011. Gender Action Comments: The EITI’s Strategy Working Group
Public Consultation – Integrated Gender Dimensions. EITI Strategy Review -- see link to
"Proposal from Gender Action" towards bottom of page (EDRMS/SGDE # 6154476) (2 pages)

This is a submission to the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative’s (EITI’s) public

consultation (ongoing at the time of writing). It calls attention to the “conspicuous
absence of gender within the EITI Principles and Criteria.” It also has an excellent
summary of the gender issues in extractive industries, concluding that resource extraction
typically increases gender inequality “by robbing women of critical livelihoods,
economic opportunities, and land access; excluding them from resource management;
and degrading the environment on which they depend.” Gender Action calls on EITI to
acknowledge that resource extraction is not gender neutral, and to promote women’s
rights through its work. Gender Action resources are then listed (search for them on their
website, www.genderaction.org).

Hill, Christina, Kelly Newell and Li Fung. 2009. Women, communities and mining : The
gender impacts of mining and the role of gender impact assessment.
www.oxfam.org.au/explore/mining (20 pages) (EDRMS/SGDE # 6154995)

This report presents potential gender impacts of mining projects, and outlines the steps
necessary to conduct a “gender impact assessment,” from data collection and analysis to
the design of gender strategies and audits, to grievance mechanisms, with examples, tools
and further references. The report argues that attention to gender analysis and planning
(and human rights in general) is particularly important when operating in weak
governance zones. The report also cites (p. 6) that “a high proportion of alleged cases of
corporate-related human rights abuses occurs in the extractive industries sector,” as
shown by research published in 2008 by the UN Special Representative on Business and
Human Rights.

A useful introduction to gender analysis as applied to this sector, this report starts by
summarizing the most common gender issues in mining, i.e.:

 Impact on women’s livelihoods and economic independence: When compensation

and royalties are paid to men “on behalf of” families, this encourages women’s
economic dependence, and denies them access and control over financial benefits
of mining (women-headed households are at risk of not receiving any payment).
Environmental damage and degradation, as well as loss of land and displacement

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 can undermine women’s productive activities. Further, when local communities
gain employment in the mines, women usually work in the most menial, low-paid
positions with no maternity leave.
 Impact on women’s workload: Environmental damage and degradation, as well as
loss of land and displacement, can lead to an increase in women’s workloads such
as having to walk greater distances to access water, fuel/wood, forest products and
land. Where men gain employment in the mines, they may withdraw from
traditional subsistence activities and women may have to take those over.
 Impact on health and social well-being: Typically, mining results in an influx of
a transient male workforce impervious to traditional mechanisms of social
control, often resulting in increased alcohol use, domestic violence, sexual
violence, STDs, HIV & AIDS, and prostitution.
 Impact on women’s status and decision-making power: When companies fail to
consult with women (and respect their right to give or withhold free, prior and
informed consent), this disempowers them and may go against traditional
decision-making structures. Other social disruptions due to displacement and/or
the shift from a subsistence economy to a cash-based one may diminish women’s
traditional status in society.

International Finance Corporation (IFC). 2008. Integrating Gender Issues into Mining
Sector Operations: Guidance Note. (2 pages) EDRMS/SGDE # 6158651

Practical note – starts with a review of the negative impacts of mining on women (usual
list), and then makes the ‘business case’ for better integrating them. Useful for our work
is a list of questions to ask, i.e.:

 Are women involved in the ownership structure [of the mining company],
appointed to the Board of Directors, and/or part of the local consortium?
 Are women from the communities fully involved and represented in the
stakeholder forums and discussions?
 Is sex-disaggregated data collected?
 As part of a gender impact assessment: how does mining impact on women’s
access and title to land for agriculture use?
 Percentage of women in top, senior and middle management in the mine, and in
overall mine workforce?
 What attention given to employment equity and women’s safety?
 What training opportunities for women (mine staff as well as
scholarships/bursaries for young women from the community)?
 How can women participate in SME linkage programs?

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North-South Institute/Institut Nord-Sud. 2011. A House Undermined: Transforming
relations between mining companies and Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. (ALSO
AVAILABLE IN FRENCH). (6 pages). Available at http://www.nsi-ins.ca/publications/mining-
indigenous-americas/

This policy brief is a useful and concise document based on aggregate research
undertaken over a span of ten years in five countries (Suriname, Canada, Peru, Columbia and
Guyana), highlighting the need to develop and strengthen the relations between companies,
governments, and Indigenous Peoples in the area of extractive industries. Power asymmetry
exists between these stakeholders, implying that “at the root of conflict in the extractive sector is
the enormous power imbalance between communities on the one hand, and companies and
governments on the other”. This reality invariably affects the lives of Indigenous communities in
negative ways. The North South Institute concludes with a thorough set of recommendations to
mitigate the negative impacts of these power imbalances and improve relations overall i.e.:

 Recognize that Indigenous Peoples have a right to free, prior and informed consent;

 Strengthen host country governance;

 Strengthen home government accountability;

 Improve corporate practice;

 Strengthen Indigenous Peoples Governance; and

 Increase the involvement of international donors.

RIMM. 2010. Women from mining affected communities speak out: Defending Land, Life &
Dignity. International Women and Mining Network/Red Internacional Mujeres y Mineria
(RIMM), International Secretariat – Samata, India. www.rimmrights.org (93 pages)

This book is a collection of first-hand accounts from women living in mining-affected

communities around the world. Of particular interest, there are testimonies from Ghana,
Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, Cambodia, Indonesia, Mongolia, Philippines, Thailand,
Bolivia, Ecuador and Guatemala, amongst others. Collectively these women report:

 That when they attempt to make their voices heard as community and worker
advocates, their recommendations are not taken seriously and they can face death
threats, arrest, incarceration, and physical attacks and harassment at the hands of
mining interests, security forces, paramilitary operations, the police or male
colleagues and family members;
 That many women lose their sources of livelihood when land once used for
artisanal mining is purchased by large-scale mining companies;

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  That when women are hired as contract labour in small-scale mines (e.g., tin in
Bolivia), they receive inadequate wages, no job security, no training or suitable
equipment for basic occupational health and safety, and no protection from
discrimination or harassment;
 That where there are large-scale mining projects, homes are demolished or
damaged; water sources and agricultural fields are polluted; incidence of illness,
fear, hunger, and deformities in babies increases; communities become militarized
and divided; and employment opportunities in the industry go to men only;
 That influx of male workers lead to increasing gender-based violence (GBV),
STDs, drug abuse, and intensified food and housing insecurity; and finally,
 That lack of plans for ecological rehabilitation and community-oriented recovery
strategies following mine closures lead to contaminated wastelands, poisoned
groundwater, dilapidated housing, unemployment, poor quality or non-existent
infrastructure, ruptured families, and lack of compensation for loss of land and
lives.

The book ends with recommendations from the women to mining companies,
international agencies and national and local authorities, notably. They demand respect
for human rights, the environment, and for communities’ right to refuse to allow
unsustainable mining practices.

Strongman, John. 2010. “Empowering women through EITI,” at

http://eiti.org/blog/empowering-women-through-eiti (3 pages) EDRMS/SGDE # 6154459

Strongman is part of the World Bank team that has produced some of the documents
listed here. As such, the first part of his post on the EITI website repeats more or less the
same arguments as to the other WB documents, i.e. the gender bias in EI. What is useful,
however, is that he provides sound specific advice for implementers in EITI countries,
i.e.:

 Ensure that women and women’s groups are well represented in the Multi-
Stakeholders Groups (MSGs), with a target of 33% women, and ideally in
leadership positions;
 Recognizing that typically, women have had fewer educational opportunities,
provide the women civil society MSG members with special training to
understand fully how the extractive industries work and the important features of
the payments and receipt data that EITI is concerned with;
 Collect and disseminate data omen women’s participation in MSGs; and
 Encourage government and industry to set up parallel discussion spaces where
other environmental and social issues can be addressed.

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World Bank, International Finance Corporation & MIGA. No date. Fact Sheet: Women
and Extractive Industries. (4 pages) At www.worldbank.org/eigender, or EDRMS/SGDE #
6158368

Useful short document starting from the Bank’s conclusion that “a gender bias exists in
the distribution of risks and benefits in extractive industries projects: benefits accrue
mostly to men in the form of employment and compensation, while the costs, such as
family/social disruption, and environmental degradation, fall most heavily on women.”
The Fact Sheet first presents the “development case” and the “business case” for
addressing gender inequality in extractive industries, summarizes the key risks for
women, and makes concrete recommendations for action to promote the economic and
social empowerment of women, and their health, education, safety and security.

This can usefully be shared with Programs as is.

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala. (2011). Gendering the Field: Towards Sustainable Livelihoods for
Mining Communities. http://epress.anu.edu.au/gendering_field_citation

This book (fully accessible online) is a great resource to better understanding the
theoretical debates surrounding gender inequality in the extractive sector. These theoretical
debates inform a greater dialogue in considering present tactics being employed to deal with
these issues. This book heavily uses case studies, each chapter underscoring a different issue
applied in a different national context e.g. Sex work and livelihoods in Indonesian mining. By
examining the mining industry and mine-affected communities through a gender lens, this book
suggests “a variety of practical strategies to mitigate the impacts of mining on women’s
livelihoods without undermining women’s voice and status within the mine-affected
communities”.

Cultural Survival Quarterly. Spring 2001. Gender Issues in Consultation Processes. No. 25.1
Mining Indigenous Lands. Available at:
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/canada/gender-issues-
consultation-processes

This short piece gives a brief and general overview of the main impacts of extractive
industries on indigenous women. This article is particularly useful, as it addresses the mental and
cultural effects of the extractive sector, as well as the more tangible impacts, such as the loss of
livelihoods and environmental degradation. For example, indigenous women may be regarded as
the spiritual guardians of the land, in which the devastating impacts of extractive activities
extend beyond physical degradation but also cause extreme mental distress for these women and
their communities. It is with this in mind that this article calls for increased sensitivity to the
roles of indigenous women, not only as economic actors, but also as safeguards for social
cohesion and cultural integrity. This is critical during the consultation process, as well as in
subsequent extractive activity development.

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United Nations Interagency Framework Team for Preventive Action. 2012. Toolkit and
Guidance for Preventing and Managing Land and Natural Resources Conflict

This toolkit is an accessible resource for gaining a deeper understanding of the

relationship between conflict and natural resources, while providing guidance on how to best
mitigate these points of contention. This toolkit underscores the concept of scale when discussing
conflict, which is a critical point to acknowledge, particularly in regards to male and female
dynamics. The effects of tensions over access and control to resources can be felt within the
home, community, on a national scale or even regionally. Furthermore, the analysis of the
varying causes of tension is accompanied by an explanation of conflict stages, with attention
paid to gender dimensions. Ultimately, this toolkit concludes with a comprehensive set of
recommendation s to increase cooperation and limit conflict. These include:

 Effective engagement of communities and stakeholders

 Equitable benefit sharing
 Mitigating the negative economic, social, environmental and gender impacts
 Transparent and effective management of revenues
 Strengthening the institutional and legal framework
 Incorporating high-value natural resources into peace processes

The World Bank. 2011. Gender-Sensitive Approaches for the Extractive Industry in Peru:
Improving the Impact on Women in Poverty and Their Families
Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2516

This report provides a comprehensive account of the challenges that remain in addressing
gender inequality within the extractive sector. While this report focuses on Peru, many of the
challenges and subsequent propositions put forth to mitigate them are highly applicable to other
contexts. Throughout its analysis, the report is cognisant of the role that multiple actors play in
enabling gender inequalities, which allows for a greater understanding of the interests and
subsequent incentives necessary to ameliorate the marginalization of women in this sector. The
underpinning for this report lies in the reality that there is an unequal sharing of benefits and
risks between men and women, with women usually absorbing more of the risks and less of the
benefits. In attempts to work through these inequalities, this report outlines a variety of policy
and practise recommendations for government, extractive sector companies, development
practitioners, and civil society.

Calvert Investments. 2004. The Calvert Women’s Principles: A global code of conduct for
corporations Available at: http://www.calvert.com/womensprinciples.html

The Calvert Investment firm, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Fund
for Women (UNIFEM), has developed the “first global voluntary code of conduct guiding
businesses on how to empower, advance, and invest in women worldwide”. The preamble in the
document underscores a variety of issues regarding gender equality in the economic sphere,

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stressing the strong business case that exists for the promotion of gender equality. Furthermore,
this document presents business corporations as “vehicles” for addressing gender inequalities
and advancing the empowerment of women globally. While this initiative has a very narrow
economic focus, it serves as a potential tool when liaising with corporations in the mining sector
in regards to gender issues. There are seven principles, each including key elements to be
followed. These principles are:

1. Employment and Compensation

2. Work-life Balance and Career Development
3. Health, Safety, and Freedom from violence
4. Management and Governance
5. Business, Supply Chain, and Marketing Practices
6. Civic and Community Engagement
7. Transparency and accountability

Eftimie, Adriana & Heller, Katherine & Strongman, John. 2009. Mainstreaming Gender
into Extractive Industries Projects. The World Bank, 22 pages Available at
http://www1.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/topics_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/ifc+sustai
nability/publications/publications_handbook_mainstreaminggenderintoextractiveindustries__wci
__1319577108523

This document acts as a practical tool for integrating and addressing gender issues within
extractive industries projects. This document begins by outlining how to integrate gender issues
into all phases of project planning and implementation by identifying a variety of entry points at
each project stage. It then provides a comprehensive list of questions that need to be addressed
throughout the project design, presenting specific tools to enable gender-sensitive projects. For
example, when attempting to identify key women stakeholder groups in the community, one
would ask through what types of civil society, government, and EI company mechanisms are
women represented. This would be investigated using tools such as community mapping and
focus groups. Finally, this document outlines potential actions and indicators that can be taken to
mitigate a variety of potential negative gender impacts of EI. Annex A is also particularly useful,
underscoring the differences between gendered EI impacts and development impacts in certain
areas (e.g. employment and health). This accessible resource provides great direction on how to
ensure the incorporation of gender issues in EI projects.

Mining Watch Canada. 2003. Overburdened: Understanding the Impacts of Mineral

Extraction on Women’s Health in Mining Communities (74 pages) Available at
http://www.miningwatch.ca/overburdened-understanding-impacts-mineral-extraction-womens-
health-mining-communities

This report presents a comprehensive literature review on the effects of mining, mineral
extraction, and processing on the health of women and their communities. Acknowledging the
lack of gender analysis in this realm, the purpose of this review is to “provide information to help
heal and protect women, their families, and their communities from the adverse health impacts of

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mineral extraction”. Organized into several sections, this report explores a toxicological review
of women’s health, as well as the health of women working in the mines, women living in
mining communities, and two case studies. This is a particularly relevant review, as this report
acknowledges the distinctions that encompass physical versus social determinants of health in
women, enabling a more nuanced analysis of the complex factors contributing to these extractive
sector impacts. Additionally, this report provides a set of recommendations to address these
health concerns. As they acknowledge, some of these recommendations are specific to artisanal
mining, others specific to sexual exploitation or issues in the workplace, which underscores the
intricate nature of this sector and its impact on women’s health.

Carleton University, Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership. 2012. The
Pathway Forward: Creating Gender Inclusive Leadership in Mining and Resources. (ALSO
AVAILABLE IN FRENCH). (54 pages). Available at http://www2.carleton.ca/cwppl/2012/the-
pathway-forward-creating-gender-inclusive-leadership-in-mining-and-resources-a-report

This report focuses on women in the Canadian mining and resource industry, yet can be
applied to other nations. This report discusses the many obstacles for women to enter and
advance within this sector, concluding that a more “holistic approach that simultaneously
addresses multiple factors adversely affecting women’s representation in leadership positions” is
required. This recognizes that the underrepresentation of women in this sector is not a result of a
smaller talent pool, but instead is due to a traditionally male-dominated workplace culture, that
extends into working values and styles, along with a lack of support for managing family
responsibilities. This report concludes with six areas to “promote women’s recruitment, retention
and advancement in the mining industry”:

1. Attracting female students into the industry

2. Eliminating high barriers of entry
3. Promoting a more women-friendly culture in the workplace
4. Establishing a balance between work and family for female workers
5. Promoting gender pay equity
6. Enhancing career advancement of women in the mining industry

International Council on Metals and Mining. 2010. Good Practice Guide: Indigenous
Peoples and Mining. (132 pages) Available at
http://www.icmm.com/library/indigenouspeoplesguide

This report by the International Council on Metals and Mining is meant as a guide to assist
mining companies in understanding the social, economic, and political nuances associated with
the development of projects near indigenous communities. This guide points out several
important aspects, including the difference between indigenous communities and non-indigenous
populations. This is particularly pertinent when dealing with women, as indigenous women must
be accounted for in a different manner, especially because in most cases these women are doubly
marginalized. Divided into five main sections, this report discusses engagement with indigenous

SGDE/EDRMS # 6152281 Page 10

populations, laying the groundwork, discussing formal agreements, managing impacts, sharing
benefits, and dealing with grievances.

Hinton, J. Jennifer et al. 2003. Women and Artisanal Mining: Gender Roles and the Road
Ahead. Chapter 11 – book: The Socio-Economic Impacts of Artisanal and Small-Scale
Mining in Developing Countries Ed. G. Hilson, Pub. A.A. Balkema, Swets Publishers,
Netherlands. Available at http://libra.msra.cn/Publication/5657392/women-and-artisanal-
mining-gender-roles-and-the-road-ahead

Lahiri-Dutt, Kuntala. 2007. Roles and Status of Women in Extractive Industries in India:
Making a Place for a Gender Sensitive Mining Development. Social Change 37:4, 37-64
Available at http://intl-sch.sagepub.com/content/37/4/37.short?patientinform-
links=yes&legid=spsch;37/4/37

WEBSITES

www.worldbank.org/eigender: very useful research and resources on gender & extractive

industries (EI) Drawback: in English only

www.rimmrights.org : International Women in Mining Network (headquartered in India):

grassroots perspectives, testimonies. Has interesting publications (see above), also has organized
international conferences and other events, but does not seem active at the time of writing.

http://eiti.org/ (English website of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – also

available in French at http://eiti.org/fr) CIDA is a major funder. Important initiative but
presently gender-blind.

http://www.womeninmining.net/default.asp : A global web-based community of women

professionals working in the mining and metals sector. Has a Who is Who section for contact
info for chapters around the world, including Canada, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.

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