Why gender matters - Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining ...

Background reader
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their new role as income earner.
In the mining workplace, women
continue to face issues of sexual
harassment and abuse, salary
inequity and discrimination (Kemp
and Pattenden 2007).
Mining can also result in the
influx of migrant labour, usually
men, hoping to secure mining
employment, either directly or in
related industries. Such migration
can change the dynamics of
communities – in both the sending
and receiving communities – and
put women in a more vulnerable or
marginalised position.
Indigenous employment
Some of the workplace challenges
may be compounded for Indigenous
women, who may have additional
cultural and familial responsibilities
to non Indigenous women. They
may also have negative experiences
relating to the intersecting issues of
gender, colonialism and racism.
Little is known about the
experiences of Indigenous
women in mining employment.
Although there is a growing body
of literature about the experiences
of Indigenous women working in
small scale and artisanal mining
in developing countries (Lahiri-
Dutt and Macintyre 2006), only a
few sources detail the experiences
of Indigenous women in large
scale mines. Research from Papua
New Guinea’s Lihir Gold Mine
(Macintyre 2006) has shown that
while women’s experience working
at the mine was generally positive,
their work remained undervalued.
In Australia, Indigenous women
face additional employment
challenges to non Indigenous
women, such as systemic social
disadvantage, complex family
responsibilities and issues
associated with holding positions
of authority over other Indigenous
people. They also face cultural
pressure to stay at home and look
after children and family members
(Kemp and Pattenden 2007).
Socio-economic and
environmental aspects
Economic
Mining can deliver direct and
indirect benefits to communities
and catalyse economic
opportunities for family units,
whole communities and regions.
Women and children can benefit
from this increased activity where
additional income is generated by
the involvement of men or women
in direct employment or through
local enterprise development and
supply chain linkages.
However, there is a considerable
body of evidence to suggest that
mining can also increase the level
and extent of economic inequity
through re-distributions of
financial resources (Gerritsen and
Macintyre 1991). The sudden influx
of cash through compensation,
royalties and wages through direct
or indirect employment (usually
of men) and associated economic
activity can result in significant
changes to community life, often
with a more negative impact on
women.
For example, women and
families can become dependent
on financial flows from mining
to sustain their livelihoods,
stripping them of traditional
means of acquiring status and
wealth (Macdonald 2006). Even
if they are entrepreneurial, it is
often more difficult for women
than men to engage in economic
benefits that might flow from the
mine. Generally speaking, women
entrepreneurs face difficulties that
their male counterparts may not.
For example, a Commonwealth
Secretariat study (1999) found that
female entrepreneurs cited major
difficulties in obtaining credits
and loans.
Increased total family income is
not necessarily gender neutral and
will not automatically translate into
improved family and community
livelihood. In certain contexts, men
are known to spend mining wages
on short term consumables and
status items that are associated
more with prestige than family
wellbeing (Trigger 2003). Some
also spend wages on prostitution,
which in turn can expose
themselves and other women
with whom they engage with
sexually to sexually transmitted
diseases (Silitonga, Ruddick, and
Wignall 2002). Evidence shows
that when women tend to manage
the household income the benefit
tends to flow through the whole
family (Emberson-Bain 1994).
With men controlling resources,
redistributions of power can
occur, often exacerbating existing
unequal gender relations.