A guide to leading practice sustainable development in mining

LOCATION: Papua New Guinea
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Women in Mining (WIM) program address gender
inequities in the distribution of mining benefits through empowerment and
capacity building of women.
AREA OF LEADING PRACTICE: Gender and community development
DESCRIPTION OF INNOVATION: Global experience shows that the mining
sector is gender-biased, where mining-related benefits such as employment
and income are largely captured by men and the brunt of the negative
impacts of mining (social and environmental risks) largely fall upon women,
while sharing disproportionately less of the benefits; the mining sector in PNG
is no exception.
The WIM activities have helped to build linkages between networks of key women
at the national level and women’s groups at local level; to build the capacity
of local women’s associations, and have given them greater voice with male
community leaders and local governments; and have helped mining companies to
target their community programs more effectively with improved outcomes .
Lessons learned from the Women in Mining program include:
Using a gender lens to understand the benefits and
risks of mining projects can help identify actions to
improve overall development outcomes.
Supporting women’s needs and requests can help build
strong local ownership among local women.
Listening to women’s voices can empower women to take a
more proactive role in community affairs, and can empower
women to then help others in their communities.
Informing community women about mining helps them to become
engaged in the assessment of the impacts of mine development.
Figure 2.8 - Porgera Mine
Contributed by: World Bank
42 LEADING PRACTICE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY