New directions in research on women and gender in extractive industries

Since the year 2000, an unprecedented commodity boom has been accompanied by intense scholarly attention on the various challenges involving women and gender in extractive industries. However, instead of being a marginal “add-on” area, gender issues are now at the forefront of research on mining, and the volume of research has turned the thematic area into a field in its own right. Taking 2006 as the milestone year, this paper reviews the emerging directions in literature on women and gender in both large, industrial-scale mining and informal, artisanal and small-scale mining to draw out the main research threads. It concludes with a discussion of anticipated areas of future research and the theoretical frameworks they might rely upon.