The significant role of women in artisanal and small scale mining goes underreported while there is more focus on the number of women in boardrooms of listed mining companies in Africa, according to a recent study on women in artisinal and small scale mining by African Centre for Gender of the Economic Commission for Africa.
Carried out in collaboration with UN Women and the African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), the study looks at six countries (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea [Conakry], Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and focuses on three pillars: legislation, financing, and partnerships between large scale and small scale mining.
Shedding more light on the study, which is due to be released in June 2016, Thokozile Ruzvidzo, Coordinator of the Centre, says: “Our study has identified some good practices and successful small scale women miners – we can showcase these examples and use them to influence policy at national and continental levels.”
Also, she calls for the public sector to engage women in order to boost productivity from artisanal and small scale mining at the local level, and strengthen communities’ resilience.