Women in Mining Ghana is interested in all Extractive Sector issues.
BELOW ARE SOME AREAS OF RESEARCH WIM GHANA IS INTERESTED IN AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO COLLOBORATE ON.
A.RESEARCH ON A BASELINE STUDY OF WOMEN IN MINING; A GENDER MAPPING PROJECT
1.0 Introduction
Mining is a major contributor to the economic development of Ghana and a leading foreign exchange earner. According to the Ghana Business News (GBN) in 2015, mining contributed some US$4 billion to the economy with gold being the major mineral exploited.
As the second highest foreign exchange earner for Ghana, Mining obviously plays an extremely import role in the national economy. Gold production in Ghana recorded a 25% growth between August 2016 and August 2017. Export revenue from the mineral went up from US$3 billion to US$3.79 billion within the one-year period.
The development of human capital to drive the Mining Industry is therefore imperative and with females forming 51% of the population of Ghana, the ‘woman’ factor cannot be over emphasised. Women can and do play a major part in the development of all aspects of the entire Mining value chain. However, the lack of a National Policy to ensure that women participate in and benefit from the Mining Industry is a major drawback.
Prevailing challenges in terms of discrimination, unfair participation, marginalisation and limited employment opportunities for women, make the issuance of a policy reform a compelling one.
2.0 Research Interest/Objective
Value-chain mapping of Women in the Mining Industry
The aim of this proposal is to seek assistance from the Canadian Government for the development of a Baseline Gender Mapping study in order to understand the contribution made by women to the sector, the variety of roles they play, the barriers inherent in this sector for women and how they can be overcome. This study is expected to ultimately lead to the development of an all-inclusive National Policy that will focus on strategies to empower women within the Mining Industry of Ghana.
That will be the starting point, after which WiM Ghana would press for Government and mining companies to perform regulatory Gender Impact Assessments within the mining industry. This assessment is a tool that will identify whether policies and legislations have negative consequences on gender equality and will seek to mitigate or remove any discriminatory elements. This can help to create a safe, secure and equitable environment in this sector for women (Oxfam Canada, 2017).
It has been generally noted that barriers to actively participating in the Mining sector by females include the following:
• Education, Training and Skills
• Access to Finance
• Lack of Information
• Lack of Role Models (low visibility of successful women in Mining)
• Socio-cultural barriers such as Superstition, Male Chauvinism, Health barriers (exposure to Mercury, dust, lack of family planning)
• Lack of Personal Protective Equipment
• Inadequate facilities in the working environment (lack of washrooms, childcare etc)
• Access to land and male-dominated requirement in land negotiation
3.0 Objectives
To act as the basis for further research, the study would seek to answer these questions:
• Numbers of females employed in the Mining Industry
• Roles played by these females
• The spread – in both large and small-scale
• Why do these women work in this sector and are they satisfied with their current status?
• What are the sector-specific challenges
• Would they like to stay in this sector and would they recommend it to other females
• Which resource are they working with – Gold, Aggregates, Gemstones etc
• What is their Marital Status and does this affect their work
• What are the ages of females in this sector?
• Do they have any children? Does their work support motherhood?
• Which part of Ghana do they come from?
• Where they working and what are they doing?
• Level of Education – has this helped their job prospects
• Are there opportunities for upward mobility?