Tunnel vision: women, mining and communities

Provides practical examples of situations where women and children have consistently suffered disproportionately from the negative impacts of mining projects due to the policies and behaviour of the companies involved.

The following list represents a consolidation of grievances expressed by women during the research:

• companies only entering into negotiations with men, making women neither party to the negotiations, nor beneficiaries of royalties or compensation payments - as a result, women are stripped of their traditional means of acquiring status and wealth
• companies not recognising the religious and spiritual connections of indigenous women to their environments and land, especially when they are displaced by mining activities
• women generally have little or no control over and access to any of the benefits of mining developments, especially money and employment. They therefore become more dependent on men who are more likely to be able to access and control these benefits
• the traditional roles and responsibilities of women are marginalised as the community becomes more dependent on the cash based economy created by mine development
• the workload of women increases as men work in a cash economy created by mining operations and women have increased responsibility for the household and food provision through traditional means
• women become more at risk of impoverishment, particularly in womenheaded households
• women bear both the physical and mental strain of mine development, especially when it involves resettlement
• women suffer from an increased risk of HIV/AIDS and other STD infections, family violence, rape and prostitution - often fuelled by alcohol abuse and/or a transient male workforce
• women suffer active and often brutal discrimination in the workplace

Companies have a moral, social and potentially legal obligation under international law to protect and promote women's rights in all stages of the project planning, implementation and life cycle. Recommendations on how to do this include:

• appoint a suitably qualified and experience person to undertake independent and thorough gender analysis, with periodic gender audits, at all mine sites
• company policies, internal monitoring, evaluation and verification systems should ensure that all employees and management are committed to and required to protect and promote women's rights and pursue gender equality and women's empowerment
• companies will also need to ensure that they develop appropriate capacity and allocate adequate resources, and most importantly, foster the political will, to achieve successful policy development, implementation and enforcement
• companies need to commit to obtaining the prior, free and informed consent of female landowners and women from affected communities to any exploration or mining activity
• Companies should also always seek advice from local women about what are the appropriate ways for ensuring that their views are heard and their rights are protected.