In order to ensure the promotion of gender equality in the mining sector in Africa, the ILO Regional Office for Africa (ROAF) and the Sectoral Policy Department (SECTOR) organised a regional tripartite meeting on the issue. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the main challenges and opportunities for advancing gender equality and decent work in large- and small-scale mining in Africa.
Entitled “Women in mining industry: women for a more inclusive future in mining in Africa”, the tripartite meeting brought together representatives of governments, workers and employers from 10 countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) in Dakar, Senegal, from 17 to 19 July 2023.
It was a meeting that served as a springboard for sharing experience and knowledge with the aim of achieving social justice for women in an industry that accounts for around 4.5% of Africa’s GDP. According to the participants, there is virtually no reliable baseline data on women’s working conditions in the mining industry, and this is hampering policy reforms and meaningful investment in gender equality and a more inclusive and diversified mining sector.
Brumilda Britz, Chairwoman of the Human Resources Committee of the Namibian Chamber of Mines, was quick to point out that: “Any real action to advance decent work and gender equality in the mining sector requires the participation of women and men, as well as representatives of governments, employers and workers”, she said.
Beyond women, the participants believe that all workers in the mining sector should enjoy the right to a safe and healthy working environment and a workplace free from violence and harassment. The participants adopted a series of building blocks for the development of national action plans aimed at ensuring a professional future based on decent work and equality between men and women in the mining sector.
TBO
Mines Actu Burkina
