Leveraging Technologies for Gender Equality in Mining Communities

This case study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development examines how mining companies and partners in South Africa, Peru, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are leveraging digital technologies and infrastructure to improve community engagement and gender equality.

• In South Africa, Ivanplats implemented the Maru a Mokopane project, providing 20 free Wi-Fi hotspots in the Mokopane area of Limpopo province. The program has 30,400 registered users, of whom approximately 42% are female, and 41% of the 7,405 uploaded CVs for mine opportunities were from women.
• A pilot program in the Junin region of Peru used Ulula's digital platform to increase citizen participation in environmental and social impact assessments (ESIAs) via SMS and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) in Spanish and Quechua. Approximately 40% of the participating community members were women, and women were highly represented among the one-third of users who re-engaged with the tools multiple times.
• In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Glencore and its subsidiary Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) launched the Umoja App for employees, providing 6,500 permanent employees with smartphones, data bundles, and solar chargers. The program has a usage and retention rate of over 90% and has provided secondary digital access to employees' families.
• The document identifies that women in mining communities are disproportionately affected by mining activities and face significant barriers to technology access, including lower digital literacy, cultural stereotypes, and underrepresentation in STEM education.
• The case studies suggest that providing digital literacy training is critical for the adoption of new technologies. In the South African case, Ivanplats employed 40 unemployed young people as digital ambassadors to educate community members on using the Wi-Fi hotspots and application.

APA

Pullinger, L. (2024). Leveraging Technologies for Gender Equality in Mining Communities. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-02/igf-leveraging-technologies-gender-equality-mining.pdf

Chicago

Pullinger, Lisl. Leveraging Technologies for Gender Equality in Mining Communities. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-02/igf-leveraging-technologies-gender-equality-mining.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pullinger |first1=Lisl |title=Leveraging Technologies for Gender Equality in Mining Communities |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-02/igf-leveraging-technologies-gender-equality-mining.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pullinger2024leveraging, author = {Pullinger, Lisl}, title = {{Leveraging Technologies for Gender Equality in Mining Communities}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-02/igf-leveraging-technologies-gender-equality-mining.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }