WOMEN AND THE MINE OF THE FUTURE

The report examines the status of women in Ghana's large-scale mining sector, finding that women are significantly underrepresented, particularly in technical and senior roles. It identifies barriers such as cultural norms, a lack of STEM education, and inadequate childcare facilities, while highlighting the role of company initiatives and advocacy groups in promoting gender inclusivity.

• Women's representation in the mining and quarrying sector is low, accounting for 18% of total employment in 2017. Within the specific group of 23 large-scale mines and their contractors, Ghanaian women's representation was 13.5% in 2017, falling to 8% in 2019 and slightly recovering to 9% in 2021.
• Employment patterns show that women are more likely to be employed at younger ages (below 34), with a relative lack of women in the prime age range of 35–44. This is attributed to career interruptions for family reasons, specifically maternity leave, compounded by a lack of workplace childcare facilities and inflexible work arrangements.
• Women are concentrated in specific occupational roles; in nine GCM member mines in 2020, 90% of women were employed as labourers (49%) and managers (41%). While women dominated human resources roles (60% at Gold Fields Tarkwa contractors), they were severely underrepresented in technical areas, such as engineering (4% women) and protection services (1% women).
• A significant gap exists in technical education and skills. Only 12.7% of women nationally have attained secondary, vocational, or technical education compared to 21.5% of men. In 2020, women accounted for only 10% of the skilled labour force in GCM member mines.
• Women have better opportunities for senior positions when employed directly by large-scale mines (14% representation) than through contractors (7%). Larger mines, such as Newmont Ghana Ahafo (20%), tend to have higher proportions of women in senior roles.
• There is a persistent gender pay gap in the extractive sector. While some companies like Newmont report a gap of 7% (women earning 93% of men's pay), the median gender pay gap for the overall extractive sector was 27.5% in 2013, largely due to women's lower levels of STEM qualifications.
• Employment turnover for women is higher than for men. At Newmont Mine, company-initiated turnover for women more than doubled between 2016 and 2020, reaching 8.4% compared to 4.3% for men. Employee-initiated turnover is also higher among women, linked to dissatisfaction with pay and career progress.
• Indigenous women are underrepresented compared to indigenous men. In 2020, indigenous women accounted for only 9% of the total number of indigenous employees in both large-scale mines and with contractors.

APA

Peltier-Huntley, J., & Weldegiorgis, F. (2022). WOMEN AND THE MINE OF THE FUTURE. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/women-mine-of-the-future-ghana.pdf

Chicago

Peltier-Huntley, Jocelyn, and Fitsum Weldegiorgis. WOMEN AND THE MINE OF THE FUTURE. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/women-mine-of-the-future-ghana.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Peltier-Huntley |first1=Jocelyn |last2=Weldegiorgis |first2=Fitsum |title=WOMEN AND THE MINE OF THE FUTURE |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/women-mine-of-the-future-ghana.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{peltierhuntley2022women, author = {Peltier-Huntley, Jocelyn and Weldegiorgis, Fitsum}, title = {{WOMEN AND THE MINE OF THE FUTURE}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-04/women-mine-of-the-future-ghana.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }