Papua New Guinea: Direct employment—Women and the extractives industry

The document analyzes the challenges and initiatives related to women's participation in Papua New Guinea's extractives sector. It highlights the Women in Mining (WIM) initiative and the WIM National Action Plan 2007–2012 as strategic efforts to address gender inequality and empower women in remote areas. While some private sector programs, such as at the Lihir mine, have successfully increased female employment, the report notes that overall economic growth from minerals has not significantly reduced income poverty or social inequalities in the country.

• Despite the extractives industry's significant economic impact, with mineral exports typically representing 70–80 per cent of total exports, there has been little improvement in income poverty, and social and economic inequalities have increased in some regions.
• Local content in the extractives sector is managed through Benefit Sharing Agreements (BSAs) between the government, companies, communities, and landowners. While these have helped local employment, they suffer from underdeveloped monitoring and enforcement, leading to a heavy reliance on industry self-governance.
• The Women in Mining (WIM) initiative, and the subsequent WIM National Action Plan 2007–2012, were developed to increase women's equitable participation and capacity in mining projects, aiming for a future where women can make and act upon choices affecting their lives.
• The Self-Reliance Programs for Women in Mining and Petroleum Areas, launched in 2008, provided training and capacity-building for over a thousand people across six mining and eight petroleum areas to help women set up businesses and consult with mining companies.
• Private sector initiatives have demonstrated the potential for high female employment; at the Lihir mine in 2014, 175 Lihirian women were directly employed, accounting for 24 per cent of the Lihirian mine workforce.

APA

Grice, T. (2018). Papua New Guinea: Direct employment—Women and the extractives industry. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-papua-new-guinea-direct-employment.pdf

Chicago

Grice, Tim. Papua New Guinea: Direct employment—Women and the extractives industry. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-papua-new-guinea-direct-employment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Grice |first1=Tim |title=Papua New Guinea: Direct employment—Women and the extractives industry |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-papua-new-guinea-direct-employment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{grice2018papua, author = {Grice, Tim}, title = {{Papua New Guinea: Direct employment—Women and the extractives industry}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/case-study-papua-new-guinea-direct-employment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }