May 1999, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Although estimates of the extent of women's participation in small-scale mining are vague, they are consistent enough to show that women play a substantial and sometimes dominant role -- a role that is different in different regions and in different aspects of small-scale mining. A few women are permit holders and entrepreneurs in a few countries; more are members of cooperatives or less formal groups in others; but the vast majority do unskilled, menial work, particularly in mineral processing, or provide goods and services to mines and mining communities. While some women receive equal pay when they do the same job as men (e.g. Bolivia, Thailand, Viet Nam), the fact that certain jobs are proscribed for, or others seem to be restricted to, women means they commonly earn less than men who work in small-scale mining. In some cases, however, women have demonstrated a certain advantage or found a niche that they can exploit -- for example, in more "delicate" tasks such as panning -- notably in Africa. Also, mainly in Africa, women have been able to breach the barriers of tradition to become the owners of mining titles. In some Bolivian cooperatives the trend is in another direction. Women who are members of a cooperative by virtue of their status as former employees of COMIBOL, can cede their share only to a male relative when they decide to retire or leave. While they are members, however, they receive the same benefits as other members.
The growth in women's involvement in small-scale mining has been brought about by several factors. The impact of structural adjustment programmes, low commodity prices or drought on public and private employment, trading, farming and inflation has led many people, especially women who relied on subsistence agriculture, to seek new, alternative or additional paid employment for a better quality of life or, more usually, just to survive. Also, an increasing number of women are heads of households in many countries, having to seek employment where they can. In rural areas in particular, small-scale mining is often the only means of earning cash without moving to the nearest city. Moreover, the closure or restructuring of former state-owned mines has made many experienced male mineworkers available to undertake small-scale mining; women, as family members or seeking opportunities on their own behalf, have joined them. Thus many women come to small-scale mining from necessity -- either because they move to a site with their partners, or because of adverse conditions in their other activities.
When subsistence farming does not produce enough crops to barter or sell, the next rung up the economic ladder, because of the lack of opportunity for other wage employment, is often small-scale mining. It holds out a promise of cash earnings, with the additional prospect that -- a bit like holding a lottery ticket -- there could be a large windfall sometime in the future as long as one remains in the game. However, when commodity prices have risen from time to time, women's activity -- at least that of women with partners -- has tended to fall as they no longer need to work, confirming small-scale mining as an occupation of last resort as far as some women are concerned.
While some women are involved in "upper" aspects of small-scale mining -- as entrepreneurs, owners, employers, hiring out equipment, or trading in gold or gemstones -- they are in the minority and certain roles remain closed to them in some countries. Mostly, women are carriers, loaders, crushers, sievers, washers, panners and purveyors of goods and services at the mine and in the mining community.
Where women live close to mine sites their entry into small-scale mining has, not unexpectedly, been easier than when they live far away. The presence of children assisting their mothers, including schoolchildren working after school or instead of going to school, is largely because the mothers have no alternative to keeping them by their side. Leaving children unattended at home would, in many cases, be considered a worse action.
The participation of women as entrepreneurs rather then as labourers in small-scale mining can contribute to improving the status of women generally. Women entrepreneurs can serve as role models and can and do offer opportunities to other women. Women entrepreneurs have more options open to them, including the ability to earn extra cash to fund other longer term activities, as well as offering an alternative to subsistence farming. Most important of all, however, is the opportunity, for women who want to, to lead more independent lives than would normally be possible because of limits on their status and independence imposed by tradition.
In some countries (Zimbabwe is one example) financial gains from small-scale mining have been used by women to finance other ventures. Mostly, however, the reverse is true, with the proceeds of non-mining commercial activity being invested in mining, partly because credit is either not available or is easier to obtain by virtue of existing commercial activities other than mining.
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