gender, development and the extractive industries

7/30/2019 Gender, Development and the Extractive Industries

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Gender, Development andthe Extractive Industries

Ashlee Schleger

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank

(ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and

accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty

or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.


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CSRM is a research centre located inthe Sustainable Minerals Institute

(SMI) at the University of

Queensland.

The centres work aims to improvethe social performance of the

extractive industries globally. Our

focus is on the social, economic and

political challenges that occur when

change is brought about by resource

extraction and development.

We are a multi-disciplinary group of

30 researchers with knowledge of the

extractive industry, both at thecorporate and operational level.

Who we are


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Our work spans a range of thematic areas, covering the interactionsbetween resource projects, communities and other stakeholders.

We conduct applied researchand provide education, training andprofessional development services.

What we do: not just minerals


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Gender is sociallyconstructed. It is acquired

and learned

behaviour/knowledge that is

not naturally determined.

Gender refers to roles and

responsibilities of women

and men, and therelationships between them.

Gender roles vary

depending on the culturalcontext and overtime.

Context


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Positives

Economic opportunities through

employment and local business

Increased mobility, skill level andemployability elsewhere

Improved infrastructure and

wellbeing, e.g. health clinics.

CD programs may increase

womens empowerment

Increased focus on human rights,

addressing strategic gender issues

Motivate local people to complete

education, including women.

But

Negative impacts fall

disproportionately on women

I will talk about:

Local employment

In-migration

Access to resources

Engagement

Agreement-making

Extractive industries and impacts on women


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It is mostly men who gain employmentwithin extractive industries. Some of the

negative impacts on women include:

The division of labourcan be significantly

altered, sometimes very quickly

Inflation of costs

FIFO women manage households alone

If men are injured women carry the burden in the

domestic sphere

Discrimination in the workplace

Local Employment


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The influx of a transient male workforce, can bring social and healthproblems and have particular impacts on women and girls:

In-migration


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Loss of land and displacement can leadto loss of livelihoods

Environmental damage and degradation

can underminewomens capacity to

provide for their families.

Being unable to provide for families can

increase dependence on men.

Relocation and resettlement can fragmentcommunities and lead to social breakdown

and the breaking of kinship ties.

For women, displacement and re-settlement

can involve separation from social and

extended family support networks,

increasing their isolation and vulnerability.

Access to resources (land and water)


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Women not always consulted or allowed to speak in publicmeetings sometimes because of cultural or workload reasons.

The failure to consult with women when negotiating access to

land, compensation and royalties disempowers women.

Failure to adequately engage these women also means that their

knowledge is not accessed, and their values arent

considered in project planning.

The exclusion of women from negotiations and compensation

can exacerbate resentment and conflict with, and within, thelocal communities.

Engagement


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Payments of compensation to men on

behalf of families can often deny women

access to and control over the financialbenefits of mining.

Men often deplete compensation funds

through the consumption of status goods,

drinking, gambling, prostitution and conflicts

with competing male land-owners.

Women-headed (or single) households may

not receive payments if they do not have a

male representative.

Agreement-making

Benefit sharing agreements dont always benefit women.


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The benefits and risks of extractive industries are oftenmeasured broadly at the community level, but fail to

distinguish the impact on men and women.

Adopting a gender perspective is important i.e. how

mining has a differential, disproportionate or

unforeseen impact on women or men, boys or girls, as a

result of their different social, cultural or legal roles, rights

and responsibilities.

The consideration of gender is a lens through whichimpacts and human rights should be examined.

A gender perspective


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The development effectiveness and sustainability of

extractive industry projects could increase significantly by takinginto account how gender bias issues affect the extractive

industry sector and how their activities can benefit men and

women more equally.


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Some increasing awareness aboutgender amongst industry but not many explicit strategic responses

Appointment of a gender desk, but this can

result in womens issues being treated asan aside

Integration into impact assessment and CD often a response to practical needs, not

strategic needs

More research being under taken looking atthe specific impact of mining on women.

impacts of FIFO on women indigenous womens employment

gendered dynamics of agreement making

sexual health and exploitation (incl. violence)

Emerging Trends


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Industry traction / raising awareness (amongst mostly malemanagers)

Relating gender to human rights, social impact assessment

and other management systems processes

Ensuring that its about men and women and the

relationships between them

Huge contextual challenges, drivers for gender

discrimination are SO ingrained

Challenges


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THANK YOU

www.facebook.com/smicsrm

@resourcerules

csrm.info

gender, development and the extractive industries

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