Gender and the mining sector

Abstract

The mining sector is dominantly identified as a key project for growth and development. But unfortunately there has been a rising concern over the gendered nature of the mining sector. It is in this context this chapter will explore, first, the status of women in the mining sector in India and at the global level; second, the socio-cultural contexts around which women are discriminated and exclusionary practices are operating in the mining sector; and, third, to outline ways through which the exclusionary practices and gender gap in terms of participation of the women in the large-scale mining projects can be addressed. This chapter suggests that a redistribution of power and resources is extremely important in order to achieve gender equality and promote diversity. The chapter is based on both primary and secondary literature. Government policy documents and reports of international organisations were reviewed as part of secondary literature while interviews with women working and associated with the mining sector in Odisha were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. Random, purposive and snowball sampling methods were used in identification of respondents.