Women in Mining (WIM), in partnership with the Australian High Commission, has brought together some women in the extractive industry to a breakfast meeting to discuss ways women can be encouraged to participate in the male-dominated industry.
The event was part of activities to mark this year’s International Women Day (IWD), which was celebrated under the theme, ‘Breaking the biases by prioritising women’s representation and contribution in Ghana’s mining and natural resources sector; the role of government and stakeholders.’
It also highlighted and promoted the benefits of effective corporate gender-inclusive policies that Australian mining companies in Ghana have implemented.
Furthermore, women from the extractive industry shared some inspirational success stories of how they broke through the glass ceiling, and seized the opportunity to discuss the challenges that hinder progress of women in mining, such as stereotyping, cultural issues, among others.
President of WIM – Georgette Barnes, explained that although generally, women’s participation and representation in the mining and extractive industry is gradually increasing globally, support for women in the sector still needs critical and strategic attention. Increasing the participation of women in the sector should be deliberate, strategic and systematic through holistic policies.
Sharing insights on their activities, Ms. Barnes indicated that WIM will be organising mentorship programmes to encourage and train females in the mining industry, and help break some of the biases against women in the mining field.
“To address these biases and barriers, issues about equal employment opportunities, encouraging healthy workplaces, flexible work arrangements and an increase in industry leadership on diversity must be addressed. These will assist in creating an enabling environment to ensure women’s representation and increased participation in leadership roles. It will also create a better workplace for men,” she said.
“The objective behind this programme is to contribute towards the gender mainstream and work toward the improvement of gender diversity and inclusivity on the Ghanaian market. The programme will be designed to promote the development of the protegees so that they can make impactful contribution to the Ghanaian mining sector.
It is also to help mentees envision, understand and plan their career path; to help mentees increase their knowledge, navigate and develop in their current careers; and, improve emotional intelligence and leadership skills. Other objectives will help mentees with work-life balance issues, facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills between female employees; and encourage and assist females in mining entrepreneurship, she said.
Ms. Barnes further called for support in terms of financial and human resource to enable them achieve their goal.
“So, we need financial sponsorship; we need support in terms of human resource, we need facilities for hosting our meetings and functions. We also need people or organisations that will provide us with influential mining professionals that can help lobby for the programme, and act as sponsors who offer advice, guidance and assist the programme in creating and identifying opportunities for mentees.”
