The President of Women in Mining (WIM) Ghana, Dr. Georgette Barnes Sakyi-Addo, has urged stakeholders in the mining industry to adopt more inclusive policies to improve gender diversity and ensure equitable opportunities for women in the sector.
Speaking at the International Women’s Day (IWD) commemoration event organized by Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF), she highlighted the persistent challenges women face in mining, despite some progress over the years.
She pointed out that unconscious bias in hiring, limited recognition for leadership roles, workplace harassment, and infrastructure designed primarily for men continue to hinder women’s full participation in the industry.
Dr. Sakyi-Addo emphasized that while strides have been made, there is still much work to be done to create a more inclusive and equitable mining sector. “The goal is not just to participate, but to lead in shaping the future of mining for generations to come,” she stated.
Her call to action underscores the need for targeted policies and initiatives to address the unique challenges faced by women in mining. These include creating safer working environments, providing leadership training, and ensuring that infrastructure and equipment are designed to accommodate women.
She also called scholarships and other motivational initiatives to encourage girls to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) courses, ensuring that future generations of women will have the needed skills to take up technical roles in the mining industry.
“If you look at most of the professional women in mining, many of them are in supporting roles like Human Resource (HR), Public Relations (PR) or accounting. The technical roles are largely male-dominated, and we must encourage more women to enter into fields like geology, metallurgy and mining engineering. That is where we will see real change and greater representation of women in the mining sector,” she said.
“For artisanal miners, the situation is even more precarious, with serious health risks from chemical exposure that require immediate intervention,” she added.
This year’s IWD event, themed: “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights, Equality, Empowerment,” brought together staff of MIIF to celebrate the achievements of women, discuss gender equality in the corporate and mining sectors, and explore ways to empower more women and girls for sustainable development.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MIIF, Justina Nelson, highlighted that the Fund as part of efforts to bridge the gender gap in education, particularly in mining communities, instituted the Women in Mining Communities (WomCom) Scholarship scheme and has even expanded same.
She said the MIIF has expanded the scholarship scheme beyond its initial goal of 1,000 female students, with additional university partnerships beyond the University of Mines and Technology (UMAT) in Tarkwa where the first 41 scholarship recipients began their studies in the 2024/2025 academic year.
“Our goal is to ensure that more women, especially those from mining communities, have access to the tools, resources, and support they need to succeed,” she said.
Empowering women and girls is not just a moral obligation, it is an economic imperative. Studies confirm that investing in women’s education and economic participation strengthens economies and builds more inclusive communities,” she said.
Mrs. Nelson added that the fund was also looking at expanding its investments in homegrown Ghanaian mining companies, to ensure that women have many opportunities to thrive in the industry.
She further urged Ghanaians to continue to push for women’s rights, equality and empowerment, to enable women to dominate and thrive in various sectors of the economy.
