An exploration of women's workplace experiences in the South African mining industry

Abstract

SYNOPSIS Historically, the mining industry, on a global level, was male-dominated, as many governments had prohibited women from working at mines, particularly underground. In South Africa, the government introduced the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (No. 28 of 2002) (MPRDA) and the Broad-based Socio-economic Empowerment Charter to address the imbalances and rectify previous inequalities in the mining industry. Since the inception of MPRDA, women's representation in the South African mining industry has increased, from 3% in 2002 to 15% in 2018. Although government has good intentions, gender equality in the mining industry remains a challenge. Research on women employed in South African mines revealed that women still face barriers to some extent. This research explores women's current workplace experiences in the South African mining industry. A literature review and an empirical study were conducted. The study followed a positivistic research approach, and a quantitative research design was used. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed at the 8th Annual Women in Mining Conference in February 2017. Based on the data obtained, it became evident that several aspects must still be addressed to successfully accommodate women in the mining workplace. The study offers practical recommendations that can be implemented by mining organizations to improve women's workplace experiences in order to encourage and foster transformation in the mining industry. Keywords: gender, mining industry, mining legislation, South Africa, women in mining.

Women’s perceived working conditions in the mining industry: A qualitative study

“…In South Africa, mining as an occupation was traditionally reserved for men only, and the mining law prohibited women from underground operations employment (Mangaroo-Pillay & Botha 2020 ). The authors, Botha and Cronjé ( 2015 ) shared the consensus that the exclusive reservation of the mining industry for men is based on the nature of core mining jobs that require physical strength and are associated with high risk.…”

Ecofeminism and Natural Resource Management: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied

“…On the other hand, there are fewer opportunities for women in this sector to decently sustain their lives. Women are more exploited and sexually harassed during their lifetime [4]. Physical and sexual violence is common, which has sabotaged the United Nations sustainable development goal-SDG-5.…”

“…The high need is to accommodate women by offering internship and apprenticeship schemes, capable of equipping them with hands-on training and getting a decent job in the resource sector. Mangaroo-Pillay and Botha [4] discussed the number of barriers that women faced in the mining sector of the South African economy, i.e., women are generally working in core mining areas, where it found substantial exploitation to consider them as a sexual object. Further, its protective equipment during working time needs more caution for pregnant women to work under safety healthcare standards, as currently, it is not at a standard to support women's health.…”

Women in business in Africa: (Re)claiming our agency

“…Whilst scholarly articles on women in the workplace in African populations, focusing either on workplaces created by women entrepreneurs or women employees, have been published in other South African and international journals, this still constitutes a negligible slice of the global research on women at work and in business (e.g. Adisa, Mordi, & Akanji, 2021;Adisa, Mordi, Simpson, & Iwovo, 2021;Adom, 2014;Adom & Anambane, 2020;Adom & Asare-Yeboa, 2016;Adom, Asare-Yeboa, Quaye, & Ampomah, 2018;Akanle & Nwaobiala, 2019;Bako & Syed, 2018;Booysen, 1999;Booysen & Nkomo, 2010Bosch & Barit, 2020;Botha, 2016Botha, , 2017Bowden, Govender, Edwards, & Cattell, 2018;Carrim, 2016Carrim, , 2018Carrim & Nkomo, 2016;Dawa & Namatovu, 2014Du Plessis, Rothmann & Botha, 2018;Hoobler, 2016;Geldenhuys, Bosch, Jeewa, & Koutris, 2019;Grover, 2019;Hoobler, Gericke, & Koekemoer, 2021;Jaga, Arabandi, Bagraim, & Mdlongwa, 2018;Kasseeah & Tandaryen-Ragoobur, 2016;Koekemoer & Olckers (2019);Lauwo, 2018;Littrell & Nkomo, 2005;Mangaroo-Pillay & Botha, 2020;Neneh, 2017Neneh, , 2019Ojong, Simba, & Dana, 2021;Palmer & Bosch, 2017;Phume & Bosch, 2018;Ribeiro, Bosch, & Becker, 2016;Viviers, Mans-Kemp & Fawcett, 2017;...…”