Gender and Mining Governance (2022)

In this course, you will learn how to foster women’s equal engagement in mining projects and take action to eliminate gender-based violence in affected communities, and understand how investment in gender equality and women’s leadership in mining governance can lead to stable and resilient communities.


Duration: 6 modules
Estimated effort: 3 hours per module
Course Type: Self-paced course
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Requirements: Internet connection


Contact course coordinator Course syllabus Meet the experts FAQs

 

Do you need to make a stronger case for amplifying women’s voices in mining governance? Do you want to become more skilled at evaluating the impact of mining projects on communities, with a particular emphasis on women? Are you looking for recommendations on eliminating gender-based violence in mining operations and mining-affected communities? Are you interested in promoting or increasing investment in gender equality in mining governance, and not sure where to start?  

United Nations Development Programme, Environmental Governance Programme, and Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development are pleased to offer a FREE self-paced course on Gender and Mining Governance. This four-module course in English, French, and Spanish compiles research from leading institutions in the industry to build awareness and skills in regards to gender governance in the mining industry.

Course highlights and outcomes

  • Gain the skills to build a strong case for strengthening women’s engagement in mining governance 
  • Join the community-of-practice committed to increasing women’s meaningful engagement in mining projects
  • Take a deep dive into rich learning materials
  • Receive a certificate of completion from the course partners

Learning objectives

By the time the course is completed, you will be able to:

  • Understand and evaluate the impact of mining projects on communities, with a particular emphasis on projects’ impact on women 
  • Assess the importance and benefits of women’s participation and engagement in mining projects for communities, companies and governments
  • Outline the measures you can take to effectively eliminate gender-based violence in mining operations and mining-affected communities
  • Understand how investment in gender in mining governance can lead to stable and resilient communities

Course topics

The course will cover the following topics: 

  • Module 1: Introduction to Gender and Mining Governance
  • Module 2: Women's participation in decision-making in the mining sector
  • Module 3: Gender-based violence in the mining sector
  • Module 4: Investment in gender in mining governance

Course completion requirements

To receive the certificate of course completion, participants must:

  • Complete four online lessons
  • Pass four quizzes 
  • Listen to all course lectures
  • Complete the course survey

Click Enroll to register today.

If you have any questions, please contact the Learning for Nature team at info@learningfornature.org.

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Course Includes

  • 7 Modules
  • 39 Activities
  • 4 quizzes
  • Course Certificate

Course Syllabus

Module 1Module 2Module 3Module 4

Module 1 provides an overview of a wide range of gendered impacts of the mining sector on communities and outlines the framework for evaluating this impact, with a particular emphasis on women.

REQUIRED: Lesson and Quiz

Lesson 1: Introduction to Gender and Mining Governance

Objectives:

  • Discuss the reasons behind a systematic exclusion of women’s participation in mining operations
  • Describe the key gendered impacts of mining on affected communities
  • Outline the framework for evaluating the impact of mining on affected communities, with a particular emphasis on women

Quiz 1: Introduction to Gender and Mining Governance

Quiz 1 checks your comprehension of the material covered in Lesson 1.

REQUIRED: Lectures

  • Nora Gotzmann, Danish Institute of Human Rights
  • Paz Gallardo, Source International
  • Laura Grassi, Source International

RECOMMENDED: Case studies

  • The costs of ignoring women’s voice in mining governance in Thailand
  • Gender Impact Assessment of artisanal and small-scale mining in Tanzania
  • Women’s engagement scheme in Lao People’s Democratic Republic

OPTIONAL: Discussion forum

  1. To what extent are women in your country engaged in the mining labor force? If the engagement level is low, what could be some of the reasons behind women’s exclusion? 
  2. How are communities affected by mining operations in your country? Are the impacts of mining different for women from mining communities? If so, describe how they are different.
  3. Imagine you are tasked with conducting a gender impact assessment to evaluate the impact of mining operations on women in your region. What resources will you need at your disposal to realise this task? What challenges do you anticipate to face as you are working on this assessment?

Module 2 explains the importance of women’s equal and meaningful representation in resource extraction projects not only for women's economic empowerment and social development, but also for the sustainability and success of mining operations, and provides recommendations for various stakeholders to facilitate this engagement.

REQUIRED: Lesson and Quiz

Lesson 2: Women’s Participation in Decision-Making in the Mining Sector

Objectives:

  • Outline the benefits of women’s participation in the mining workforce and their engagement in community decision-making in mining projects 
  • Provide recommendations for governments, companies and civil society organizations to facilitate equal representation and engagement of women in mining governance, and to improve women’s employment in the mining sector

Quiz 2: Women’s Participation in Decision-Making in the Mining Sector

Quiz 2 checks your comprehension of the material covered in Lesson 2.

REQUIRED: Lectures

  • Gillian Davidson, International Women in Mining
  • Caroline Ngonze, United Nations Population Fund
  • Ann Chinweze, Natural Resource Governance Institute
  • Lisa Caripis, Transparency International Australia
  • Maria J. Ezpeleta, Oxfam America
  • Lena Abrahamsson, Luleå University of Technology

RECOMMENDED: Case studies

  • Gender diversity approach at Anglo American
  • Gender equity policy in the mining sector in Colombia
  • Women’s empowerment programs by Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) in Pakistan
  • The role of civil society in mining operations in Canada

OPTIONAL: Discussion forum

  1. Imagine you are asked with making a case for increasing women’s inclusion in the mining industry to your government and/or a mining company in your area. What would be your main argument?
  2. Imagine you are asked with proposing interventions for increasing women’s inclusion in the mining industry to your government and/or a mining company in your area. What would your proposal look like, and why would those interventions be particularly important in your context?
  3. Imagine you are asked with proposing interventions for increasing the participation of women from mining-affected communities in the decision-making processes in mining projects that affect their livelihoods, safety, customs and traditions. What would your proposal look like, and why would those interventions be particularly important in your context?

Module 3 focuses on gender-based violence in communities affected by mining operations, and provides recommendations and tools to effectively mitigate the risks of gender-based violence for the affected populations.

REQUIRED: Lesson and Quiz

Lesson 3: Gender-Based Violence in the Mining Sector

Objectives:

  • Outline the reasons for an increase in gender-based violence in mining-affected communities
  • Explain the impacts of gender-based violence on women’s livelihoods in mining-affected communities
  • Provide recommendations for stakeholders for the elimination of gender-based violence in mining-affected communities

Quiz 3: Gender-Based Violence in the Mining Sector

Quiz 3 checks your comprehension of the material covered in Lesson 3.

REQUIRED: Lectures

  • Ege Tekinbas, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development
  • Lema Ijtemaye, Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
  • Katherine Danielsen, KIT Royal Tropical Institute

RECOMMENDED: Case studies

  • Gender-based violence in mining-affected communities in Mongolia
  • Gender-based violence and Inuit women in mining-affected communities in Canada
  • Police brutality around the Porgera Gold Mine, Papua New Guinea

OPTIONAL: Discussion forum

  1. Have you observed a correlation between the prevalence of gender based-violence and mining operations in your country/region? If so, what do you think are some of the reasons for this dynamic in your context?
  2. In your context, how do you see your role in preventing gender-based violence in mining communities and/or mining labor force? 

Module 4 explains how investment in gender in mining governance can lead to stable and resilient communities that are able to minimize the risks of mining activities while maximizing their benefits for women, men, girls and boys.

REQUIRED: Lesson and Quiz

Lesson 4: Investment in Gender in Mining Governance

Objectives:

  • Outline the conditions that need to be set in place for a favorable environment for investment in gender in mining
  • Describe how governments, mining companies and civil society can work together to boost investment in gender equality in mining
  • Propose guidelines for governments, mining companies and civil society on increasing investment in gender in mining

Quiz 4: Investment in Gender in Mining Governance

Quiz 4 checks your comprehension of the material covered in Lesson 4.

REQUIRED: Lectures

  • Fitsum Weldegiorgis, International Institute for Environment and Development
  • Indra Trevoz, EITI International Secretariat
  • Katherine Heller, International Finance Corporation
  • Matthew Bliss, Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development
  • Joanne Lebert, IMPACT

RECOMMENDED: Case studies

  • Empowerment of indigenous women in mining communities by Teck Resources Ltd, Chile
  • Embracing diversity and inclusion at Agnico Eagle
  • Developing equity in the workplace at Goldcorp
  • Empowering women in and around ASM communities in Ghana and Tanzania

OPTIONAL: Discussion forum

  1. Lesson 4 outlines the framework that governments can follow to boost investment in gender equality in mining. What do you anticipate to be the primary challenges for your government when it comes to implementing this framework, and how can companies and civil society help bring it to successful implementation?  
  2. Imagine you are tasked with boosting investment in gender in the mining industry in your country. How would you bring all the relevant stakeholders (including mining companies and civil society) together to start tackling this task? 

Expert guest lecturers

Lisa Caripis is the Research and Policy Manager for Transparency International’s Accountable Mining Programme. The programme works to strengthen transparency and accountability in mining sector licensing and is implemented by TI national chapters in over 20 countries. Lisa contributed to the development of gender-sensitive guidance in the Mining Awards Corruption Risk Assessment Tool.


Ege Tekinbas is a Gender Equality Advisor with IISD’s Economic Law and Policy Program. She has over 15 years of professional experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment, elimination of violence against women, and social development. Throughout her lengthy career with international organizations (including UN Women, United Nations Population Fund, World Bank, European Union, the Council of Europe, and Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Administración y Políticas Públicas), Ege has engaged in program/project design in areas such as gender analysis, gender-responsive programming, and monitoring of gender-responsive service delivery.

Among previous professional roles, Ege has acted as Senior Gender Consultant at the World Bank (where she was involved with assessing gender-based violence-related risks of major civil works and infrastructure projects) and Senior Gender Consultant at UN WOMEN. In the latter position, she developed a program targeting refugee women and girls, supported the development of strategic plans, and researched the capacity-building needs of women’s organizations and community service organizations working with women refugees, along with social entrepreneurship modalities available for refugee women.


Fitsum S. Weldegiorgis is a senior research consultant with affiliations as an Associate with International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and an Industry Fellow with Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at the University of Queensland (UQ).

Previously, Fitsum led Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) work in his role as a Senior Researcher at IIED. Before this, he worked as a Researcher with SMI for several years conducting applied research on socio-economic impact of large-, medium- and small-scale mining.

Fitsum has a long track record of conducting applied research, strategy designs, multi-stakeholder action dialogues, and building capacity, leadership and partnerships through various projects.


Olivia Lyster is the Business Area Manager for Good Governance at Levin Sources. She has over 5 years’ experience working on gender-aware, rights-based research and analysis in mineral supply chains with a particular focus on the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, gender equity, responsible sourcing and due diligence and overseeing multi-national, multi-disciplinary teams for both public and private sector clients. With a particular passion for enabling the advancement of gender equality in the sector, Olivia is also a gender specialist at Levin Sources. Prior to her work at Levin Sources, Olivia worked as a relief worker in Mafraq, Jordan, helping to build community resilience amongst Syrian refugees in the post-conflict environment.


Ashley Smith-Roberts is a Specialist at Levin Sources, a licensed attorney and a consultant who focuses on issues of mining, minerals, and global supply chains. She has conducted research and provided policy recommendations on human rights, mining, and sustainable development and has contributed to assessments for international mining standards and international guidance documents for government stakeholders to improve their legal frameworks and management of environmental and social impacts in the mining sector. She has managed research on artisanal and small-scale mining and supply chains; mining, renewable energy, and sustainable development; and investment and ESG frameworks of the mining sector.


Lena Abrahamsson is chair professor in Human Work Science at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. She is dean for the Faculty of Science and Technology at Luleå University of Technology. Her research interest covers workplace development, technology and organisational changes, learning, safety & health and gender issues in industrial companies. She is today active in projects on technology change and sustainable development in the mining industry, many of them with a gender and equality perspective.


Matthew Bliss is a sustainability and mining executive with extensive international natural resources and community development experience. His focus is on integrating sustainability and good governance into all aspects of mining, natural resource management and community development. Currently focused on IGF programs and implementation, including environmental and mine closure guidance, demand-driven technical support and capacity building supporting members in Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific.


Katrine Danielsen is a Senior Gender Advisor at KIT Royal Tropical Institute (KIT, Netherlands). For over 25 years, Katrine has worked on gender equality, rights-based and transformative approaches in agriculture, natural resource management, energy, mining, and responsible business conduct. Prior to KIT, Katrine held positions with International Labour Organisation (ILO), DANIDA, CARE Danmark, and the Danish Institute for Development Research. Since 2017, Katrine has been an advisor to Women’s Rights and Mining (WRM) – a multi-stakeholder initiative that aims to secure commitments from key stakeholders in the mining sector to empower women and girls and secure their rights.


Gillian Davidson is a leader in sustainability, ESG and responsible supply chains with extensive experience in the extractives and natural resources sectors. She is currently a sustainability advisor to global companies and international organisations and a Non-Executive Director of New Gold Inc and Central Asia Metals. Gillian is Chair of International Women in Mining, co-chair of the Resolve Natural Resources and Energy Leadership Council, member of the executive of the Global Battery Alliance and a fellow of Chatham House. Previously, Gillian was the Head of Mining & Metals at the World Economic Forum and held senior roles in major mining companies and government. She holds a PhD in Development Economics and Geography.


Maria J. Ezpeleta is the Senior Gender Advisor for Oxfam’s Extractive Industries Global Program. In this role she advances gender justice and women’s rights through research, advocacy and program design. Prior to joining Oxfam, Maria conducted community-based research focusing on extractive industries projects in the Philippines and Peru. She holds a Master’s of Arts in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School at Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.


Paz Gallardo is a human rights lawyer and an occasional staff member at Source International. She specializes in human rights impact assessments. After obtaining her Law degree in Chile, she worked as a corporate lawyer in a variety of law firms, as well as a compliance advisor for Chilean companies with presence in all of Latin America.

Paz has worked on international projects, producing Human Rights Impact Assessments in Guatemala and Mozambique, carrying out trainings for affected communities, and supporting legal cases on mining pollution in Peru. She also served as an ad-hoc coordinator for the Training Program on the Inter-American System of Human Rights Protection carried out by the Robert Kennedy Foundation, American University Washington College of Law, in collaboration with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.


Nora Götzmann is a Senior Adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), focusing on business and human rights. She is also an Adjunct Researcher at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia. Nora has over 10 years of experience working with multinational companies on implementing human rights due diligence, focusing primarily on the extractive industries, across a range of international corporate and site-level settings. I also work with national human rights institutions, civil society actors and financial institutions on various business and human rights related topics. Prior to joining the DIHR, Nora worked at the CSRM, where her work focused on human rights due diligence and community-company grievance resolution.


Laura Grassi is an environmental specialist in contaminated sites, air and water quality, and environmental health. She spent the last 5 years working on different case studies, especially related to mining (coal and polymetallic mines), oil and gas extraction, and agribusiness (palm oil, sugar cane, rubber). Laura has conducted capacity building activities for communities and grassroots organizations in Guatemala, Liberia, Mozambique, Mexico, and Perù.


Katherine Heller is an independent consultant specializing in gender and natural resource industries. She has worked with the World Bank for over 15 years helping to lead the World Bank’s work on understanding and addressing how men and women are differently impacted by oil, gas, and mining activities around the world. She has also worked directly with natural resource companies, advising on development of gender and community engagement strategies. She is the lead author of the new IFC Toolkit “Unlocking Opportunities for Women and Business: A Toolkit of Actions and Strategies for Oil, Gas, and Mining Companies.”


Caroline Ngonze has extensive experience in the mining sector, having worked on phase I of the UNDP implemented ACP-EU Development Minerals Programme, leading the gender equality and women’s empowerment programming for 41 ACP countries. Prior to that, Caroline worked at UNECA, leading research and policy analysis on women in artisanal and small-scale mining in Ghana, Guinea, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zambia with a wide cross-section of stakeholders. Caroline is an alumna of the 2015 edition of the Emerging Leaders in African Mining (ELAM) program as well as a member of the International Women in Mining (IWiM) Network.


Lema Ijtemaye is the Manager of the Social and Economic Development department at Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada, the national representative organization for Inuit women in Canada. She oversees the initiation, development, and completion of projects related to a broad range of social and economic issues concerning Inuit women, including political equality, women’s leadership, climate change, and resource extraction. Lema holds a BA and MA in Honours Political Science from the University of Waterloo, with specializations in state and security, Canadian politics, and international relations.


Joanne Lebert is Executive Director of IMPACT. She joined IMPACT in 2011, and leads its work to improve how natural resources are managed where security and human rights are at risk. Her work has focused on contributing to responsibly-sourced, conflict-free minerals. She has helped Central African governments launch and implement a regional strategy to tackle conflict minerals. Joanne is a policy advisor, frequent guest speaker, and trainer to policymakers, private sector representatives, and civil society organizations.

Previously, Joanne was based at the University of Ottawa’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre. She focused on gender-based violence in conflict settings in Africa and how it is impacted by the extractives industry. She was also Deputy Director of the Canadian non-profit, Peacebuild, where she worked to strengthen Canadian foreign policy options and practice. She carried out anthropological fieldwork for her doctoral studies in Namibia and Angola, and was a Visiting Fellow in Refugee Studies at the University of Oxford. She has lectured at Carleton University and worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, Amnesty International, and CARE International in Zambia.


Aubrey Menard is a consultant Gender Advisor with the Natural Resources Governance Institute. She has worked on democracy and governance issues in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Central America, and the United States. She is the author of Young Mongols: Forging Democracy in the Wild, Wild East (Penguin Random House, 2020), and has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Politico, the South China Morning Post, and more. Aubrey earned an MPhil in Politics from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s degree from Smith College. She is a Luce Scholar, a Critical Language Scholar (Russian), and a Truman National Security Project Fellow. Learn more at aubreymenarndt.com.


Indra Trevoz is the Policy and Country Manager at EITI International Secretariat. Indra supports the Policy team, acting as secretary of the Implementation Committee and helping coordinate the EITI’s policy work. She leads on subnational implementation and revenue management, as well as EITI reporting on gender and the artisanal and small-scale mining sector and responsible sourcing. She also leads on implementation support to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, and supports the Francophone Africa team on capacity-building.

Prior to joining the EITI, Indra worked for two years as a project assistant in Tunisia for the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), supporting projects in justice and prison reform. She also has volunteering experience with Amnesty International and with NGOs providing assistance to refugees.

She holds a M.A. in International History from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. She is fluent in French, English, Spanish and German.

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