Gender Responsive Policies in Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining

The global artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector employs an estimated 45 million people and indirectly supports 150 million. Earlier this year, the IGF Secretariat worked with Levin Sources to release two resources to help policy-makers and researchers better understand the difficulties that women face in ASM.

• Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (available in English, French, and Spanish)
• Gender in Mining Governance: An annotated bibliography for artisanal and small-scale mining

To further explore these challenges and advance good ASM governance, the IGF and Levin Sources hosted a webinar with leading policy experts discussing gender-responsive government actions for the ASM sector on the 5th of April, 2022. Speakers shared experiences from government and industry and discussed the following questions:

• What is the current status of gender-responsive policies within the ASM sector?
• How has COVID-19 uniquely affected women in ASM, and what are the key lessons learned for policy-makers?
• How will a low-carbon energy transition impact women in ASM?
• Can new technologies benefit women in ASM?

Moderators

• Ashley Smith-Roberts, Specialist, Levin Sources
• Ege Tekinbas, Gender Equality Advisor, IGF

Speakers

• Janet Adeyemi, President, Women in Mining in Nigeria
• Ruth Arpasi, Technical Coordinator, Alliance for Responsible Mining, Peru
• Yaw Britwum, Programme Manager-Responsible Mining, Solidaridad, Ghana
• Diana Gonzalez, Environmental Manager, Alliance for Responsible Mining, Colombia
• Urica Primus, President, Guyana Women Miners Organisation