INAUDIBLE VOICES
Women get short end of stick in mining industry
Policies and systems in many mining operations are not designed to cater for the needs of female workers and this has created an environment that is not conducive to the advancement of female workers in the mining industry.
Botswana Miners Workers Union President, Joseph Tsimako said during an Empowerment and Awareness-Raising Workshop on Gender Based Violence and Sexual Harassment workshop that women in mining have been impacted by gender inequality than men.
According to Tsimako, there is little to no participation of women even in the Union structures and that has been an area of concern to the leadership. The Union has also noted with concern inaudible female voices in the mining industry in general, in management of institutions regulating mineral development in the country, as well as in the Union.
“Opportunities seem far and in between for women in mining in Botswana, this includes taking up positions in management or actively participating in trade union activities. It is generally understood that women are averse to taking up space in the industry. This could stem from the fact that the mining environment has invariably been harsh to female workers,” Tsimako said.
He further said gender disparity in the workplace has necessitated widespread gender inequality, whether in terms of progression of females in the workplace, equal pay for equal work-done, on issues of safety and security, sexual and reproductive rights and other economic and social development challenges in the workplace. In the last two years, according to Tsimako, the Union has had to intervene on several cases of sexual harassment at various mining operations and in some cases the perpetrators being senior members of management and in some being Union members. He noted that the Union has since committed to educating union members on gender mainstreaming and harassment in the workplace through the Women’s Council. They have also started to advocate for gender sensitive policies in mining operations as part of the mining industry’s decent work agenda.
Meanwhile, Country Program Director, West Africa at the Solidarity Center, Sydney Watae gave tribute to women workers in the mining sector in Botswana, particularly women structures in the Botswana Mine Workers Union, for representing the interests of women workers in the industry. He noted that Trade Unions and their members have a role to play in ensuring that there is visibility on the issues of GBVH in the
workplace and at the national and sectoral level to identify ways to prevent and eliminate violence and harassment.
Watae further said Trade Union representation remains vital for building workers’ trust to report cases of violence and harassment without fear of retaliation, and they must push for implementation of workplace policies, occupational risk assessments, awareness-raising, guidance and training, codes of practice and other measures which can have a lasting impact.