As part of measures to rope in more women into the mining sector, government has outlined certain strategies to help achieve this feat.
The women in the mining sector have complained of how often they are sidelined in terms of their participation in the mining industry.
But at a workshop organized by women in mining Ghana, government says it has outlined certain measures to draw them deeper into the mining sector.
The latest World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report found that it will take two centuries [that is over 200 years] to achieve economic parity between women and men.
The Mining industry of Ghana accounts for 5% of the country’s GDP and minerals make up 37% of total exports, of which gold contributes over 90% of the total mineral exports.
Out of this, available statistics show that only 7 per cent of women are working in the mining industry. A situation, women in the mining sector have described as discouraging.
Speaking to Citi Business News at a mining workshop in Accra, Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said government has put in place varied measures to attract more women into the mining sector.
Some of these include the provision of infrastructural support, creating public-private partnerships, among others.
“Some of the terms of the Act; something like stability and development provisions because government as much as possible want to improve the fiscal regime in the mining industry to ensure that we obtain optimum revenue from the mining sector. As well, we look at the women and gender issues and how we can support women in the small scale sector especially”.
Meanwhile Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Asanko Gold, Frederick Attakumah said including more women in the mining sector will unlock the potential of women in mining.
The women in mining Ghana workshop was on the theme “Ghana’s Mining Regulatory Framework, its challenges and opportunities for enhancing Women’s participation”.
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By: Jessica Ayorkor Aryee/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
