The underreported economics of female miners in Uganda.
Lynn Gitu is a program leader in Uganda for the nonprofit IMPACT, which seeks to help decrease conflicts around natural resources in Africa and enable communities to benefit more from their local resources, rather than them getting stolen, for example, by armed militias. According to IMPACT research, artisanal mining—or small-scale mining—accounts for about 90 percent of the minerals produced on the continent, and approximately 30 percent of artisanal miners in Africa are women.
Gitu asserts that mining is much more profitable than other fields for African women: “Our research with women directly has shown us that when they are supported, they often earn 300 times more from the mining sector than from any other sector.” However, if women are not supported well, they reap fewer rewards.
On today’s episode of The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women, reporter Leah Kahunde visits female artisanal stone miners in Uganda as well as male allies helping these women to advance in the industry. Then, host Reena Ninan picks up her conversation with Gitu.
About The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (HERO):
Could empowering women in the workplace be the simplest way to boost the global economy? Host Reena Ninan talks to women around the world changing the status quo in surprising ways to improve their lives, their families, and ultimately, the world. The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women (HER
) is a Foreign Policy podcast supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
HER listeners can learn more about these topics by signing up for special access to an FP Analytics policy brief on gender equality. Sign up by clicking here.
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