In the Zambian mining sector, gender inequalities still affect the livelihoods of women. It is found that a significantly lower number of women are employed in the mining sector than men. The 2023 National Gender Policy, drawing on the Labour Force Survey, records that women account for only about 7.8 percent of employment in mining and quarrying, compared with 92.2 percent for men. A 2019 study of artisanal and small-scale mining cited in the same policy found that only about 17 percent of ASM mines were women-owned. Moreover, the jobs that women occupy are often in lower positions or peripheral roles, such as cooking or cleaning in the mining company, while men occupy executive positions in the mining sector. Possible reasons for that include limited access to mining licenses, inadequate information, limited financial resources, missing education in STEM subjects and cultural norms that hinder the participation of women. This causes limited access for women to financial resources, creating financial dependencies for women and limiting their economic opportunities. This record challenges the persistent myth that mining is a gender-neutral path to jobs and prosperity; in practice the gains accrue unevenly, and women remain at the margins of employment, licensing and ownership.
Moreover, women are often strongly affected by the indirect effects of mines. For one, women are often involved in agriculture and are responsible for housekeeping. This is why the displacement of communities for mining especially affects women. The displacement results in a loss of their homes, land, and cultural heritage. For example, for women, this can result in prolonged distances to fetch water, which poses increased demands of labor on women. Secondly, environmental degradation caused by mining activities reduces soil fertility and pollutes water, which negatively affects agricultural harvest, limiting food availability. And lastly, sociodemographic changes within the region of mining lead to an increase in gender-based violence and sexually transmitted diseases.
Rationale
Women experience increased disadvantages in the mining sector and increased vulnerability to the effects of mining. Still, the 2024 passed Minerals Regulation Commission Act, No. 14 of 2024 (MRCA) does not mention women or gender at all. This reinforces economic gender inequalities that can put women in severe financial situations and strengthen dependencies. Moreover, it ignores women’s increased vulnerabilities to the effects of mining. This conflicts with the 2023 passed Gender Policy, which noted the need to mainstream gender in the mining sector. Despite the expectation to ensure women’s participation in the mining sector, the gender aspect was completely left out in the Minerals Regulation Commission Act, No. 14 of 2024. This contributes to gender inequalities in mining-affected areas. As a result:
- There is no institutional mandate to monitor or promote women’s participation in mining;
- Licensing conditions for large-scale operations do not require gender-equality policies or measures to prevent sexual harassment and gender-based violence;
- Women in artisanal and small-scale mining still face barriers to licenses, finance and training;
- Environmental and social safeguards lack specific attention to gender-differentiated risks, including longer water collection, lost fields, and community GBV; and
Sex-disaggregated data on the mining sector is not systematically collected, which makes gender-responsive strategies hard to design and even harder to evaluate.
What Can Be Done?
To ensure gender mainstreaming in the mining sector, as stated in the 2023 Gender Policy, there is a need for:
- An extension of the functions of the Minerals Regulation Commission to monitor the participation of women in mining and develop gender-responsive mining guidelines.
- the Ministry of Mines and Minerals Development, the Minerals Regulation Commission, and ZEMA to amend the functions of the Minerals Regulation Commission so that it must monitor women’s participation in mining and issue gender-responsive mining guidelines.
- The introduction of gender-responsive licensing conditions for large-scale mining operations, including a gender equality policy and a sexual harassment and GBV prevention policy.
- The support of women in small-scale and artisanal mining by enhancing the access to licenses and financial resources and providing trainings on mining, business and cooperatives.
- Strengthen enforcement mechanisms for safety guidelines and environmental protection measures, with particular attention to gender-specific risks and the protection of women and vulnerable groups.
- Ensure the appropriate compensation of women and their families for resettlement plans and environmental destruction caused by mining activities by the mining operator
The collection of sex-disaggregated data in the mining sector by the Minerals Regulation Commission to guide strategies that ensure the equitable access of citizens to mineral resources.
Why this matters now
This pattern sits against a clear policy contradiction. The National Gender Policy 2023 instructs the ministry responsible for mines to mainstream gender, ensure the participation of women and men in mining, and report on institutional gender programmes. The Minerals Regulation Commission Act, No. 14 of 2024 (MRCA), the statute that now establishes the regulator, grants and revokes mineral rights, and sets the licensing framework, does not create a corresponding duty. On a plain reading, the Act uses citizen and community language and does not mention women or gender, and it creates no mandate to monitor women’s participation, attach gender conditions to licences, or collect sex-disaggregated data. A gender-blind regulator cannot deliver a gender-responsive mining sector.
Expected Results
The suggested recommendations on the mainstreaming of gender in the mining sector can significantly strengthen the participation of women in the mining sector and ensure their wellbeing. The following results can be expected:
- An increase in the number of women working in the mining sector and an increased number of mining licences provided to women, especially in the small scale and artisanal mining sector. This can strengthen the economic opportunities of women.
- Enhanced protection of the environment that sustains the agricultural activities of women and their families, contributing to food security and access to financial resources.
- The protection of the livelihood of women and their families and the respect of human rights in mining-affected areas.
- A decrease in gender-based violence where participation is paired with rights and income under women’s control, and safeguards on sites and in communities.
- Enhanced information on the barriers of women participating in mining, which can guide further gender-responsive strategies in the mining sector to ensure equal access to mining resources and the wellbeing of women.
Conclusion
The National Gender Policy 2023 already states that gender must be mainstreamed in mining. The Minerals Regulation Commission Act, No. 14 of 2024 does not yet give the regulator the tools to do that work. Amending the Act, and pairing it with licence conditions, ASM support, safeguards, fair compensation, and sex-disaggregated data, would align the mining statute with the government’s own gender strategy. That is a necessary step toward respect for human rights, a stronger financial position for women in mining-related areas, and the protection of livelihoods in a healthy environment. It will not be sufficient if women are only added to informal pits without licences, income or safety.
By Luise Kerstin, Intern
