Mrs Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Board Chairperson, Minerals Commission, has called for more women to take up key managerial positions in the mining industry.
She said it was not enough to have more women into the industry and that they must hold key positions.
Mrs Oteng Gyasi made the call in a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Shirley Kyei, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Minerals Commission, at the maiden edition of Women in Mining (WIM) Ghana’s Annual Conference held in Accra.
The Conference was aimed at fostering meaningful connections and inspire actionable steps towards a more equitable and sustainable mining sector through thought-provoking sessions, interactive panels, and networking opportunities.
It was also to serve as a platform for engaging discussions on crucial topics such as diversity and inclusion, talent development, opportunities in the mining industry, policies and frameworks around gender.
It was on the theme: “Future Fit Responsible Mining – The Female Factor’’.
The Board Chairperson said research showed that mining companies with higher number of women in their workforce were doing very well.
She noted that through the selfless efforts of female professionals and female oriented Civil Society Organisations such as WIM, it was abundantly clear that women could and were playing important roles in the country’s mining industry.
“As chairperson of the Minerals Commission, I must admit that there is a lot of responsibility on the regulator to ensure the country achieves its targets with respect to the proportion of females working in the mining industry,” Mrs Oteng Gyasi said.
She said there was no doubt that the empowerment of women, particularly economic empowerment, directly led to positive transformation of communities at local, sub regional, regional, and global levels.
The Board Chairperson urged all stakeholders in the mining industry to continue to collaborate to channel more resources and build the expected capacity for the empowerment of women in the industry.
“Indeed, with the wide acceptability of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in the extractives industry, it has become even more pertinent for companies to reflect on such issues and take bold measurable steps in that regard,” she stated.
Dr Georgette B. Sakyi-Addo, President, WIM Ghana, commended the remarkable achievements of women who had ‘shattered’ barriers in the mining industry.
She said recent study sponsored by the Ford Foundation and commissioned by WIM Ghana, revealed that issues such as sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation and lack of effective female leadership still plagued the industry and called for continuous engagement at all levels to resolve the issues.
Mrs Essie Anno Sackey, Managing Director, PHI Century Limited, encouraged females to be resolute and confront challenges in the sector.
She advised them to ask for support from families, friends and colleagues and be passionate in growing thier visions.
WIM is an advocacy body for women working in the mining sector.
