Make gender balance requirement for granting mining lease – Female Engineers to gov’t

The government has been called upon to make gender balance in the mining industry a requirement for granting mining leases.

The call follows the alarming statistics that put the participation of female employees in the mining sector at 18% since 2017.

Speaking at the 10th Annual Alumni Lecture at the University of Mines and Technology in Tarkwa, the Head of Long-Term Planning Team at Newmont Africa, Engineer Afia Fima Baah Opoku said the most worrisome part is that the few only occupy less managerial and technical positions.

“As of 2021, out of 12,236 workers in the mines, only 98 of them we’re ex-pats, representing about 0.8% employees of the total mining Labour force.”

Mrs. Opoku who completed UMaT in 2005 and has formerly served as the Chief Mining Engineer at Newmont Akyem Mines also said gender balance at the workplace helped productivity.

“When diversity and inclusion are successfully employed, business results improve by 83% and team collaboration improve by 43%. When leaders give diverse voices equal attention, employees are more than three times as likely to contribute to full innovative potentials,” she noted.

While highlighting some of the challenges female engineers face that must be addressed by employers, Mrs. Opoku also challenged women to believe in themselves.

The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, who graced the 10th Annual Alumat lecture, commended UMaT for its role in producing expertise for the mining industry and its gender mainstreaming efforts.

“Owing to the gender mainstreaming drive at UMaT, women are given incentives to enroll in mining-related programs, which has contributed to an increase in the number of women in the mining industry,“ he said.

Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah who has denied recent allegations of his involvement in the galamsey, however, expressed the government’s determination to sanitize the small-scale mining industry in spite of all obstacles so that it can sustainably contribute to the nation’s socioeconomic growth and preserve the nation’s abundant resources for future generations.

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