Toward a gender-free mining industry

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 88, No. 986, 1995

M. Phyllis Bray

Mining has the reputation of being a very "macho" industry. Recently, wider educational opportunities for women in non-traditional occupations and changes in mine technology have combined to make mining a viable career choice for women also. To benefit from this new resource, the mining industry faces the challenge of developing a different work environment from the one now burdened with sexism. Management-supported initiatives are needed to facilitate such a transformation. The same rethinking of gender attitudes might also be extended to mining women in their traditional role as "wife of". The assumption that the male worker's wife is an unpaid adjunct is being questioned. It is suggested that women's separate concerns both as helpmate and as part of the mining workforce should be considered when planning for mining into the 21st century.

Keywords: Human resources, Women in mining.