‘We want inclusivity, not equality’ — women demand more seats in mining C-suites

At the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, Women in Mining South Africa hosted a pivotal session, which was opened by the deputy minister of mineral and petroleum resources, Phumzile Mgcina.

“It is fulfilling that today more than 70,000 women are active participants in the South African mining industry, up from 11,000 in 2002,” said Mgcina. She added, however, that some mining companies continued to lag on gender transformation.

She spoke of the Mining Exploration Fund, launched in June 2024 with a budget of more than R400-million. The fund aims to support junior and emerging mining companies, with a focus on critical sectors such as copper, lithium, rare earth elements and graphite. The fund is part of broader initiatives to promote economic inclusion and ensure equitable access to mining opportunities for marginalised groups, including women.

“Following the first funding call for R160-million through the exploration fund, eight projects have been approved to receive the funding, of which three projects are 100% black female-owned, and all other projects are not less than 50% black-owned,” said Mgcina.

She said the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy was making good progress with a training programme in small-scale mining for women and young people.

“At least 223 women have been trained in seven regions, of which some were placed in on-the-job practical training in local mining companies,” she said.

Globally, women represent only 8% to 17% of the mining workforce, with South Africa reporting about 15%.

Shamim Mansoor, a mining analyst and mining consultancy owner, expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of representation of women in key roles in the mining sector. She highlighted the disconnect between the industry’s praise for women in administrative or back-office positions and the scarcity of women in decision-making roles.

“Why are we not applauding women in admin or back-office roles in every industry? These roles exist in all industries, not just mining. The focus in mining needs to be on the advancement of women into decision-making roles, that is, front-facing management roles and board positions,” said Mansoor.

“When I started in South Africa,” she continued, “I was the first and only female analyst. Similarly, in the UK and Europe, I was headhunted by HSBC to move to London, where I was again the first and only female in my role in the UK and Europe.”

She said that in South Africa, she was often met with retorts of: “We are looking for a black female and you are not black.

“My response is: I grew up in apartheid, I wasn’t white then, and now I’m not black.”

She delivered a clear message to the indaba: “We need to mentor and bring in the younger generation of females. However, we also need to focus on senior females, ensuring they receive the support and opportunities they deserve, especially from their female counterparts.”

‘A long way to go’

The chairperson of Women in Mining South Africa, Noleen Pauls, told Daily Maverick: “We still have a long way to go and we, women need to work together and open doors for other women. We also have to work with our male counterparts because we can’t do it on our own. We’re not looking for equality, we’re looking for inclusivity.”

Pauls emphasised the importance of women supporting one another. “I think it’s really important for women to pull women up with them as they go. One of the things that we found in the mining industry is we have very few women in positions … of power,” she said.

She highlighted the significance of legislation in promoting gender inclusivity in the industry.

“Legislation is very important and in South Africa, obviously we have the legislation to help with that. Other than women helping women, individually, young women also need to find mentors. They need to learn the soft skills of how to become managers as well as how to thrive.

“We are increasing in representation in the mining industry; it’s a slow increase. It’s very hard to keep women in the mining industry because of the glass ceiling.” DM