IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN

WOMEN IN MINING IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

WOMEN IN MINING CONFERENCE: VOICES FOR CHANGE,

MADANG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, 3-6 AUGUST 2003. Marie Hoadley Research Associate School of Mining Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand Private Bag 3, Wits 2050 Phone +27-11-7177422 Fax +27-11-339-8295 e-mail: hoadley@egoli.min.wits.ac.za

This paper focuses on women in mining in South Africa, and draws on relevant experiences in other African countries. In South Africa, legislation is changing the nature of the workforce, the shareholders and the way companies do business. Employment equity legislation has set targets for increased employment of women, and Black Economic Empowerment policies and the listing of mining companies on foreign stock exchanges, ensure a more diverse range of shareholders. These developments require of companies that they accept responsibility for the upliftment of the communities within which they operate, and they are held accountable for a broad range of impacts – environmental, social, cultural and economic. To meet these challenges, companies require an input of intellectual capital which is more diverse, creative and more experienced in the social development aspects of business than is currently at the disposal of boards of directors. In developing countries, economic conditions are fluid and uncertain and transnational companies have the economic influence to establish new patterns of development. The mining industry is, however, traditionally viewed as a male domain, and the integration into and advancement of women in the sector has been slow.

A survey conducted in October 2002 reflects the largely (white) male dominated nature of the minerals sector. Of the forty-one Ftse 100 companies that have no female directors, three are major mining houses operating in Southern Africa – BHP Billiton, Anglo American plc and Rio Tinto (Manifest, 2002). The profile of nominations boards for executives shows the same bias, and increases the likelihood that there will be little change in company attitudes towards gender equity in the foreseeable future.

Corporate reports, reporting on progress in gender equity in the workplace, reveal much about attitudes towards women as employees:

“The number of women working in the company remained a relatively small percentage of the overall workforce at about 9 per cent. This record is not significantly different to those of other companies in the resources sector.”(BHP Billiton, 2002) (author’s emphasis). The following table reveals a lack of awareness of the needs of specific marginalized groups. No disaggregation has been done, and the term “designated groups” could include some or all of the following – women, handicapped people, Asians, Blacks, Coloureds and the whole range covered by terms such as Historically Disadvantaged South Africans.

Anglovaal Mining Limited: Annual Report 2002. South Africa has recently transformed into a globally lauded democratic state, in which the constitution and legislation demand that equal rights be accorded to all. An enabling environment has been created by legislation on women and mining, which is more progressive than existing international norms and practices. The minerals sector has not risen to the challenge in respect of women, and it would be unfortunate if the industry employed and promoted women only to comply with labour legislation. The change in gender-defined roles of women – from home-maker, nurse at the workplace or sex-provider in the community, to a colleague or superior in the workplace, is proving difficult. A young woman, who was identified for fast-tracking into management in a mining house, commented: “They couldn’t understand why I wasn’t a secretary”. The minerals sector has high-level gender representation, particularly in the South African Department of Minerals and Energy, where the minister and the deputy minister are women. The Chief Inspector of Mines is also a woman, and at provincial, regional and local government levels women are well-represented at senior levels. How this will impact on the progress of women in the sector is still to be seen. Pragmatism is important in negotiations with corporations that have a very significant role in the economic life of the region, but that have done little to shed their image of reactionary, impenetrable and unapproachable enclaves of (male) power and wealth. It is perhaps this pragmatism which accounts for the fact that the SADC Plan of Action states that one if its objectives is: • promoting equality between men and women in the sharing of power and ensuring

the achievement of not less than 30% women in decision-making structures by the year 2005 (Delport, 2001);

The scorecard1 of the South Africa Department of Minerals and Energy, which will be used ed to assess the progress of companies towards achieving the aims of the Broad-

1See http://www.dme.gov.za/minerals/pdf/scorecard.pdf

based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the Mining Industry2, asks the following question of companies:

• Has the company established a plan to achieve the target for women participation in mining of 10% within the five years and is it implementing the plan? Few women have advanced into corporate positions in mining companies. The workplace circumstances of these women are under-researched, possibly because they are regarded as having “made it” and so joined the ranks of the privileged that are not in need of support. Such research is also complicated by the fact that women in corporate position are reluctant to be interviewed, and will only do so if they are assured of anonymity. While many, probably most, corporate employees would be unwilling to go on record as critical of company policy, what is of concern is the particular workplace conditions that these women are reluctant to speak about. Women in management positions are usually appointed into positions in sustainable development, human resources or communications – the positions perceived as “soft”. A number of women commented that, when they articulate social concerns at meetings, the combination of a woman talking about “soft” issues means that her views are taken less seriously than if they were articulated by a man. The specific needs of women, and procedures which would make it easier for them to enter the workplace, are not catered for in company policy. Rather, these are negotiated by individual employees with their relevant superior, always a man, and are thus dependant on goodwill rather than policy. The possible strategies mentioned included flexi-time, shared positions and day-care centres for children. "It's not easy," she says candidly. "I get up at 4am and do paperwork until 6:30, then wake up the kids and take them to school. I get to the office between 7:45 and 8am and don't stop during the day until I finish around ten at night. It's impossible to see my children and work," she says. (Women’s Net, 1999) Sexual harassment is part of the position, and ranges from the “Can’t you take a joke” kind to overt physical contact. Yet women are reluctant to report such incidents. The person they would have to report to is invariable male and they fear victimization and ridicule. Sexual harassment is not clearly defined, and is often so subtle that it is impossible to provide “evidence”. Women also know that there is no support structure in place, and as there is usually no other woman in the corporation who has a similar corporate status, they have nobody to talk to. A defining characteristic of women in management positions is their isolation. The workplace is an unsympathetic one for these women, where they cannot afford to express their weaknesses or fears. Unlike women further down the employment hierarchy, or women in mining communities, they have no social support system, nor do women from different companies speak to each others about their concerns. Company competitiveness prohibits this. They find it difficult to become part of the social life of the workplace. Social events are usually structured around “male” activities – sports and getting together in pubs for a drink. 2 See http://www.dme.gov.za/minerals/mining_charter.htm

Race has always been a complicating factor for women who want to advance in or into management positions. Apartheid education ensured that black people received an inferior education. This is reflected in the dominance of white women in management positions. It will be some time before this educational disadvantage is no longer a factor. Labour equity laws are seeing black women entering management positions, but, ironically, these are also creating further stressful situations for these women. The sector is a job-shedding one, and this, together with the acquisitions, mergers and take-overs that have almost become characteristic of mining companies, means that retrenchments are becoming everyday occurrences. Black women say that the fear of retrenchment within a company invokes hostility towards them as being “safe” from retrenchment. This further ensures their exclusion from “coffee and lunch break chats” with colleagues, and also promotes reluctance to assist them on the job. Sexism and racism affect the freedom of women in management to do their jobs, express themselves freely and develop themselves. Black women, in particular, are viewed as token appointees. Women have to try harder, work harder, deliver twice as much as men to prove themselves – and they still feel they don’t succeed. At meetings, the chairperson is more likely to pay attention to the views of a white male than to those of a woman, let alone a black woman. A woman described a strategic game she has learnt to play. She found that, when a superior asks for her views, recommendations, comments and opinion, her input was not credited to her, but to the superior. She now only provides a certain amount of input, and keeps the rest for a more public forum, such as an executive meeting. This is a strategy for recognition and advancement in reaction to gender, race and hierarchical constraints. At lower levels of employment in mining operations, the situation is no better. Legislation has opened up the workplace to women, who are now allowed to work underground in countries where this was not permitted before. Their circumstances still remain inequitable. The following excerpts illustrate the contradictions implicit in the advancement of women, and the additional stresses that the freedom to choose brings with it. Thursday February 20, 2003 The Guardian 'At least here we are equal with the men' Abrie de Villiers has turned up to work i n her usual outfit: a cropped, diamante-speckled T-shirt revealing a belly-button ring; thick makeup and lilac-painted nails to match her purple overalls. …The only clue to the tough world she inhabits is the six-inch flick-knife she hides inside her wellington boots.

De Villiers is the first - and only - fully qualified female miner working underground in South Africa. She has worked at East Rand Proprietary Mine just outside Johannesburg for the past year and is one of 34 women, and 3,000 men, employed to work underground…

"This is freedom," says Victoria Tyumbu, a 29-year-old single mother who has been a semi-skilled labourer at the mine for the past two years. She works in a team of six women who between them shovel 500 bags of gold ore a day, six days a week, eight hours a day. … ”We have the right to work where we want. We are equal with the men," she says…

There is also the threat of rape. Most miners migrate from rural areas to Johannesburg in search of work, and they leave their families behind. "You see a lot of ugly things if a man doesn't see a female for three months," De Villiers says. Thus, she carries a knife in her boot. If any of the men tried anything? "I'd kill them," she says. "And they know it." …

The women say the men often grope and harass them. "Sometimes I am scared," says Tyumbu, "but I know there are laws down here." But, even though the law is on their side, the women never access it. They think that if they make an official complaint the managers might decide that the mine is no place for a woman…

While women get equal pay and have to undergo the same physical tests as men to be offered a job, they generally only get to clean up, a term used for shovelling ore into bags for processing. (The Guardian, 2003).

For women in mining communities, mining operations represent an opportunity for advancement which is seldom realized. One woman commented on her unrealized expectations:

“It seemed to people that a strange 'wind' was pushing the 'beneficial rain' away from the rural area.” (Motala, S.)

Even though most women in mining communities do not share in the benefits of mining, mining operations can have devastating effects on their livelihoods. Traditional, cultural, spiritual and religious structures are weakened or destroyed by the entry of the community into a cash economy. The risks of violence, rape, and HIV/AIDS increase as men gain access to disposable cash. The influx of migrant workers, who themselves have no roots in the community and are without a family support structure, further increases these risks. Women in mining communities are rarely there as workers - they are there as the wives of mine employees or, frequently, as sex workers. Even if women have marketable skills, the isolation of many mining sites and the lack of credit and insecurity of tenure make it extremely difficult for them to participate in economic activities. Of the thirteen presidential poverty nodes identified in South Africa, six are major labour-sending areas, which means that they are areas where women have more work and more responsibility. They are responsible for heading the household, for retaining the man’s claim to land while he is away, for the well-being of an often extended family, for food security and attending to returning mineworkers who are often ill of HIV/AIDS, occupational illness or the victims of accidents on the mines. Women are not, however, given ownership or control of the land. For these women, the risk of even further impoverishment is great. In addition, peri-urban mining communities offer enticing opportunities to workers, which divert both their money and their attention from their rural families. Mining companies admit that they do not target labour-sending areas for development projects because of their remoteness and distance from any mining operations.

In Lurie's focus groups, rural women who are partnered with migrant men frequently complain about what happens when their man gets a "town wife," a steady girlfriend in the place where he works. Taken with his new romance, the man returns to his rural home less frequently and often sends back less money. Back on the homestead, or kraal, the woman grows lonely, and she almost always has children to feed. With unemployment at 37 percent nationwide, and with women profoundly subordinate to men, landing a formal job is usually impossible. Commercial sex as it is usually defined -

money handed over for a specific sexual encounter - certainly happens, but often a subtler transaction takes place. The woman gets an ishende, Zulu for a man on the side who brings her food or a little money. (Schoofs, 1999)

In South Africa, mining operations are providing family housing units to replace the ubiquitous single-sex hostels. Wives who move to these (usually peri-urban) areas are given no support in such a move. They are alienated in a strange and frightening environment, where they have no marketable skills, their traditional support structures are absent, their daily routine is completely changed and they have to negotiate schooling, transport, access to health services and acceptance into social groupings in a situation where the negotiation culture is very different to the one they are accustomed to.

Women are seldom consulted, or their views listened to. They are not identified as a stakeholder group in their own right, and consultation with the community is not broad-based enough to include women as a group with specific concerns (Musvoto, 2001). Women play a leading role in rural communities and, because so many men work on mines far away from home, the women effectively run the community. While they head most of the households, they only have decision-making authority within the home. In decisions affecting the broader community, most of the traditional leaders expect women to take a back seat and the chief, with his council of elders, takes the decisions. Women would therefore not participate directly in negotiations with mines (Hoadley et al., 2003).

In addition, “women noted that customary and cultural practices made it more difficult for women to participate fully (in development projects). For example, a woman in mourning has many restrictions placed on her. She is not allowed to participate in development activities. She has to wear a particular type and colour of clothing that tell people about her situation. She has to kneel down when talking to a man.” (Motala, S.)

The mining community presents few opportunities for economic advancement for women. They are not prioritized for outsourcing, and little encouragement or support is given to them to subcontract and provide services to the mine. They lack access to finance, either from financial institutions or from the mine itself, so they are unable to start independent businesses. Many mining communities present only a small market for produce, and even selling food is difficult, as women often have to compete with the farmers adjacent to the community who produce food for sale themselves. The mineworker is usually the only one who benefits from skills training. Women’s (unpaid) functions are the traditional ones of home-maker, food provider and child-minder. Should the household lose the spouse’s income, women are expected to carry out their responsibilities on a reduced income, even though they do not have the skills and training to undertake income-generating activities to supplement the family’s income Downscaling or closure has a far greater effect on women than on men, materially and psychologically. The houses they live in belong to the mine, their husband is dependent on the mine for an income, and they know that a mine is of a temporary nature. When it closes, they may lose their homes, schools and access to community infrastructure. Their informal activities, such as vending, would be curtailed or cease, as their market is mine-related.

It is not only her traditional role in the family structure that disempowers a woman. Her lack of access to financial opportunities keeps her in a subordinate position in the family and community, and she has no voice in decisions. She is further disempowered by the failure of mine management to ensure that critical information, such as retrenchment or a downscaling of social services, reaches her. This information is usually conveyed to the spouse, and there is no guarantee that the woman will hear about it until the event occurs. In 2000, women made up only 2,3 % of the workforce in the mining industry (Ranchod, 2001). The mining industry lags behind other industries, such as energy, in the integration of women. The lack of a strategy which aims to integrate women should be addressed by the requirements of the Mining Charter and Scorecard However, the Charter is vague about specific targets. One of the requirements, referring to the advancement of gender equity, is “Setting and publishing ‘stretch’ (i.e. demanding) targets and their achievement.” Without elaboration, this sounds like the voluntary initiatives concept adopted by mining companies, and which is viewed with suspicion by external stakeholders. Companies can continue to operate by complying with the minimum requirements of legislation, and progress towards gender equity will remain unacceptably slow. There are numerous and complex reasons for the low representation of women in the mining industry. Acculturated attitudes, chauvinism and sexism all play a role. The Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development project was initiated, by mining companies, to “identify how the mining and minerals sector can best contribute to the global transition to sustainable development" (Hoadley et al., 2002). The project was conducted in four main global mineral producing regions, with a number of scoping studies in other regions. Only one of the regional initiatives, the Southern African one, conducted research into the conditions of women in the mineral sector. The most vigorous objections to this emphasis on gender equity were voiced by mining companies. However, no sector could successfully continue discriminatory practices without support from other sectors. Legal systems impede the employment of women on an equal basis. In Zambia, the law does not allow women to work underground except by virtue of an exemption, which can be granted upon application (Masialeti, pers. comm., 2001). Educational systems, too, support the progress of men in the sector. Women throughout the employment range state that skills and development training are not freely available to them, and they are seldom specifically targeted for bursaries and scholarships. Religion, which is important in most communities, also perpetuates gender inequity, stereotyping and discrimination. The situation is particularly bleak for black women who are the victims of historic patterns of education and are found mainly in unskilled positions.

The greater vulnerability of women to the HIV virus is well-documented, and includes biophysical features, traditional practices such as dry sex and the cleansing of widows, and the cultural and patriarchal beliefs and systems that are still prevalent in Africa. The minerals sector poses additional threats to women and increases their chances of exposure to infection.

Women tend to flock to mining operations in the hope of finding work. This is usually not available, and many of them turn to earning a living by selling sex. These sex-workers

are exposed to the proactive HIV/AIDs programmes implemented by mining companies, and are often used as peer educators, in particular to promote the use of condoms. In spite of the information available, the high level of education and support, and the high level of awareness, HIV prevalence continues to increase.

Sex workers in peri-urban mining communities are frequently women from underdeveloped communities. They have lost contact with their families, their living conditions are extremely poor, and their clients refuse to use condoms. In conditions where survival is paramount, and competition fierce, women have little option but to agree.

Campbell et al argue that, in the particular context of a mining community, interaction between two groups, migrant mine workers and commercial sex workers, is defined by a social construction of gender which militates against condom use. As a result of values and traditions, many women in Africa are not empowered to refuse sex or to insist on the use of condoms. If they were, it is unlikely that the epidemic would have spread to such proportions. It is common for boys to grow up in the belief that sex at will is their right, and girls are commonly socialised into believing that they have a 'duty' to satisfy male sexual needs (Hoadley et al., 2002). Socially defined norms of masculinity make men reluctant to use condoms. The behaviour promoted by socialization is reinforced by workplace conditions - men who are faced in their workplace with the possibility of death or serious injury at any time, do not take the threat of HIV/AIDS at some distant date seriously. Women, who depend on male clients for survival, are not empowered to insist on safe sex or to refuse sex.

Much has been written about the need for gender equity to promote progress to sustainable development. The MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA based its interpretation of sustainable development on the SADC vision, which is to:

• accelerate economic growth with greater equity and self-reliance; • improve the health, income and living conditions of the poor majority; • ensure equitable and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources

for the benefit of present and future generations.

http://www.un.org/esa/earthsummit/sadc -cp.htm

In spite of the emphasis that MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA placed on gender issues, its deconstruction of the SADC vision refers to gender equity only once, cursorily, as part of the social component:: “Stakeholders are mutually accountable for: gender equity, employment equity and security, as well as opportunities for career enhancement and sustainable livelihoods”. Women are tasked with providing for their families with minimal resources – frequently as single parents, often with few or no skills, and without access to credit or ownership of land and resources. There is wide acknowledgement of the importance of women as sources of strength within a community and of their ability to manage development projects and run their homes. There is , conversely, also wide acknowledgement that they are an under-utilized resource (Hoadley et al, 2003). This under-utilization will continue while women do not have equitable access to training, education and job opportunities.

Women manage natural resources as part of their daily routine. They produce 80% of the food grown in sub-Saharan Africa, but earn about 9% of the income and own 1% of the assets. They often have to work marginal lands, and so contribute to environmental degradation. Because of their poverty, and the lack of infrastructure, they resort to the unsustainable use of natural resources for food, fuel and income. More than any other group, women are the victims of environmental injustice, and they have to cope with poor environmental practices that increase the difficulties of sustaining their families. They have to provide food security where soil has been eroded and leached, and where water is polluted by acid mine drainage. They have to raise children in circumstances where heavy metal enriched sand and dust from mining operations pose serious health hazards, and where the streams running through playgrounds have been known to be as acidic as lemon juice (pH 2.3) - about 1000 times more acidic than natural precipitation. Good governance is a critical part of sustainable development. If the benefits from the mineral sector are to be managed sustainably, and shared equitably between all stakeholders, government policies will determine whether such an enabling environment exists or not. However, while governments should take the lead, governance is not just the responsibility of the state, but of all stakeholders, and the benefits accruing from good governance affect all stake-holders (Hoadley et al., 2002). There is a direct link between poverty and a lack of progress towards sustainable development. If women, who are the group most affected by poverty, and are managing their meagre resources to sustain families and communities, are given the opportunity, they would have a significant impact on the reduction of the poverty which is a characteristic of developing countries. The Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which is probably the most powerful bill of rights for women, sets wide-ranging standards for gender equity , but it also has more reservations against it than any other UN convention. A survey of the compulsory reports, which countries that have ratified the convention are obliged to submit at least every four years, indicates a low level of government commitment. “Most of our governments ratify international human rights instruments not so much because of a political commitment, but because of political expediency and maintaining a good image among the international community (Tamale).” Evidence suggests that progress towards gender equity is slow or non-existent. In many regions women, particularly those in rural communities, are becoming poorer. There is little progress to show for the impressive number of instruments and conventions that women have at their disposal, or for the progressive legislation in some countries. The author has been involved in the co-ordination of a number of consultative processes, and, in general, women’s organizations are very difficult, often impossible to engage with. There seems to be a need for capacity building to improve networking in this sector, as well as a need for creating better linkages between the various programs and projects. Civil society, including women’s organizations and NGO’s, need to ensure that governments are held to their obligations to CEDAW. Shadow reports can be used to monitor governments’ progress in gender equity, and to ensure that commitments are turned into actions. Companies too, should be lobbied to achieve a more proactive

targeting of women in development projects – and such targeted projects should go much further than the favoured courses in handicraft production. Article 2 of the Optional Protocol to CEDAW is a powerful additional tool. The article provides “a Communications Procedure which allows either individuals or groups of individuals to submit individual complaints to the Committee. Communications may also be submitted on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals” Those women who have the knowledge, skills and education can help the truly disempowered to voice their grievances. Every successful woman has an obligation to a constituency of women who are so disempowered that they do not know that there are other options and, if they do, do not know how to exercise them or are fearful of doing so in case they lose the little they have. References: The women who were interviewed for the section on women in management requested anonymity. The author has verified copies of meetings on file, but has not acknowledged them in this paper. Anglovaal Mining Limited (2002) Annual Report 2002, 88 pp. BHP Billiton (2002) Health, Safety, Environment and Community Report 2002: Policy into Practice, BHP Billiton, 62 pp. Campbell,C., Y. Mzaidume, & B. Williams , Gender as an obstacle to condom use: implications for HIV-prevention amongst commercial sex workers in a mining community. http://www.agenda.org.za/cathy.htm. Downloaded 15 June 2003. Delport, E., Gender Companion for SADC Parliamentarians, 2001. httpwww.up.ac.zachradv_coursescoursematerialsadc%20-%20governance%20course.doc.doc. Downloaded 12 June 2003 Hoadley, E.M., D. Limpitlaw & A.Weaver (2002) Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development in southern Africa - The Report of the Regional MMSD Process, MMSD southern Africa, Creda Communications Ltd. Hoadley, E.M., D.Limpitlaw & B. Sheehy (2003) (in preparation), An assessment of skill and resource capacity needs at the community level for participation in planning processes and effective planning for community sustainable development, Pioneering New Approaches in Support of Sustainable Development in the Extractive Sector, World Bank- International Council on Mining and Metals. Manifest Information Services Limited (2002), Female Directors in the FTSE 350 as at 29 October 2002. October, 27 pp Masialeti, M. (2001) pers. comm., e-mail: mmasialeti@mines.unza.zm Motala, S., Workshop Report. Rural women demand meaningful representation in local government http://www.agenda.org.za/shirin.htm. Dowloaded 5 June 2003

Musvoto, A. (2001) Mining and society - gender and mining: community, MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA Report on Research Topic 3, ed P. Kapelus, AICC, August, 43 pp. Ranchod, S. (2001) Mining and society – gender and mining: workplace, MMSD SOUTHERN AFRICA Report on Research Topic 3, ed. P. Kapelus, AICC, August, 36 pp. Schoofs, M. How HIV caught fire in South Africa: Part Two. http/www.aegis.comnewsvv1999VV990501.html.doc. Downloaded 1 June 2003 Tamale, S. Think globally, act locally: using international treaties for women’s empowerment in East Africa. http://www.agenda.org.za/ downloaded 20 June 2003. The Guardian At Least Here We Are Equal With The Men February 20, 2003. www.guardian.co.uk/gender/story/0,11812,898956,00.html Downloaded 5 June 2003. Women’s Net, Redefining Politics: South African Women and Democracy Women as Legislators, Chapter 4. 1999, http://www.womensnet.org.zaelectionswem-chap04.html Downloaded 6 June 2003.

Marie Hoadley

School of Mining Engineering

University of theWitwatersrand

Women in Mining Conference : Voices for ChangeWomen in Mining in Southern Africa

Madang, Papua New Guinea3-6 August 2003

The developmental state of the region (adapted from 2001 World Development Indicators, World Bank, 2001).

The changing face of the mineral sector in South Africa:

1. Legislation2. Shareholders 3. Mining companies have not risen to

the challenge with regard to the advancement of women

ANGLOVAAL MINING, ANNUAL REPORT 2002

Forty one Ftse 100 companies with no female directors - 3 are major mining houses operating in Southern Africa

WOMEN IN MINING COMMUNITIES

“It seemed to people that a strange 'wind' was pushing the 'beneficial

rain' away from the rural area.”

EASTERN

SEKHUKHUNE

KGALAGADI UMKHANYAKUDEZULULAND

UZINYATHI

MALUTI A PHOFUNG

ALFRED NZO

UGU

OR TAMBO

UKHAHLAMBA

CHRIS HANI

CENTRAL KAROO

Poverty Nodes in South Africa

Labour sending areas

WOMEN AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

"Human development, if not engendered, is endangered"

Governance

To improve the health, income & living conditions of the poor majority

To ensure equitable & sustainable use of

the environment & natural resources for the benefit

of present and futuregenerations

To accelerate economic growth with greater equity and self reliance

INSTRUMENTS AND CONVENTIONS FOR

EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN“Most of our governments ratify

international human rights instruments not so much because of a political commitment, but because of political expediency and maintaining a good image among the international community”

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

• Networking• Every successful woman has a

constituency• Lobbying of stakeholders – especially

governments and mining companies.