This paper asks a question: Do women have a better ethics of care towards the environment than men?
The answer to this question is an important one for the mining industry today. If the answer to the question is “yes”, the employment of more women in mining could bring about changes in the management of the environment within this industry; and an outcome of these changes could be a reduction in the pollution and damage caused by the ways humans currently mine the earth’s resources.
The debate about gender in mining regularly includes claims that the employment of more women will help change the industry. The article begins with the assertion that such claims rely on essentialist ideas about how all women behave, and fail to consider the production of masculinity as the preferred gender for all mining employees.
The article draws on the results of a survey (conducted by Factive in 2015) which explored the attitudes of women who work in mining towards the environment. It concludes that the sex of employees is not the best indicator of possible change in environmental management and practices in the industry. Instead, greater attention needs to be given to constructions of gender for men and women within mining, possibly by drawing on ecofeminist ideas.
“Instead of relying on women to save the mined environment, we should further challenge and change this gendered culture such that the environment benefits from a more feminist practice of mining.”
Access to the article is here. You can also contact Factive via our website to request a copy.
Reference: Laplonge, D. (2017). “The ‘unwomanly’ attitudes of women in mining towards the environment”. The Extractive Industries and Society. DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2017.01.011