374
A. Lugonzo and K. Chege
Women are historically excluded from contributing effectively to the
economies in different sectors. The International Labour Convention
(ILO) of 1935 prohibited the employment of women in underground
mining.
11 Although many countries that were initially signatories to
this Convention have since denounced it, it depicts the attitudes that
existed at the time, relating to the participation of women in mining.
Some of these attitudes may have been transmitted to societies today.
It is common cause that there is a disproportionate number of women,
as compared to men, as active participants in the global economy, for
example in the extractives sector.
12 Women are presently at further risk
of being left behind in the global digital revolution.
Additionally, women were barred from entering the mining industry,
particularly in the upstream sector.
13 This exclusion was as a result of
inter alia, legislative restrictions, gender restrictions and superstition,
stemming from traditional cultural practices that designated gender roles
that have created the perception of women’s maternal function, particularly in traditional African societies that culturally relegate women’s roles
to domestic household duties.
The disparity is attributed to the lack of requisite skills to engage properly with these new technologies, which would hamper any attempts to
become active contributors in the 4IR era. The growth of technology
is an opportunity to overcome these inequalities, as it provides avenues
to upskill women, to address the displacement curve, thereby evening
the gender disparity. The segregation of men and women into differentiated sectors of the economy contributes to lower innovation levels in
professions that lack gender diversity.
14
11 C045—Underground Work (Women) Convention No. 45, 1935.
12 Adam Smith International, ‘Women in Mining: Can a Mining Law Unlock the Potential
of Women?’ (2017) Adam Smith International, 13, https://issuu.com/adamsmithinternational/
docs/asi___iwim_2017, accessed April 10, 2020.
13 Halo Media, ‘The Barriers That Barred Women from the Mining Industry’ (Mining Review
Africa, 2019), https://www.miningreview.com/gold/the-barriers-women-faced-in-the-mining-ind
ustry-in-south-africa/, accessed April 13, 2020.
14 World Economic Forum, ‘Global Gender Gap Report 2020’ (2020) World Economic Forum
Inside Report, 42, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf, accessed March 29,
2020.
A. Lugonzo and K. Chege
Women are historically excluded from contributing effectively to the
economies in different sectors. The International Labour Convention
(ILO) of 1935 prohibited the employment of women in underground
mining.
11 Although many countries that were initially signatories to
this Convention have since denounced it, it depicts the attitudes that
existed at the time, relating to the participation of women in mining.
Some of these attitudes may have been transmitted to societies today.
It is common cause that there is a disproportionate number of women,
as compared to men, as active participants in the global economy, for
example in the extractives sector.
12 Women are presently at further risk
of being left behind in the global digital revolution.
Additionally, women were barred from entering the mining industry,
particularly in the upstream sector.
13 This exclusion was as a result of
inter alia, legislative restrictions, gender restrictions and superstition,
stemming from traditional cultural practices that designated gender roles
that have created the perception of women’s maternal function, particularly in traditional African societies that culturally relegate women’s roles
to domestic household duties.
The disparity is attributed to the lack of requisite skills to engage properly with these new technologies, which would hamper any attempts to
become active contributors in the 4IR era. The growth of technology
is an opportunity to overcome these inequalities, as it provides avenues
to upskill women, to address the displacement curve, thereby evening
the gender disparity. The segregation of men and women into differentiated sectors of the economy contributes to lower innovation levels in
professions that lack gender diversity.
14
11 C045—Underground Work (Women) Convention No. 45, 1935.
12 Adam Smith International, ‘Women in Mining: Can a Mining Law Unlock the Potential
of Women?’ (2017) Adam Smith International, 13, https://issuu.com/adamsmithinternational/
docs/asi___iwim_2017, accessed April 10, 2020.
13 Halo Media, ‘The Barriers That Barred Women from the Mining Industry’ (Mining Review
Africa, 2019), https://www.miningreview.com/gold/the-barriers-women-faced-in-the-mining-ind
ustry-in-south-africa/, accessed April 13, 2020.
14 World Economic Forum, ‘Global Gender Gap Report 2020’ (2020) World Economic Forum
Inside Report, 42, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf, accessed March 29,
2020.