‘Mining women’ and livelihoods: Examining the dominant and emerging issues in the ASM gendered economic space

Ofosu, G., Sarpong, D., Torbor, M. and Asante, S. (2024) ‘Mining women’ and livelihoods: Examining the dominant and emerging issues in the ASM gendered economic space. Economic and Industrial Democracy, (doi: 10.1177/0143831x231212562) (Early Online Publication)

Abstract

The intractable challenges faced by female mine workers have come to dominate the discourse and scholarship on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) operations. However, the extensive focus on the informal and labour-intensive segments has engendered a failure to capture the nuances in the duality of ASM operations and how it impacts female outcomes. Drawing on intersectionality as a lens, in this article the authors map the dynamics on how issues related to the gender, situatedness and positionality of female mine workers interact to shape their situated labour outcomes. Highlighting the differentiated outcomes for female mine workers within the contingencies of the broader socio-cultural context in which ASM work is organised, the article sheds light on how the social identity structures such as gender, sexuality and class interact to give form to the marginalisation, occupational roles, the ‘boom town’ narrative and occupational and health challenges that characterise the ASM gendered economic space.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Early Online Publication
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Torbor, Dr Mabel
• Authors: Ofosu, G., Sarpong, D., Torbor, M., and Asante, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: Economic and Industrial Democracy
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• ISSN: 0143-831X
• ISSN (Online): 1461-7099
• Published Online: 09 January 2024
• Copyright Holders: Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024
• First Published: First published in Economic and Industrial Democracy 2023
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence