THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL CONTEXT OF WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE MINING: CASE OF TAITA TAVETA REGION OF KENYA
Abstract
In recent times, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector has experienced enormous growth globally, with much of this growth occurring in the remote rural areas of the developing countries like Africa. This has been ascribed to the widespread unemployment with a worldwide consensus been reached that ASM is to a large extent poverty driven. Despite the significant involvement and contribution of women to the ASM sector, it is evident that women have not fully benefited from it. Women's presence in the ASM sector has mainly operated at a low level of the value chain, with dismal returns. The reason for their dismal participation and low returns remains unclear. Therefore, this paper takes a focused approach examine and understand the key bottlenecks to the full participation of women in the ASM sector with particular focus on social cultural practices. To achieve this, the study used data from a cross-sectional survey of 215 women working at different nodes of the ASM sector. Descriptive statistics and Probit regression model were employed in data analysis Descriptive statistics reveal that women are mainly engaged at the subordinate level of the ASM value chain, helping in low-end activities like vending food, credit, and carrying and cleaning of ores in the mining sector. The formal education level of women in ASM is low, and a majority of them don’t have valid mining permits. Hence they are forced to work in low paying tasks in the mining sector subject to exploitation from traders. The probit model results indicated that social cultural practices had a negative and significant relationship on the effective participation of women in the ASM sector. The study recommends policies that aim at sensitizing women through educational and training programs and organizing them into groups to increase their bargaining power.
Keywords: Artisanal and small-scale mining: Probit regression: Social cultural practices.
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