Gender and Sustainable Development in Mining Sector in India

The present paper is an attempt to investigate gender issues in the mining sector in India with a view to understand how these issues impact on Sustainable Development imperatives in the mining industry as part of a broader study of the Mining and Minerals for Sustainable Development initiative. Because of the male-dominated nature of the industry, in trying to better understand the gender issues at play, the study focuses not only on women’s experiences but also analyses how they are utterly neglected within the industry. It considers how mining industry contributes to sustainable development by promoting women’s economic advancement and reducing women’s poverty, by ensuring greater involvement of women in the mining sector. INTRODUCTION According to UN Millennium Declaration, "Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice”. Sustainable development must be for all, men and women alike. It requires the full and equal participation of women at all levels. Women’s rights are universal human rights and are protected by international human rights conventions (Hemmati and Gardiner, 2002). Yet, women and men do not experience today's challenges in the same way, be they economic development, environmental degradation, threats to bio-diversity or violent conflicts. It is clearly inappropriate to try and address problems, to identify the appropriate strategies, or to implement the solutions if women are not involved in the process. Gender equity is an essential building block in sustainable development. Indeed, none of the pillars of sustainable development can be achieved without finding solution to the problem of gender inequity (Earth Summit, 2002). Sustainable development must extend to all aspects of women’s contribution to ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------* The paper was presented in the workshop on “Women and Sustainable Development in the Context of South Assam” organized by NECAS and Women’s College, Silchar, 18-19 February, 2005. **The authors are Reader and Professor respectively in the Dept. of Economics, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India.