The race for critical and rare-earth mineral dominance is escalating, underscored by the Trump administration’s recent agreement with Ukraine. Demand for critical minerals—which power clean energy, artificial intelligence, and much more—is now projected, in a net-zero scenario, to nearly triple by 2030. These minerals are often extracted from the world’s most blood-soaked soil, where women and girls already face heightened risks from armed conflict. Proliferation of mineral agreements will uniquely impact women, who are crucial to the success of mining yet disproportionately shoulder its negative consequences.
Women’s inclusion leads to better outcomes for mining projects. Women’s employment and leadership are associated with greater profit, improved risk management, and better community relations. Mining companies in Chile, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea—key sites for critical mineral extraction—found that women more efficiently operate heavy equipment than men; an Australian mining firm reported that its most inclusive teams had 67 percent fewer injuries while remaining more productive. Higher rates of female representation on mining companies’ boards is even associated with improved performance on environmental, social, and governance indicators. Beyond employment through mining firms, women serve as crucial interlocutors for extraction projects and local populations, given their leadership in environmental defense movements and as community organizers.
Women are also the backbone of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Although data is sparse, women carry out 40 to 90 percent of ASM depending on the region. ASM accounts for a significant share of many critical and rare-earth minerals and is especially common in areas with high rates of poverty and loose regulation—including fragile and conflict-affected settings. More than 10 percent of the global cobalt supply, vital for electric vehicles and cellphones, comes just from ASM in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Women also play a major role in processing raw minerals; for example, women handle an estimated 90 percent of processing in Mali and Burkina Faso.
Yet, despite their involvement in mining, women are far less likely to benefit from current or future mineral deals. Men are often prioritized for mining jobs over women due to discriminatory laws, insufficient education and training, social norms, and even superstition. For instance, two-thirds of mining codes in 21 countries where ASM occurs fail to support women’s access to and control over resources, while 60 countries have laws restricting women’s employment in mining.
As a result, women lose out on the economic benefits promised by mineral deals. Instead, they are pushed to the margins and forced to engage in lower-yield and higher-risk practices such as ASM. Women in ASM typically earn just one-third the profit of their male counterparts while exposed to exponentially greater risk. Even when women are employed in the formal mining sector, they earn less than their male colleagues while navigating poor working conditions, inadequate sanitation, and violence. Economic harm extends to women in communities near mining projects; during resettlement programs, women are more likely to lose access to land they depend on due to inheritance laws that give preference to men and a lack of formal title.
Women working in and living near mines also bear the brunt of health and environmental impacts. Women are exposed to higher levels of toxins, causing deadly illnesses and reproductive effects, including premature birth and miscarriage. Women are more likely to engage in ASM and thus handle toxins without proper protective equipment. They are also typically responsible for fetching water, washing clothes, and small-scale agriculture, which exposes them to pollutants in water and soil. In southeastern Senegal, for instance, the soil near gold mining villages was found to contain up to 100 times the amount of mercury considered “safe.”
Mineral deals may also lead to spikes in sexual violence, trafficking, and sexual exploitation. Areas already experiencing high levels of conflict-related sexual violence are particularly at risk, as these harms are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. Women face harassment, abuse, and rape both when working in mines—particularly underground—and living nearby. Trafficking of women and girls for sex also surges around mining camps in order to meet the demands of the majority-male workforce. Preexisting displacement due to conflict renders women and girls even more vulnerable to trafficking, as seen in both Venezuela and Burkina Faso. The concentration of mining profits in men’s hands also pushes women to engage in sex work and transactional sex as a means of survival. This drives local transmission of diseases such as HIV and can trap women and girls in poverty if they unexpectedly fall pregnant. Notably, both trafficking and sex work can draw armed groups into closer proximity to mining projects as they seek to profit from these illicit economies.
Not only are these effects devastating to the women and girls who endure them, but they also undermine the overall success of mineral agreements. Failing to harness women’s leadership, influence, and talent comes at a demonstrated cost to mining projects’ profit and productivity. Harm to women’s health as well as increasing sexual violence and exploitation destroy community relations, create long-term liability, and cause reputational damage, including with investors and shareholders. While data specifically on mining projects is limited, sexual abuse allegations against other international actors—such as U.N. peacekeepers—increases community mistrust and undermines mission effectiveness. Such accusations, for instance, sowed anger and resentment toward U.N. peacekeepers in Congo, which ultimately helped trigger their early withdrawal. Ensuring secure and sustainable access to critical and rare-earth minerals—particularly in already precarious conflict-affected and fragile settings—requires mitigating these risks.
First, women’s leadership is needed at all levels and stages of negotiating and implementing mineral deals. Local women’s organizations and other members of minority groups should be consulted and included in preliminary discussions and in subsequent impact assessments related to new agreements. As part of these deals, mining firms should also commit to training and recruiting female employees, including from local communities. Host countries for mining projects must also better leverage women’s leadership in negotiating mineral agreements and in overseeing project implementation. Globally, just 12 percent of female cabinet ministers work on energy, natural resource fuels, and mining, leaving ample room for growth.
Second, mineral agreements must utilize women’s talent and local knowledge by including measures to promote their safe employment, particularly for those already working in ASM. Mining firms should provide training and skill-building for women so they are able to access well-paying and lower-risk jobs, and they should address barriers to retention, including harassment and inadequate sanitation. Advances in mining technology now mean that employment in mining need not necessarily be predicated on physical strength, creating new opportunities for women that must be seized. Firms can also benefit from involving women throughout the value chain for critical and rare-earth minerals. For instance, women near a copper-gold mine in Pakistan were hired to create uniforms building on the local embroidery tradition. Partnering with women’s organizations can reveal what skills already exist, what trainings are necessary, and how best to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship. Not only do these strategies expand firms’ labor pool, but ensuring the economic benefits of mining deals are shared between men and women is a crucial protective strategy against trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Third, mineral deals can be a catalyst to address discriminatory mining and property laws. Governments and companies negotiating mining deals with host countries have unique leverage to encourage the reform of laws that prevent women from economically benefiting from these projects. In partnership with female leaders, mining companies can also provide technical expertise and gender-disaggregated data to support an evidence-based case for change.
Finally, women’s health and safety, a cornerstone of community relations, must be prioritized across all aspects of mineral deals. During negotiations, any subsidies—including environmental exemptions—should be considered in light of their holistic impact on communities, including how they may affect women’s exposure to pollutants. Any agreement should include a gender-responsive long-term plan to deal with environmental degradation, waste, and derelict mines. Mining firms and government authorities should also get input whenever possible from female environmental and human rights defenders, who mobilize despite immense personal risk.
Mineral agreements, particularly in conflict-affected areas, must also provide for the security of female workers and women and girls living nearby. Given the mutually reinforcing relationship between mineral access and conflict-related sexual violence, deals to expand mining must address these risks; collaborating with local leaders and investing in neighboring communities—including livelihood opportunities for survivors of sexual violence and youth—are protective strategies. Firms engaging in mineral deals should uphold a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and violence against women and adopt standards for best practice, including the U.N. Women’s Empowerment Principles. Mining firms should also support local organizations and authorities in investigating and prosecuting sexual violence and trafficking near mines.
As countries—including the United States—rush to negotiate access to critical and rare-earth minerals, the benefits and risks to women must be considered. Women’s participation, prosperity, and well-being are core components of the security and economic landscape; addressing these considerations in mineral deals helps ensure their long-term profitability and stability.
The post What the Critical Minerals Race Means for Women appeared first on Foreign Policy.
