Quest for 100 women in mining extended

MANILA, Philippines - The Search for 100 Women in Minerals Development/100 Special Stories continues until Dec. 4. The deadline has been extended to accommodate more nominations.

In the Philippines where mineral resources abound, there are a lot of women involved in the mining industry who have not been given recognition as mining is thought to be the domain of men.

Internationally, the mining industry has not been an obvious career choice or preferred place of employment for women. Statistics estimate that for every 100 men who work for mining companies, there are only two women.

Mining has been a male-dominated work environment because it involves physically strenuous activities but in the Philippines a relatively large number of women are believed to have joined the mining workforce since the 19th century.

It has been noted that in the past century, Filipino women have been working as mining engineers, geologists, metallurgical engineers or just plain mining staff.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) and the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) together with Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) spearhead this year’s “Search for 100 Women in Minerals Development/100 Special Stories”. The search is in line with the centennial celebration of International Women’s Month that marks 100 years of celebrating the economic, social, cultural and political achievements of women.

The project proponents subscribe to the principle that the government and private sector should pursue gender equality in all aspects of the development process to achieve the vision of a gender-responsive society where women and men equally contribute to and benefit from development.

The search will give recognition to women who have shown excellence and ethical leadership in their respective field of endeavour and who have contributed outstanding accomplishments in developing the mining sector and made significant impacts in the lives of people living in the host and neighboring communities of mining projects in the country.

All nominees must be Filipino female citizens directly or indirectly involved in the development of the mining sector, must not be a member of the project steering committee or board of jurors of the 100 Women in Minerals Development Project and must be of good moral character. Posthumous nominations are also accepted.

For more details visit http://www.chamberofmines.com.ph or email at [email protected].