Despite Guinea’s immense mining potential, where mining activities represent 85% of exports, a large part of the population still lives below the poverty line, with women being the most impacted.

It is based on this unfortunate observation that Women In Mining Guinea (WIM Guinea), a non-governmental organization dedicated to the empowerment of women in extractive zones, organized an International Forum this Friday, June 28, 2024, under the theme: “ How to promote better involvement of women in the mining sector in Guinea? “.

The event brought together various players from the mining sector, state authorities, parliamentarians, mining companies, as well as independent personalities. The objective of this Forum was to create a space for dialogue and sharing of experiences to promote the involvement of women in this crucial sector.

It was attended by government representatives, international organizations such as UN Women and UNDP, mining companies, civil society organizations and development partners.

In her welcome speech, the President of WIM-Guinea noted that the mining sector is largely dominated by men, and that women currently represent only 10 to 17% of the workforce.

“However, today we are witnessing an important turning point: more and more women are entering the mining sector. They progress in their careers, lead teams and contribute to projects carried out on the continent. As a woman working in the mining sector for over 10 years, the mission of my organization is to raise awareness of the opportunities that this sector offers to women and to break down the barriers that prevent them from joining this industry,” said Ms. Aissata Béavogui.

To succeed in this challenge, the President of Women In Mining indicated that it is essential to raise awareness among political decision-makers and business leaders of the crucial importance of promoting and supporting diversity within all growth sectors of the country.

For Ms. Aissata Béavogui, it is in everyone’s interest to ensure that women have access to a promising future.

During this event, the different actors had the opportunity to discuss, exchange ideas and share enriching experiences around female leadership, in particular during a panel on the theme: “What policies to facilitate access for young girls in technical branches so that they are competitive in the mining sector in particular and in the job market in general.

A panel which brought together experts and professionals committed to gender equality, including Mr. Bertrand, Director of the Human Resources, Administration and Communication group of the CBG, whose intervention focused on recruitment and retention used by the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée to attract and maintain women in technical positions within the company.

For Mr. Bertrand, the attraction and retention strategy is necessarily dependent on the available pool. “With the available pool, we always have the possibility of training people, but depending on a mining plan, an organization and a mining strategy, the company must limit itself to be sustainable and to provide future,” he said.

He maintained that a company must limit itself to its role and, to the best of its abilities, that this attraction and retention project is part of a more global project including all the stakeholders concerned.

According to the Director of Human Resources of the CBG, the State must set a framework and put in place policies that the company must apply at its level to support women and the environment around them.

“The CBG, with 60 years of existence, is sufficiently attractive. But we have competitors and partners coming up behind, and soon the fight for the best talent will begin. We must train the best. For us, attracting and retaining young women requires positive discrimination. The company requires that at least two out of five candidates be women. And in the event of equality between men and women, priority is given to women,” he confided.

He recalled that two years ago, the CBG was able to hire 31 young engineers, of which the five best were women.

“We are relaunching this initiative and, to facilitate this inclusion in CBG projects, we must support and protect women. We must give them confidence,” expressed Mr. Bertrand.

Should we remember that this second edition is part of the celebration of International Women in Mining Day, celebrated on June 15 and established in 2022 by International Women in Mining, dedicated to raising awareness of advances in the field of gender equality in the mining sector and reflection on the remaining challenges.

The day’s slogan, “I Am Mining and I Belong,” calls on the global mining industry to celebrate the talents and contributions of women, while working for gender equality in the sector.

Source : guineenews.org