A new report out this week highlights the vast role of women in mining. Against the hyper-masculine image of the mining sector (and all the related legacies therein), you also find remarkable women facing tremendous obstacles just trying to find their space. (Report linked below)
Report after report documents their struggles: vicious discrimination backed by physical enforcement, shockingly lower pay & prices for the same goods, laws that work to deny them their personhood in theory & in practice, their common status as unbanked, the multiple gendered demands on their time. And yet, mining so often pays more than anything else. And when climate change pushes them out of farming, more and more women are turning to mining.
These are amongst the many reasons that I choose to focus on women producers. That, and it's embarrassingly well documented in international development that good things happen everywhere when you invest in women.
So how do jewelry and other industries move from just watching and marveling at them, to actually supporting them? By buying from them and investing in their communities with a proactive gender lens.
How do you do this?
In gemstones supply chains: are the following companies and initiatives your business partners? Why not?
- ZimAqua: Based in Zimbabwe, this mechanized small-scale mine produces stunning gem-quality aquamarines, black tourmaline, and mica. They also employ women miners. Check out their website and marvel at their products on Instagram! I’ll link to a NY Times article in the comments.
- Moyo Gems: of course, I co-founded and direct this program. It sources from women and men gemstone miners, is co-implemented directly with Kenyan and Tanzanian women mining leadership organizations, and philanthropic programs are channeled directly back into these host communities. Learn more at www.moyogems.com
- Mina Stones: This firm specialises in West Africa’s gorgeous rainbow of options. Mina is the real deal: a Nigerian changemaker dedicated to empowering ASM and their dynamic communities. www.minastones.com
- GemLegacy: Visit these women and invest in them. GemLegacy does tremendous philanthropic work. If you'd like to understand how ASM communities work, you should consider joining their upcoming trip to Kenya in July 2025. Link in the comments. You will meet and see Kenya’s hardworking women and men miners. It’s humbling. But again: don't just marvel. Respect, thru acting and intentional purchases and investments.
In gold: Given the state of recycling definitions and greenwashing, if you are buying “recycled” gold and claiming ethics, you are not helping. To truly be responsible, it needs to be post-consumer certified recycled or it needs to come from the following...
- Fairmined & Fairtrade Gold
- JustGold & PeaceGold
- Fairmined/ ARM are my favorite gold specialists who are also authentic feminists ❤️
#womenwhorock #esg #sustainability #gold #gemstones #jewellery #jewelry #behindthebling #supportwomen
