Critical Minerals

Gender-responsive approaches to critical minerals supply will grow public and investor trust in mining and strengthen supply chain resilience. Acknowledging and addressing discrimination, gender-based violence, health inequality, and the disproportionate impacts of resettlement and minerals value chain operations on women, children, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and Indigenous communities permits individuals to realize their full potential and build resilient communities that are better able to prosper and to cope with social and environmental change. Addressing these issues will grow trust and lower the likelihood of conflict, whilst helping producers meet G7 markets’ responsible business conduct standards.

Recommendations

Maximize positive economic and social outcomes by adopting gender-responsive legal frameworks, international standards, and trade and diplomatic relations

• Integrate gender equality considerations into international frameworks, guidelines, and coalitions such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Sustainability Framework, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals, and the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.

• Require investors and mineral markets to conduct gender-responsive due diligence of environmental and human rights performance in minerals value chains, including using intersectional sex- and gender-disaggregated data and gender equality indicators in impact assessments and due diligence reports.

• Develop globally applicable standards for sustainable remining and recycling that uphold the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.

• Strengthen democratic institutions and good governance of minerals value chains in G7 and trading partner nations. Ensure accountability mechanisms (such as policy, law, regulation, standards, and tools) are gender-responsive and aligned with international human rights and responsible business conduct guidelines. Secure greater protections for environmental and human rights defenders and implement free, prior, and informed consent programs along the project life cycle.

• Use diplomacy and trade agreements to ensure mining, recycling and the management of land, finance, and technology in trading partner countries are gender-responsive and include responsible artisanal and small-scale mining in supply chains.

Build institutional capacity for gender equality in minerals value chains

• Enhance the capacity of governments to adopt gender-mainstreaming minerals policies; ensure that strategic environmental assessments, impact assessments, and remedy mechanisms are gender-responsive; understand, prevent, and respond to gender-based violence; and use sex- and gender-responsive data and gender-specific indicators.

• Build the capacity of women, including Indigenous women, to become active investors in the critical minerals industry.

• Empower Indigenous peoples and affected rightsholders with knowledge of their legal and human rights, access to remedy, and environmental and social impact monitoring.

• Ensure that women and men have equal access to capacity building opportunities, particularly in emerging markets where women are often excluded from property ownership, political processes, and professional development.

• Provide core funding and institutional support to women’s empowerment and gender justice collectives, such as Women’s Rights in Mining and international and national women in mining and women on boards associations.

• Strengthen international and national mechanisms for supporting access to remedy in critical minerals economies, ensuring that all mechanisms and programs are gender-responsive and continuously improved.

Foster cultural change and create space for women to participate as equals in critical minerals economies

• Introduce accountability systems that improve psychological safety, physical security, trust, and the realization of human potential for equity-seeking groups in the minerals sector.

• Establish systems to prevent, respond to, monitor, report on, and remedy gender-based violence related to mineral sector development.

• Advocate for equality in parental leave and flexible working arrangements in critical minerals institutions along project, asset, and product life cycles.

• Ensure gender-responsive occupational safety and health beyond mining to include processing, logistics, seafaring, and recycling.

• Deliver equitable access to quality health care in critical minerals communities, paying particular attention to the specific health needs of women, children and the elderly.

Rationale

Improving accountability through the adoption of international standards, leveraging trade and diplomatic relations, and implementing consultation, participation, and grievance mechanisms that are gender responsive and aligned with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ensures that gender equality and human rights are prioritized in the critical minerals sector. This helps to mitigate social exclusion and environmental degradation and to maximize local benefits. It also supports the minimization of conflict and associated harms to fragile communities and resistance to the development of poorly designed and implemented minerals projects. This, in turn, builds the social licence to operate and fosters a more equitable and sustainable industry.

Empowering institutions and communities builds resilience and promotes gender equality in the critical minerals sector. Capacity-building efforts drive women’s economic empowerment, enhance community well-being, and support sustainable development.

Restrictive cultures prevent women from participating in society as equals, thus limiting their ability to fully contribute to growing economies and building resilient communities. Cultural change and protection from gender-based violence are essential for creating a safe and inclusive environment in the critical minerals sector for all genders. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the richest countries in the world in natural resources, with 60% of the world’s cobalt reserves. It also has militia groups fighting for the control of other minerals and one of the worst records of sexual violence in the world. Critical minerals production exacerbates health inequalities through pollution and occupational health and safety incidents. Addressing these issues helps to reduce harm, support victims, and foster a culture of equality and respect, which helps unleash human potential.

Footnotes

[1] S&P Global. Taylor Kuykendall & Katie Darden. (2022)

[2] The Machine Maker. (2024)

[3] McKinsey & Company. (2021)