Diamonds and Mining are NOT a girl’s best friend!

Introduction, an intersectional reflection

Engaging in a dialogue about gender and economics is not intuitive. Especially, when the main understanding of the economy is based on the global free market, production, and the idea of meritocracy, which leads us to think that this dialogue would be limited to subjects such as equal opportunities between women and men and/or parity; and would leave aside other gendered and economic relationships of domination that are more discrete, normalized, and violent, such as gendered socialization and imposed gender roles. However, the recent resurgence of socio-economic and gender inequalities, and how they are interwoven, has made a deeper exchange necessary. We observe the emergence of an intersectional reflection in both economic and gender terms, which challenges the unequal distribution of wealth, natural resources, and the sexual division of labor.

This paper looks to analyze how socioeconomic inequalities between women and men in modern societies and communities arise from capitalist and extractive economies. More specifically, we will focus on the consequences of the arrival of El Escobal Mine to San Rafael las Flores (Santa Rosa, Guatemala) in 2007, and how gender dynamics and the role of women were (and still are) affected in the area by this new market.

Non-inclusive extractive economy, and masculinization of the productive force

Analyzing the gender factor when we talk about extractive activities when we talk about mining activities, and the social and economic dynamics that emerge from them, allow us to present them as gendered spaces and activities. Taking gender into account helps to clarify and report this inequality of inclusion, representation, and consideration of women in the mining industry and extractive development projects.

When large extractive companies are set up in communities where the globalized and capitalist economy is still “underdeveloped” they create new social imbalances, especially for women. Once corporations settle in the territories, the male predominance increases because mining is an activity that requires primarily labor, resulting in a real “masculinization” of the territories and the working force. The construction of mining as a primarily male activity, because of the risk experienced by the miners, and the (workers' and trade union) male culture, attracts new local and national male workers. The increase in the number of men in the region of Santa Rosa represents an increased risk for local women to be harassed and discriminated against.

In addition, the mining industry's connection to technology and machinery reinforces the misconception and "proves" the disability" of women and the "inadequacy" of the working environment for women. “(…) The history of early industrial mining as a dangerous, risky, and hazardous job created a myth of masculinity around it. Consequently, mining is seen as a job in which men go down the mines every day, endangering their lives, to earn bread for their families. The isolation of miners’ work and the shared nature of risks have contributed to building over the years a particular form of male solidarity that has given rise to the working-class image and traditions. Women are seen as belonging to this working class because of their men (…)”.

This limits women’s employment opportunities within these companies and access to new wages offered, except through a male partner. Women in this context are then often deprived of their livelihoods and new productive opportunities. They see the economic and social dynamics of male domination strengthening in the territory. Their economic dependence increases as the “new” capitalist and extractive economy excludes them from productive spaces.

“As a result of the protective laws and the exclusion of women from underground tasks, women's work became increasingly restricted to household work, while their pivotal role in reproduction and care work in mining communities was also insufficiently recognized.”

A violent and objectifying economy toward women

Beyond being a discriminatory economy, an extractive economy enhances and strengthens violence against women. When there is an increase in cash flow in the local economy, there is an increase in brothels, canteens, and bars as spending mechanisms for the male workers in these companies. Many local inhabitants mentioned that the arrival of the mine in San Rafael las Flores was accompanied by the increase of a certain range of businesses that they qualify as “negative”. For example, the number of bars and brothels more than doubled between 2007 and 2013.

This increase was expected, and it is not strange in extractive contexts. The 2018 judgment by the Guatemalan Constitutional Court at the El Escobal Mine, identified as the San Rafael Mining Case Judgment 4785-2017, reads as follows: “The availability of money in circulation will make the economy a focal point for business development, including the opening of bars, canteens, brothels, and others.” As sociologist Rosa Cobo Bedia explains in her article: “Child and adult prostitution is a fundamental element of this economic sector, which in turn is defined as a strategy for developing countries with high levels of poverty. In particular, it is a source of rural economic development for poor regions (Barry 1991: 71). In other words, prostitution, as a global social phenomenon, can only be understood if we show the link between economic inequality, immigration, and patriarchal power structures.” This quote shows that economic development through commerce such as bars and brothels enabled by new extractivist incomes is a patriarchal and colonial development, driven by a lack of knowledge and consideration of this kind of investment’s consequences on women’s lives.

El Escobal Mine, picture courtesy of Giulianna Maselli

The arrival of the mine to San Rafael las Flores led to a change in economic dynamics, increasing economic disparities between couples, between women and men. To this, we can add the arrival of brothels and bars to San Rafael las Flores, which led to an increase in domestic violence against women and teenage pregnancies, which is linked to the husbands/men’s abuse of alcohol, infidelities, and family disputes. In other words, men see their purchasing power increase, and the local market and social context encourage sexist spending. This proves that extractive and capitalist economies profit from women’s and girls’ bodies and enhance violence against them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, gender-based violence and discrimination intensify in mining areas, such as San Rafael las Flores, because of the economic marginalization of women and the sexual division of labor. In other words, when a mine or any other extractive business installs in a new rural territory, where the capitalist and market economy isn’t as developed as in urban areas, it leads to many gendered economic and social changes. These changes affect especially women and girls from these territories, who see the economic gap between them, and men increase drastically, as well as more sexist and violent behaviors towards them. As mining is historically and socially constructed as a masculine environment and profession, local women are not granted access to this new source of income. This increase of (men’s) spending power in the region leads to the establishment of a great number of types of commerce that objectifies and profit from women’s bodies, such as bars and brothels. Slowly, this economic behavior becomes a social behavior from men and starts affecting domestic life, increasing domestic violence, infidelity, and teenage pregnancies, just to give some examples.

This downward pattern repeats itself in many territories where extractive activities and enterprises establish themselves, and where women’s rights are demeaned.

Works Cited

COBO BEDIA, R. (2016): “Un ensayo sociológico sobre la prostitución”, Política y Sociedad, 53(3), pp. 897-914.

DOSSIER 4785-2017; CONSTITUTIONAL COURT: Guatemala, September 3, 2017 (p. 390-397)

LAHIRI-DUTT, K., (2007) “Roles and status of women in extractive industries in India: Making a place for a gender-sensitive mining development” in Social Change, 37(4)

ROMANO, R., & PAPASTEFANAKI, L. (2020). Women and Gender in the Mines: Challenging Masculinity Through History: An Introduction in International Review of Social History, 65(2)