The Cordillera office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGBCAR) said that less than ten percent of the mining and quarrying work force in the region are women which is a clear indication that the country’s minerals industry remains to be male-dominated.
MGB-CAR regional director Engr. Fay W. Apil said that of the 7,355 work force in the mining and quarrying operations regionwide, only 728 are women where some of them are now occupying sensitive positions in the management of companies.
She claimed that women are now starting to embrace professions that are male dominated like in geology and mining engineering that is why the significant increase of women in the mining industry will likely happen in the future.
The MGB-CAR official narrated that during her college years, there were only four females in their geology class composed of 40 students.
However, she admitted that at present, there has been a steady increase of females taking up the male dominated courses and being employed in the mining and quarrying operations which now makes mining a mixed profession due to the increase in women in the said industry.
According to her, quarrying remains a male dominated industry and if there are women employees, they are signed in the offices doing administrative work.
Director Apil disclosed that in their previous visit to a mining company operating in Nueva Vizcaya, they were able to see females who are heavy equipment operators that is why there will also come a time that mining companies in the region will be employing female drivers, heavy equipment operators among others as there are already women wielders and they are doing well in their assigned work.
Currently, some women employees of various mining companies are now occupying positions such as ventilation engineer, safety engineer, safety group manager, environment manager among others that make them at par with their male counterparts.
Apil pointed out that women mine professionals were able to prove to their male counterparts that they are able to effectively and efficiently perform their assigned duties and responsibilities in their respective work assignments that paved the way for the mining industry to consider females to occupy sensitive positions that had been previously given to males.
Earlier, the MGB-CAR organized a forum that focused on the success of women in the mining industry in the region as part of the activities lined up for the month-long celebration of women’s month that will culminate by the end of March.
Apil encouraged young females to take up courses on geology and mining engineering for them to emulate the success of the ones that had been successful in the mining profession over the past several years for them to emulate or even exceed the accomplishments of those who were earlier employed in the mining and quarrying industries in the region.
The Cordillera is one of the mineralized regions in the country hosting various large and small-scale mining operations that play a key role in helping provide employment opportunities and spur economic growth in the places where mining and quarrying operations are being conducted. By Dexter A. See
