The Cordillera office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB-CAR) and mining industry stakeholders disclosed that women workers being employed by various operating mines and industrial sand and gravel companies in the region have been increasing with the onset of technology.
MGB-CAR regional director Engr. Fay W. Apil claimed that more than 10 percent of the employees of the 4 operating large-scale mining companies are women who belong to the managerial, mid-level and supervisory positions aside from occupying rank and file posts.
She said that of the 2,232 workers employed by the Padcal-based Philex Mining Corporation, 196 are females where there are also 14 female managers out of the 59 managerial positions.
In the case of the Mankayan-based Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC), there are some 175 female workers out of the company’s work force of 1,544.
For the Sangilo-based Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc., (ISIRI), a subsidiary of the Davao-based Apex Mining Company, Inc. (AMCI), some 70 workers are females out of the company’s 628 workforce where a good number of females occupy managerial positions such as the likes of Engr. Abigail Pis-oy who is the chief electrical engineer and Engr. Lyza Dim Apioten who is the mine division head.
The MGB-CAR official pointed out that the increase in the number of female workers in the male-dominated mining industry is because of the fact that females have elevated their knowledge and skills to a higher level that allowed them to acquire higher levels of education, qualifying them for available positions in the mining companies.
According to her, there is also an increasing number of females who are taking up mining related courses such as geology, mining engineering, metallurgy among others, apart from the fact that there are also more females passing the licensure examinations for these courses giving them greater chances of being hired in the various operating mines inside and outside the region.
Director Apil stated that the achievements of the female mine workers will serve as both an inspiration and motivation to the youth that females have a place in male-dominated industries where they will be able to also excel like their male counterparts.
She revealed that the big number of male mine workers in the various operating mines is because of the miners who form the bulk of the workforce in the already mechanized industry.
She underscored that the emergence of technology also allowed women to catch up with their male counterparts who had been dominating the industry for over a century now.
Mining industry stakeholders also confirmed the significant increase of female mine workers in the various operating mines in the region over the past several years which is an indication that females are now rising up to the occasion in acquiring the needed skills and knowledge for them to be able to effectively and efficiently work with their male counterparts in the male-dominated industry.
In the region, there are some six operating mines and 2 industrial sand and gravel companies that provide decent employment to both male and female professionals.