UN to assist Kenya to achieve gender parity in the mining sector

The UN will work with other partners to ensure that Kenya achieves gender parity in the mining sector, officials said on Wednesday.

UN Women Country Director Zebib Kavuma told Xinhua in Nairobi that women are currently underrepresented in the sector.

"This is largely because they lack access to knowledge and finance required to operate in the sector," Kavuma said on the sidelines of the Kenya Mining Forum.

The two-day event brought over 200 participants from the mining sector to review investment opportunities in Kenya's mining sector.

Kavuma noted that women in the sector are mainly concentrated in the small mining sector. Early this year, Kenya enacted a new mining law to replace the existing one which has been in place since 1940.

UN Women helped to develop the law that promotes inclusivity in the mining sector to ensure that the sector benefits the community hosting mines.

"The next step is to ensure that the law is implemented in such a way that it promotes gender parity," Kavuma said.

The country director said that the Kenya's mining sector will expand more rapidly if women are more involved in the sector.

"Women bring different experiences, aspects and concerns to the mining sector that are often overlooked," she said. The country director said that there are some women who have achieved success in the mining sector.

"We want to highlight their experiences so that they can serve as role models to encourage more women to enter into the sector," she added.

One of the ways the UN will help to empower women in the mining sector is through assisting women to form associations where they can pool resources together. Endit