59th EITI Board meeting

While there have been concerted efforts to strengthen the participation of women and marginalised groups in the extractive sector, progress is slow. According to the World Economic Forum, achieving gender parity could take 131 years at the current pace – a projection that is likely even longer in the extractive sector. The path to inclusivity is marked by several barriers: lack of training and mentorship opportunities, underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles, and limited access to economic opportunities and funding, to name a few.  

To support efforts to overcome these challenges, the 2023 EITI Standard now includes reporting requirements on company consultations and community consent; disclosure of gender-specific benefits of extractive revenues to communities; more granular gender-disaggregated employment data; and disclosure of environmental, social and gender impact assessments. In addition, the Expectations for EITI supporting companies include commitments for companies to publish a policy on gender diversity and employment data disaggregated by gender. Such disclosures can be a tool for policy makers and companies in developing concrete measures to strengthen employment and economic opportunities, mitigate the impact of extractive activities on women or gender-diverse communities, support more inclusive decision-making on the future of the sector and promote transparent revenue collection and allocation. The focus of the EITI’s work on gender continues to be on supporting the publication of such data and raising awareness of the updated gender provisions in the 2023 EITI Standard by showing how the publication and use of data has led to changes in policy and practice.

This session will focus on raising awareness of the revised gender requirements of the 2023 EITI Standard and making a case for EITI implementing countries and supporting companies to publish gender data in line with the global standard. Speakers will illustrate the use and potential impact of data in promoting more equal participation and benefits from the extractive sector.