How Can Extractive Sector Laws and Policies Contribute to Gender Equality?

Jun 23, 2020
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What do governments and international organizations mean when they say that they aim to advance gender equity in the context of natural resource governance? Many governments are making positive commitments to gender equity, but in countries where the extractive industries are a significant part of the economy, what do such commitments mean in practical terms and how do they contribute to positive changes in people’s lives and livelihoods?

These questions were the starting point for a new Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) project funded by the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Multi Donor Trust Fund and carried out in collaboration with the World Resources Institute (WRI).
 
Last year, OGP launched Break the Roles, a campaign encouraging governments to bring gender perspectives into open government. The NRGI-WRI research aims to provide insights and tools to help governments of resource-rich countries to do this. The project’s overarching goal is to foster gender transformative policy commitments by OGP governments specifically in relation in their extractive sector. Research is the first phase of the project, which will also include developing tools for governmental and civil society actors and outreach activities (many of which we will now do via digital and online platforms).