‘We are surviving well’: Adaptive strategies applied by women in an underground South African mine

Abstract

women in the United States of America (US) have been employed in mining activities since the early 1970s (Cavender, 1988). In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the employment of women in the mining industry should be contextualised against its colonial history and resultant cultural marginalisation, racial and gender discrimination and lack of legal and economic rights (Arthur-Holmes & Abrefa Busia, 2021; Musonda, 2020). Moreover, the deep infiltration of Chinese mining entrepreneurs and their reservation of job opportunities for expats led to the lesser employment of citizens, including Purpose: Research into women working in mines in general is limited, and less so for their presence in underground mines. This study explores the adaptive strategies women employ to navigate harsh physical and perceived threatening interpersonal contexts in an underground mine in South Africa. A contexulalised framework and guiding heuristic contructs (structuration and agency) were adopted to identify and discuss women’s adaptive strategies for navigating challenging underground mining environments and to propose interventions. Design/methodology/approach: A contextual, qualitative descriptive design was used. Twenty-one women in an underground gold mine in the North-West Province in South Africa were purposively selected and participated in semi-structured interviews ( n = 18) and an informal group discussion ( n = 3). Data was analysed thematically, using ATLAS.ti 8 (a qualitative data analysis and research software programme). Findings/Results: The women identified challenges on three levels: intrapersonal, relational and systemic and adaptive strategies on four levels: intrapersonal (adopting a different perspective and questioning traditional beliefs), behavioural (self-defence, solution-focused actions, working hard); relational (supportive same-gendered groups, support from working teams, and safe interpersonal spaces for debriefing); and broader systemic support (approachable human resources (HR) department, supportive close relationships, and external stakeholder resourcing). Practical implications: Interventions are proposed to support and strengthen the adaptive strategies of women working in mines. Originality/value: Identifying and supporting adaptive strategies applied by women in the workplace can benefit women individually and their work-teams, as well as informing best mining practices and society more widely.