Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), mining contracts and labour laws are powerful tools for advancing women’s rights and gender-responsive community development. Gender-responsive due diligence frameworks can help ensure that corporate practices promote women’s rights, equitable participation, and fair benefit-sharing. But gender-blind ESIAs frequently overlook women’s differentiated experiences, while mining contracts rarely contain enforceable provisions to protect women’s rights or promote inclusion.

This session, led by the Women's Rights and Mining group, will explore how legal and regulatory frameworks can be leveraged to promote women's rights in critical minerals governance. Experts will examine why gender-responsive governance in mining matters. The session will also unpack how gender-responsive approaches can be embedded in projects, ensuring that women and communities benefit equitably from critical energy transition minerals.

Opening Remarks

• Tim Schlösser, Head of Project, Extractives and Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

Moderator

• Elena Cornaro, Policy Advisor, IGF

Speakers

• Aida Diop, Country Manager, Senegal, NRGI
• Sarah Gebhardt, Negotiation Support Advisor, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) / CONNEX Support Unit
• Lynn Gitu, Program Leader, IMPACT Uganda
• Camila Pereira Reign Mereles, Extractives and Energy Specialist, ILO
• Cynthia Urda Kassis, Global Co-lead of Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure, A&O Shearman