Closing the Gender Gap in the Mining Sector: The Inclusive Practices

Authors

  • Nattavud Pimpa College of Management, Mahidol University, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2024.20.2.9

Keywords:

Gender Equality, women empowerment, responsible business, sustainability

Abstract

Multinational corporations (MNCs) are increasingly involved in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative to enhance the quality of life in host countries. Gender equality (SDG 5) is the key focus. This study examines how MNCs in the male-dominated mining industry in Thailand and Laos promote gender equality through their policies and practices. Using a qualitative approach, we investigated the experiences of stakeholders in the mining sector. Our findings reveal significant gender disparities in employment, health, and vocational opportunities. While MNCs are making efforts to address these issues, the complex interplay of stakeholders and cultural factors influences progress. To effectively advance gender equality, this research suggests a shift in focus towards strategies that actively engage women in diverse business roles. Providing women with the necessary skills and knowledge is essential for their growth and empowerment within the mining industry. 

References

Agosin, M., & Machado, R. (2005). Foreign investment in developing countries: Does it crowd in domestic investment? Oxford Development Studies, 33(2), 149-162.

Alkire, S., & Foster, J. (2011). Counting and multidimensional poverty measurement. Journal of Public Economics, 95(7-8), 476-487.

Asian Development Bank (ADB). (2010). Greater Mekong Sub-region Development. http://www.adb.org/gms/. Accessed October 5, 2011. Australian Agency for Development (AusAid). (2004). Mekong Delta Poverty Analysis. http://www.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/ mekong_poverty_report_04.pdf.

Blombäck, A., & Wigren, C. (2009). Challenging the importance of size as a determinant for CSR activities. Management of Environmental Quality, 20(3), 255-270.

Bondy, K., Moon, J., & Matten, D. (2012). An institution of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in multinational corporations (MNCs): Form and implications. Journal of Business Ethics, 111(2), 281-299.

Bovens, M. (1998). The Quest for Responsibility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Buckley, P. (2018). Multinational Corporations. In M. Augier & D.J. Teece (Eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-00772-8_432

Calvano, L. (2008). Multinational corporations and local communities: A critical analysis of conflict. Journal of Business Ethics, 82, 729-805.

Camilleri, M. A. (2016). Reconceiving corporate social responsibility for business and educational outcomes. Cogent Business & Management, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2016.11 42044

Caprara, D. (2007). The Best Diplomats: American Volunteers. Washington Post, January 7.

Carroll, A. (1999). Corporate social responsibility: Evolution of a definitional construct. Business and Society, 38(3), 268-285.

Carroll, A. (2000). Ethical challenges for business in the new millennium: Corporate social responsibility and models of management morality. Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(1), 33-42.

Charmaz, K. (2000). Grounded theory: Objectivist & constructivist methods. In N. Denzin & Y.S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2nd edition (pp. 509-535). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Cramer, J. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility and Globalisation. Sheffield: Greenleaf Publishing.

Crilley, D., Zolo, M., & Hansen, M. (2012). Faking It or muddling through? Understanding decoupling in response to stakeholder pressures. Academy of Management Journal, 55(6), 1429-1448.

Cruz, L., & Pedrozo, E. (2009). Corporate social responsibility and green management: Relation between headquarters and subsidiary in multinational corporations. Management Decision, 47(7), 1174–1199.

Dasthagir, K. G. (2021). Exclusion of Women Beneath Patriarchal Enclaves in Participatory Irrigation Management in South India. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 28(3), 408-425. https://doi.org/10.1177/09715215211030409

Duflo, Esther. 2012. “Women Empowerment and Economic Development.” Journal of Economic Literature, 50(4), 1051-79.

Eisenhardt, M. (1989). Building theory from case studies research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550.

Freeman, R. E. (1999). Divergent stakeholder theory. Academy of Management Review, 24, 233–236.

Fida, R., Paciello, M., Tramontano, C., Fontaine, R. G., Barbaranelli, C., & Farnese, M. L. (2014). An integrative approach to understanding counterproductive work behavior: The roles of stressors, negative emotions, and moral disengagement. Journal of Business Ethics, 130, 1–14.

Freeman, R. E., & Gilbert, D. R. (1987). Managing stakeholder relationships. In S. P. Sethi, C. M. Falbe (Eds.), Business and society: Dimensions of conflict and cooperation: 397–424. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

Global Gender Gap Report (2022). A report for World Economic Forum. Accessed at: https://www.weforum.org/reports/global-gender-gap-report-2022/ on December 1, 2022.

Goodin, R. (1986). Responsibilities: The Philosophical Quarterly. Boston: Kluwer.

Ite, U. (2004). Multinationals and corporate social responsibility in developing countries: A case study of Nigeria. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 11(1), 1-11.

Jamali, D., & Mirshak, R. (2007). Corporate social responsibility: Theory and practice in a developing country context. Journal of Business Ethics, 72(3), 35-47.

Jamali, D., & Mirshak, R. (2010). Business-conflict linkages: Revisiting MNCs, CSR and conflict. Journal of Business Ethics, 93(2), 443-464.

Jones, P., & Comfort, D. (2005). Corporate social responsibility as a means of marketing to and communicating with customers within stores: A case study of UK food retailers. Management Research News, 28(10), 47-56.

Kakwani, N., & Krongkaew, M. (2006). Analysing poverty in Thailand. Journal of the Asia-Pacific Economy, 5(1-2), 141-160.

Kansake, B. A., Sakyi-Addo, G. B., and Dumakor-Dupey, N. K. (2021). Creating a gender-inclusive mining industry: Uncovering the challenges of female mining stakeholders. Resources Policy, 70. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101962

Keats, D. (2000). Interviewing: A practical guide for students and professionals. Open University Press.

Kolk, A., & Tulder, R. (2006). Poverty alleviation as a business strategy? Evaluating commitments of frontrunner multinational corporations. World Development, 35(3), 542-551.

Kotsadam, Andreas, Tolonen & Anja, (2016). “African Mining, Gender, and Local Employment,” World Development, Elsevier, 83, 325-339.

Krukrowska, M. (2015). Can multinational corporations be sustainability leaders? Forbes, July. Accessed at https://www.forbes.com/sites/ forbesinternational/2015/07/06/can-multinational-corporations-be-sustainability-leaders/#72929fcf1edd on February 2, 2017.

Lantos, G. (2001). The boundaries of strategic corporate social responsibility. MA: Stonehill College Publication.

Lodge, G. (2006). MNCs: A key to global poverty reduction. Yale Global Online.

Maignan, I., & Ferrell, O. (2001). Corporate citizenship as a marketing instrument: Concepts, evidence, and research directions. European Journal of Marketing, 35(3/4), 457-484.

Matten, D., & Moon, J. (2008). Implicit and explicit CSR: A conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 404-424.

McKague, K., & Oliver, C. (2012). Market practices as redistribution of social control in less developed economies. California Management Review, 55(1), 98-129.

Meyer W. H. (1998). Human rights and international political economy in third-world nations. Multinational Corporations, Foreign Aid and Repression, Praeger.

Meyer, K. E. (2004). Perspectives on multinational enterprises in emerging economies. Journal of International Business Studies, 35, 259–276.

Miles, M., & Huberman, M. (1998). Data Management and Analysis Methods. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

Norman, W., & MacDonald, C. (2004). Getting to the bottom of “triple bottom line.” Business Ethics Quarterly, 14(2), 243-262.

Porter, M., & Kramer. (2006). Strategy and society: The link between competitive advantage and corporate social responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78-92.

Pederson, E. (2009). Modelling CSR: How managers understand the responsibilities of business towards society. Journal of Business Ethics, 91, 155-166.

Pimpa, N. (2013). Poverty alleviation: Corporate social responsibilities approach by multinational corporations in Lao PDR and Thailand. Journal of Business and Policy Research, 8(1), 60-77.

Pimpa, N. (2019). How Mining MNCs Promote Gender Equality through Sustainable Development. Cogent Business and Management, 6(1), 1-10.

Rani, S. (2021). Women’s Struggle for a Voice in Local Governance: Challenges for Veiled Women in Haryana, India. Indian Journal of Gender Studies. August. https://doi.org/www.1177/09715215211030585

Reilly, A., & Weirup, A. (2012). Sustainability initiatives, social media activity and organisational culture: An exploratory study. Journal of Sustainability and Green Business, 1(April), 1-15.

Rural Poverty Portal. (2012). Poverty in Lao PDR. Accessed at http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/laos, on December 6, 2012.

Shankleman, J., & Selby, S. (2001). Understanding the poverty business interface: Experiences from Tanzania. London, Environmental Resources Management/Resource, Centre for Socially Responsible Business.

Sinha, S. (2023). Five misconceptions about a career in mining. Accessed at https://www.minetechservices.com/2023/04/5-misconceptions-about-a-career-in-mining/

Spiggle, S. (1994). Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 491-503.

Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998). Basics of qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedure for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Thuvachote, S. (2011). Co-operatives and poverty reduction in Thailand. Paper presented at 2011, The 2nd International Conference on Economics, Business and Management, Singapore. Accessed at http://www.ipedr.com/vol22/1-ICEBM2011-M00003.pdf

Tokoro, N. (2007). Stakeholders and corporate social responsibility (CSR): A new perspective on the structure of relationships. Asian Business & Management, 6, 143-162.

Titilope, A. G., Ahmad Zakuan, U. A., & Osman, N. (2021). The state of conditions and challenges faced by Internally Displaced Women (IDW) in Nigeria: A social inclusion perspective. Journal of International Studies, 17, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2021.17

United Nations Development Program (UNDP). (2007). Assessment of development results. Accessed at http://www.undp.org/ evaluation/documents/ADR/ADR_Reports/ADR_ Lao PDR.pdf.

United Nations Development Program (UNDP). (2008). UNDP annual report: Poverty reduction and achievement of the millennium development goals. Accessed at http://www.undp. org/publications/annualreport2008/poverty.shtml. United Nations Women (UN Women). (2021). Progress on the sustainable development goals: The gender snapshot 2021. Accessed at https://www.un.org/en/delegate/progress-sdgs-gender-snapshot-2021 United Nations Women (UN Women). (2014). Transnational corporations have an important role to play in women’s empowerment. Accessed at https://www.unwomen.org/en/ news/stories/2014/10/ed-speech-world-investment-forum-geneva United Nations Women (UN Women) (2022). Women’s Leadership in the ASEAN Region. Accessed at https://data.unwomen. org/sites/default/files/documents/Publications/ASEAN/ ASEAN%20-leadership-factsheet.pdf

Van de Vilert, E. (2003). Thermo climate, culture, and poverty as country-level roots of workers’ wages. Journal of International Business Studies, 34, 40-52.

Vindhya U, Lingam L. (2019). Social action committees: Community intervention to reduce gender-based violence. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 26(3), 263-287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0971521519861160

Vora-Sittha, P. (2012). Governance and poverty reduction in Thailand. Modern Economy, 3(5), 487-497.

Wei, H., Wang, J., & Han, B. (2020). Desertification information extraction along the China–Mongolia railway supported by multisource feature space and geographical zoning modeling. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Observations Remote Sens. 13, 392–402. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSTARS.2019.2962830

Westphal, J. D., & Zajac, E. J. (2001). Decoupling policy from practice: The case of stock repurchase programs. Administrative Science Quarterly, 46, 202–228.

Weyzig, F. (2007). Corporate social responsibility in Mexico. Accountancy Business and the Public Interest, 6(1-2), 25-39.

Wood, D. (1991). Corporate social performance revisited. Academy of Management Review, 16(4), 691-718.

World Bank. (2005). Country development partnership for poverty analysis and monitoring, Thailand. Access at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTTHAILAND/Resources/ CDP-PAM/392031-1163056585570/cdp-pam_phase_ii_ monitoring_report_thai.pdf (in Thai).

World Bank. (2013). World bank on poverty: Indonesia matters. Access at http://www.indonesiamatters.com/946/world-bank-on-poverty/.

Xu, D., & Oded, S. (2002). Institutional distance and the multinational enterprise. Academy of Management Review, 27(4), 608–618.

Yang, X., & Cheryl, R. (2009). Antecedents of CSR practices in MNCs’ subsidiaries: A stakeholder and institutional perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 86, 155–169.

Downloads

Published

21-08-2024

How to Cite

Pimpa, N. (2024). Closing the Gender Gap in the Mining Sector: The Inclusive Practices. Journal of International Studies, 20(2), 255-276. https://doi.org/10.32890/jis2024.20.2.9