Maria the Miner: South Africa Seeing More Women Miners

America had Rosie the Riveter. Increasingly in South Africa, the face of women’s empowerment is a miner.

The mining industry is still dominated by male miners, but that’s changing. In 1996, the country lifted a prohibition against female miners, and now 15 percent of mining sector employees are women, according to the Chamber of Mines of South Africa.

But there is still more work to be done.

3M hosted a Women in Mining Empowerment Initiative in Rustenburg, South Africa. The goal: to educate and empower women in the mining industry.

“It’s about educating and training women,” says Ismail Mapara, managing director 3M South Africa, “as to what solutions are available to help improve their personal safety.”