Take up courses in male-dominated fields "Female mining sector workers urge girls"

FEMALE mining industry workers have encouraged girls to take up courses in male-dominated fields such as mining to contribute to the development of the country.

"In general, females should not be pushed into secretarial and clerical work but rather directed towards the technical fields," Antoinette Ankutse, a female worker with mining and drilling services company, Geodrill Limited, said.

She gave the advice when female workers visited the Ofoase Kokoben Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti Region and interacted with the students.

The female mining sector workers shared their experiences in the field and explained why girls should consider technical-related courses.

The interaction was part of activities the company embarked on to mark International Women’s Day (IWD).

Among notable female staff of Geodrill Company are the first woman to work in Geodrill, Bernice Gbadam; the first woman to obtain a Geodrill driving permit, Doris Danso, and the first woman to pursue an accounting programme at the company, Becky Elithia.

"As part of International Women’s Day, we went to advise and empower the girls regarding courses to be pursued at the universities.

We are into mining, and we wanted to use ourselves as a case study for the girls to realise that it is possible,” Ms Ankutse said.

She expressed optimism that the engagement would encourage the Ofoase Kokoben SHS girls and others across the country to take a cue from the female workers of Geodrill.

Delighted

The students thanked the female employees of Geodrill for taking time out of their busy schedules to empower them about their future careers.

Geodrill also ran a staff consultation as part of the IWD to discuss greater community engagement to encourage women in mining.

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually from March 8 to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Geodrill has long set out to be a leader in championing strong economic, social and governance principles that drive the company’s activity.

Increasing the percentage of women employed in the company is a clear target measured in the company’s annual environment, social and governance (ESG) impact report.