Spaces for Change (S4C) partnered with the Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) to convene the inaugural learning session for Ford Foundation’s partners across West Africa working to tackle the gender inequalities deeply embedded in the extractive sector. The learning session held in Accra, Ghana, from May 15-16, 2025, was organized under the auspices of the Centering Gender in Extractives Justice (CGE) project, supported by the Ford Foundation’s Natural Resource and Climate Change (NRCC) program.
How can organizations working in the extractives sector effectively center gender in their advocacy efforts and institutional operations? This question lies at the core of the presentations, deliberations, and extensive learning exercises by board members, executive directors, and program officers of Ford’s partner organizations over the two days. Building on the outcomes of a prior needs assessment, the learning session afforded partners a safe space to reflect on institutional practices, exchange regional perspectives, and strengthen collective capacity to embed gender equity within extractive governance advocacy in the subregion. Centering gender in natural resource governance becomes even more imperative as the global energy transition gains momentum.
The two-day convening kicked off with the screening of the docudrama, Earth Women, which vividly depicted the persistent struggles of women in the Niger Delta and more particularly, the gendered impacts of extractive activities on women in oil-rich communities. The film illustrated how women disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental degradation, health challenges, economic displacement, and gender-based violence in the extractive zones. The discussions that ensued after the screening revolved around what it takes to create real and lasting change? This set the tone for the learning exercises facilitated by independent gender experts.
Ford partners learned about gender principles and how to apply them to internal decision-making and external programming processes by adopting Gender, Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) approaches as well as the four-pronged conceptual framework: technical capacity, accountability mechanisms, organizational culture, and political will. Together, these approaches and indicators offer a comprehensive basis for evaluating how effectively organizations embed gender considerations into their structures, processes, and programs. Another important lesson is that gender does not focus on women alone, but rather, examines and responds to the different ways both men and women are impacted by extractive operations. In the same vein, the predominantly quantitative indicators used to measure women’s participation are problematic because they emphasize numbers rather than the quality of participation or its impact. That approach does not make sure that neither men nor women are excluded, both internally and externally.
Furthermore, participants participated in group exercises that deeply explored gender roles; how they create inequalities and affect men and women differently; as well as how they impose restrictions by confining individuals to societal expectations linked to their gender. Gender stereotypes further exacerbate these inequalities and power imbalances. The sessions delved deeper into how gender disparities are intensified by intersecting factors such as age, residence, migrant status, sexual orientation, ethnicity, tribe, race, disability, and religion. That is why it is important for gender mainstreaming efforts to explicitly address these intersectionalities. Such considerations must be central to strategies that integrate gender into organizational programs and activities, ensuring they fully tackle the complexity of inequality.
The learning sessions concluded on a high note with action plans developed to guide organizations as they begin to develop genuinely gender-responsive programs, embedding gender considerations at every stage. Each organization crafted its next steps, concluding the session with renewed energy and enthusiasm to implement these plans. Participants also learned from the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) movement in Burkina Faso, which has made significant progress in centering gender within mining governance. The PWYP movement advocates for an inclusive culture grounded in equality and has developed a roadmap and an action plan aimed at achieving key goals by 2030. Partners departed with the shared commitment to move from theory towards practical gender responsiveness, ensuring that neither men nor women are left behind in natural resource governance.
