Many women are involved in the mining sector in Rwanda, and active in a historically male-dominated industry. The Rwandan government actively encourages women to study science and engineering and established regulatory and policy instruments to promote gender mainstreaming in the mining sector.

Yvonne Uwimana, a mining engineer, makes a good illustration. After finishing high school, Yvonne studied at the Polytechnic Regional College where she combined studies with internships in mining companies where she learned the importance of due diligence in mineral supply chains. Today, Yvonne works for an ITSCI member company in the Rukoma sector of Kamonyi district. Yvonne focuses on ensuring compliance with the OECD due diligence including risk assessment and mitigation at the mine site.

A team of women crushing ores from the mine