Resource information
The oil, gas, and mining unit series
publishes reviews and analyses of sector experience from
around the world as well as new findings from analytical
work. It places particular emphasis on how the experience
and knowledge gained relates to developing country policy
makers, communities affected by extractive industries,
extractive industry enterprises, and civil society
organizations. This paper explores the divergent experiences
of women and men who live in areas that are directly
affected by oil and gas development, and highlights how the
industry specifically contributes to 'gender gaps'
in the unequal distribution of assets and risks. Evidence
from surveys and interviews with community members, company
representatives, and government an official in oil-and
gas-affected areas is analyzed and potential solutions are
presented to reduce inequality, increase operational
efficiency, reduce risks, and foster sustainable
development. The paper aims to demonstrate how oil
companies, policy makers, and donors, as well as citizens
and nonprofits, can benefit from facilitating more equitable
sharing of oil and gas wealth, with a particular focus on
the inclusion of women. It points out the gains that can be
realized through mutual collaboration to minimize harm for
those people whose lives and environments are most directly
impacted by the industry. Gender, as defined here, is
differentiated from biological sex: gender describes the
separate behaviors, identities and roles into which males
and females are socialized, and contrasts the freedoms and
constraints that come with these roles. This paper therefore
examines how gender influences risks and opportunities in
upstream areas of oil-rich, low income countries. The paper
adopts a qualitative approach to research, presenting the
perspectives of the people who live in the immediate
vicinity of upstream operations and attempting to faithfully
interpret what can be learned from their testimonies.
