About Us - Gender and Extractives Network (GEENET)

Gender and Extractives Network (GEENET)

GEENET is a coalition of Women, Women’s Groups and Organizations working to promote Gender Equality and empower women by increasing their participation in decision making processes and in extractive sector governance. Based in Mubende District Central Uganda, GEENET is working to promote gender equality and women’s rights in natural resource governance.

Putting Women at the Centre of Extractive Sector Governance

By recognizing the critical role that women can and should play in extractive governance and raising awareness of the many barriers that continue to stand in their way, GEENET seeks to advance opportunities for women’s leadership in a sector where they often gain least for example through employment opportunities and bear the greatest cost of negative social and environmental impacts. GEENET uses a multi-stakeholder approach to improving natural resource governance.

GEENET disseminates information on who is being given the right to mine or drill, the terms of those contracts, how much money companies pay and governments receive for natural resources, and what other impacts on women such as environmental and social effects and whether these effects are being monitored and managed.

Our Mission

To promote gender equality and empower women by increasing their participation in decision making processes and in extractive sector governance

a) GEENET is working to ensure there is both male and female representation
on decision-making bodies. Once this is done can result in more informed
decision making on the future of the sector. The impact of the resource
sector on other indicators of development, such as health, employment
and education, is then likely to be more significant.
b) GEENET is working to ensure that policies on the equal participation of
women in the extractive sector are improved. This can be achieved if
policies are grounded in data and discussed by a diverse range of
stakeholders. Gender transparency can help promote equal employment

opportunities and more equal access to the economic benefits that
extractive operations create.
c) To promote gender transparency in the extractive sector. This helps ensure
all citizens benefit from extractive sector resources. Targeted
dissemination of data to women and women’s group helps promote more
inclusive debate on the management, impact and benefits of extractive
sector activities.
d) To collaborate with Companies involved in the extractive sector to promote
and protect the rights of women. Recognizing that women’s participation is
necessary for the achievement of sustainable development, GEENET is
working with extractives industry companies to increase their commitment
to integrating gender equality and women’s economic empowerment into
aspects of their operations.