Paper short abstract:

The biggest shifts the South African mining industry has witnessed since 1994 has been the inclusion of women in underground mining occupations. By centring the experiences of women miners, this paper will look at how the underground mining world has changed since the inclusion of women in mining.

Paper long abstract:

In South Africa previously, women were forbidden from working underground. In post-apartheid South Africa and in keeping up with democratic ideas of non-sexism, policies to redress the exclusion of women have been adopted. While legislatively women have been 'included' in the underground workplace, their experiences tell a different story. This paper, through a feminist lens, will look at what is happening with women in mining. I will show the 'other' sides of mining and the heterogeneity of women working underground. The focus will be on women's experiences and understandings of their work and of themselves in the masculine world and how they negotiate the underground space.

Data to be presented was collected through the use of participant observation where I worked underground in a Platinum mine as a winch operator and lived with the workers for over a year in Rustenburg, South Africa.