MSc student- looking for a field of research in Africa

Dear GOXIans,

I am currently enrolled in a M.Sc.'s program at HEC Montreal, Option Management, and I am writing my master's thesis on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility in the mining sector.

More specifically, the research question that I aim at covering is the following: How large-scale mining companies integrate a gender and development approach to their corporate community involvement processes? To answer this question, I would like to explore the following lines of inquiry: 1) the corporate community involvement as an issue of social responsibility, (2) the role of large mining companies in development projects in developing countries and (3) their consideration of gender issues.

I would like to do my fieldwork research in Africa (I don't have a specific country in mind) from February to April 2012. I am currently looking for a field of research and i was wondering if it is possible to assist me in terms of finding proper documentation on the topic of Women in mining and also making contact with various mining companies?

Thank you in advance for your help and I am looking forward to your response.

Sincerely,

NDIAYE Reyhanne
M.Sc in Management
Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) Montréal

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Permalink Reply by Bwesigye Don Binyina on December 19, 2011 at 17:32

Rey, I may not be in position to help you with all the details as expressed above, but I can point to some clues and direction. Uganda may not be such a wealthy mining hub, but the ongoing developments are quite encouraging and a good case study for all the issues sought by your thesis. There is alo a wealthy of hard copy literature in out Ministry of Energy and Minerals that might be of some interest to you, plus I believe our country and particularly my Organisation would benefit from your findings. Our Organisation is Africa Institute for Energy Governance and I am sure we would welcome you. For details and to link you our responsible team, please send me a message.

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Permalink Reply by Melanie Habwe Dickson on January 24, 2012 at 19:00

Dear Ms. Ndiaye,

My name is Melanie Habwe Dickson, and I am based in Washington, DC. I am doing some similar research for the thesis of my law graduate degree, and I am also looking for some sources. In particular, I am looking to research the effects that corporate human rights violations have on women in particular. I am not focusing only on the mining sector (I will also look at oil and gas companies as well as other corporations). I am approaching the issue from a legal perspective, so I will focus on any national, regional, and international laws in place that seek to protect women, and I will assess how these laws are or are not being followed.

One report I have found so far is here: http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_violence_rdc_eng_lr.pdf.pdf.

I would be very grateful to know of any sources you have found thus far.

Thank you, and best of luck,

Melanie