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UNIVEN, represented by scholars Professor Lindiwe Zungu (OHS in Mining Research Institute) and Professor Tshilidzi Mulaudzi (Faculty Executive Dean), joined national stakeholders at the 2026 MHSC Women in Mining Indaba, held from 20–21 August 2026 at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg, to advance conversations on women’s health, safety and inclusion in the South African mining industry. Convened under the theme “Reinvigorating the Integration of Health and Safety for Women in the SAMI,” Prof Zungu’s presentations highlighted the need for gender-responsive mining environments and stronger action against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).
L-R: Professor Tshilidzi Mulaudzi and Professor Lindiwe Zungu representing the University of Venda at the 2026 MHSC Women in Mining Indaba, 20–21 August 2026.L-R: Professor Tshilidzi Mulaudzi and Professor Lindiwe Zungu representing the University of Venda at the 2026 MHSC Women in Mining Indaba, 20–21 August 2026.
The two-day Indaba brought together women in mining and key industry stakeholders to engage on challenges affecting women in the South African Mining Industry (SAMI), while identifying practical solutions to strengthen their health, safety, participation and advancement in the sector. The programme also featured a keynote address by the Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Honourable Ms Phumzile Mgcina.
Professor Zungu made substantive contributions to the programme on both days of the Indaba, with presentations that reinforced UNIVEN’s growing contribution to occupational health and safety research and transformation within the mining sector.
From PPE to Infrastructure: Designing Mining Environments for Women
On Day 1, 20 August 2026, Prof Zungu presented “Engineering Mining Environments for Women: From PPE to Infrastructure.” Her presentation challenged the sector to move beyond simply accommodating women in mining environments historically designed around male workers and towards intentionally designing mining workplaces for a diverse workforce. Her central message was: “For many years, we asked women to fit mining. The next era requires mining to fit its people.”
Prof Zungu argued that fit-for-purpose personal protective equipment remains essential but should be regarded as the floor rather than the ceiling of occupational health and safety for women. Inclusive mining design must extend to tools and machinery, sanitation and change facilities, underground amenities, transport, lighting, communication systems, security, ergonomics, emergency arrangements and work organisation.
A key emphasis was the need to move from designing for women to designing with women. Women workers lived experiences should inform HIRA processes, equipment trials, procurement decisions, engineering specifications, Codes of Practice, SOPs and capital planning. Prof Zungu further highlighted the potential of digital technologies, including AI-enabled wearables and environmental sensors, to strengthen proactive occupational health surveillance, while cautioning that technology should accelerate and never substitute sound workplace design.
She concluded with what she termed the “Zero Harm Test”: whether the system surrounding a woman at work enables her to return home not merely alive, but healthy, uninjured, free from preventable occupational disease, free from violence and harassment, psychologically safe and with her dignity intact.
Moving GBVF from Policy Commitment to Implementation
On Day 2, 21 August 2026, Prof Zungu shifted the focus to Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in the South African Mining Industry, presenting on the current MHSC-funded research project MHSC030/2025/26.
Her presentation positioned GBVF firmly as an occupational health and safety risk rather than a peripheral or private matter, emphasising that Zero Harm must also mean freedom from violence, harassment, intimidation and fear in mining workplaces. She highlighted how GBVF risks can emerge across the broader mining ecosystem from underground and surface operations to transport, accommodation, workplace power structures and host communities.
A central focus of the presentation was the transition from policy to implementation. While the sector now has the 2024 MHSC Guidance Note for managing GBVF-related safety and security challenges, Prof Zungu emphasised that the next critical question is whether the Guidance Note is being effectively implemented, trusted and used at the mine level. As she stated during the presentation: “A Guidance Note in a file does not protect workers. Implementation does.”
The current MHSC030/2025/26 research project will therefore assess GBVF prevalence, risk factors and impacts; develop and validate data collection and monitoring tools; evaluate uptake and implementation gaps relating to the Guidance Note; and ultimately produce practical, evidence-based recommendations for sector-wide application. The intended outcome is stronger prevention, trusted reporting systems, survivor-centred support and greater organisational accountability.
Prof Zungu further stressed that effective reporting systems must be built on confidentiality, non-retaliation, respect, support and action. She called for shared accountability between mine leadership, organised labour, Women in Mining structures and government, while emphasising that shared accountability should strengthen rather than dilute responsibility.
L-R: Professor Lindiwe Zungu with Dr Fezile Gabella (Managing Director of GALDEA Health) at the 2026 MHSC Women in Mining Indaba held at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg
Advancing UNIVEN’s Impact in Mining Health and Safety
The participation of Professors Zungu and Mulaudzi at the 2026 Women in Mining Indaba provided an important opportunity for UNIVEN to contribute to national conversations on creating safer, healthier, more inclusive and gender-responsive mining workplaces.
L-R: Professor Mulaudzi and Professor Lindiwe Zungu representing the University of Venda at the 2026 MHSC
Women in Mining Indaba, 20–21 August 2026
Across her two presentations, Prof Zungu advanced a consistent message: …achieving Zero Harm for women in mining requires more than compliance. It requires inclusive design, evidence-informed policy implementation, trusted systems, worker participation, accountability and continuous measurement.
Her closing message captured the broader aspiration of the Indaba: every woman in mining should be able to return home from work healthy, safe, unharmed and treated with dignity every day.
The Women in Mining Indaba was officially closed by the Chairperson of WIMAC, Mrs Beauty Senabe from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR). In her closing remarks, she emphasised the importance of having designated Women in Mining representatives or focal persons across all mining operations to strengthen coordination, representation and implementation of Women in Mining initiatives.
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