(En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region
| dc.contributor.advisor | Ross, Fiona | |
| dc.contributor.author | Furniss, Allison | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-06-17T10:05:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-06-17T10:05:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2026-06-17T10:03:45Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation examines the everyday working context of women along the 3T mineral supply chain in Africa's Great Lakes region. 3T's (tin, tungsten and tantalum) are collectively known as “digital minerals” and classified as critical minerals, central to the production of digital technologies. Using a broad definition of extractivism, this research focuses on women who work in artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM), as well as women in downstream production roles along the supply chain. This includes female mineral traders, transporters, mine owners and women working along the export route. As a multi-sited ethnography, this study uses participant observation, interview and focus group methodologies. The androcentrism of extractivism creates a working context with significant gendered divisions of labour, gendered vulnerabilities and barriers to work. Due to these factors, women experience various extractive violences in gendered ways. These include subtle violences that are material and embodied, premised on disposability. Nevertheless, within the overall working context for women, I argue that women's everyday actions, how they narrate their everyday working context and their “ways of operating” all show that women seek to reframe and insert themselves into dominant narratives, reject victimisation and reappropriate space and place in extractivism. These combined factors contribute to a slow acceptance of their participation. Lastly, I show that as one follows the chain of production, women's participation in extractivism decreases as economic opportunities increase, in an inverse relationship. By focusing on women who put the 3T mineral supply chain in motion and whose labour contributes to the manufacturing of digital technologies, this dissertation (en)genders a global supply chain. This research is based on 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2022-2023 in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Furniss, A. (2026). <i>(En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,ANS: Anthropology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Furniss, Allison. <i>"(En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,ANS: Anthropology, 2026. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Furniss, A. 2026. (En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,ANS: Anthropology. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Furniss, Allison AB - This dissertation examines the everyday working context of women along the 3T mineral supply chain in Africa's Great Lakes region. 3T's (tin, tungsten and tantalum) are collectively known as “digital minerals” and classified as critical minerals, central to the production of digital technologies. Using a broad definition of extractivism, this research focuses on women who work in artisanal and small-scale mines (ASM), as well as women in downstream production roles along the supply chain. This includes female mineral traders, transporters, mine owners and women working along the export route. As a multi-sited ethnography, this study uses participant observation, interview and focus group methodologies. The androcentrism of extractivism creates a working context with significant gendered divisions of labour, gendered vulnerabilities and barriers to work. Due to these factors, women experience various extractive violences in gendered ways. These include subtle violences that are material and embodied, premised on disposability. Nevertheless, within the overall working context for women, I argue that women's everyday actions, how they narrate their everyday working context and their “ways of operating” all show that women seek to reframe and insert themselves into dominant narratives, reject victimisation and reappropriate space and place in extractivism. These combined factors contribute to a slow acceptance of their participation. Lastly, I show that as one follows the chain of production, women's participation in extractivism decreases as economic opportunities increase, in an inverse relationship. By focusing on women who put the 3T mineral supply chain in motion and whose labour contributes to the manufacturing of digital technologies, this dissertation (en)genders a global supply chain. This research is based on 13 months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2022-2023 in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. DA - 2026 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - women KW - ASM KW - 3T's KW - global supply chains KW - Central Africa KW - mining KW - gender KW - the everyday LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2026 T1 - (En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region TI - (En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Furniss A. (En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,ANS: Anthropology, 2026 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43326 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.language.rfc3066 | Eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | ANS: Anthropology | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Humanities | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.subject | women | |
| dc.subject | ASM | |
| dc.subject | 3T's | |
| dc.subject | global supply chains | |
| dc.subject | Central Africa | |
| dc.subject | mining | |
| dc.subject | gender | |
| dc.subject | the everyday | |
| dc.title | (En)Gendering the mineral supply chain: women's work and livelihoods in 3T extractivism in Africa's Great Lakes region | |
| dc.type | Thesis / Dissertation | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Doctoral | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | PhD |