Industrial Gold Mining and Female Empowerment

Does industrial development affect female empowerment? This paper explores the causal effects of a continent-wide expansion of a modern industry on female empowerment. Identification relies on plausibly exogenous spatiotemporal variation in gold mining in Africa. The establishment of industrial-scale mines induces female empowerment—justification of domestic violence decreases by 19%, women have better access to health care (23%) and are 31% more likely to work in services—alongside rapid economic growth. The changes are not limited to subgroups and are present across women of all ages and migration status. There are no clear changes in attitudes held by men—who are on average less likely to endorse violence—leading to a smaller gender gap in justification of violence. Despite fears that a positive shock to a male-dominated sector would reduce women’s bargaining power in the household, no such change is observed. Results survive several robustness checks relating to trends and treatment distances and are supported by results on community development, including night-light and health care access.