Women in mining

They work in male-dominated jobs, in the coal mining regions of eastern Germany, as excavator operators, machinists, firefighters and train drivers. We accompany female coal miners during their shifts in the lignite fields and experience their daily challenges balancing a demanding job and family life. Against the backdrop of current energy policies and the much-discussed coal phase-out, women in mining find themselves in a constant state of conflict.

About 18% of the approximately 8000 industrial workers still employed today are women. Compared to the mining regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, it is not unusual to find women working in the mining industry in eastern Germany. Since the 1960s, they have conquered what was once a male domain. The former proud statement, “I’m a miner, who is more?”, still holds true today, even for women.

However, the eastern German lignite regions have been undergoing a far-reaching transformation process for the past 30 years. In the area between Brandenburg and Saxony, a total of about 180000 jobs have disappeared and hardly any new ones have been created. When coal is phased out in 2038, the last 8000 industrial workers will leave the open-pit mines. By then, at the very latest, this special work culture of eastern German women working self-confidently with sophisticated machinery in typically male-dominated occupations, will no longer exist.