Living with extraction: gendered vulnerabilities and community responses to mining impacts in Ghana’s Asutifi North district

Mining continues to generate significant social, economic, and environmental transformations in host communities, often producing uneven and gendered impacts. Drawing on environmental justice and gender scholarship, this study examines how gendered roles shape experiences of mining-related vulnerability and how affected communities respond to these challenges in Ghana’s Asutifi North District. Using a qualitative exploratory case study design within a pragmatist framework, the study draws on accounts of 50 participants, including community members and local stakeholders. The study analyzed data using a hybrid approach combining thematic and manifest analysis. Participants’ accounts indicate that gendered roles influence how mining-related changes are experienced and negotiated. Men described vulnerabilities primarily associated with occupational risks, livelihood changes, and expectations of providing for their households, while women emphasized rising living costs, household provisioning, care responsibilities, and other burdens of social reproduction. Participants also described community-led responses, including information sharing and education, economic empowerment initiatives, and self-help activities. The findings illustrate how gendered social roles shape perceptions and experiences of vulnerability. The study contributes to environmental justice and community development scholarship by connecting gendered experiences of vulnerability with locally driven responses, while highlighting the importance of grounding interventions in the experiences and priorities articulated by affected communities.