Challenging Masculinity in CSR Disclosures: Silencing of Women’s Voices in Tanzania’s Mining Industry

This paper presents a feminist analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a male-dominated industry within a developing country context. It seeks to raise awareness of the silencing of women’s voices in CSR reports produced by mining companies in Tanzania. Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in Africa, and women are often marginalised in employment and social policy considerations. Drawing on work by Hélène Cixous, a post-structuralist/radical feminist scholar, the paper challenges the masculinity of CSR discourses that have repeatedly masked the voices and concerns of ‘other’ marginalised social groups, notably women. Using interpretative ethnographic case studies, the paper provides much-needed empirical evidence to show how gender imbalances remain prevalent in the Tanzanian mining sector. This evidence draws attention to the dynamics faced by many women working in or living around mining areas in Tanzania. The paper argues that CSR, a discourse enmeshed with the patriarchal logic of the contemporary capitalist system, is entangled with tensions, class conflicts and struggles which need to be unpacked and acknowledged. The paper considers the possibility of policy reforms in order to promote gender balance in the Tanzanian mining sector and create a platform for women’s concerns to be voiced

The changing political economy of pension fund accounting regulation: a comparative study of four Anglo-American countries

This article examines the inter-relationships between changes in the political economy of pensions law and changes in pension accounting regulation in four Anglo-American countries. A four-fold property rights framework is developed that identifies the common inequities in the ownership of pension deficits and surpluses. Deficiencies are identified relating to various issues concerning the recognition, measurement and disclosure of pension fund surpluses or deficits. These aspects include inequality in pension provision, the capture of pension regulation through delegation to narrow professional bodies, the corporatisation of pension accounting language and discourse, and the general opaqueness and dimunition of public pension regulations. Until the 1970s, pensions were generally seen as being a paternalistic social security and pension funds were relatively unregulated. However, the social and economic consequences of ageing populations on the financing of public pensions has brought about a new emphasis on professionally developed accounting standards as a primary means of regulating the accountability of pension funds