Today, it's not uncommon to see women among miners. Modern technologies and expertise have encouraged them to take up this profession, so even here, it's no longer true that only men work in mines. Two Tameras, Tamara Božinovski and Tamara Ivanović, mining engineers, work at the Čukaru Peki Green Mine in Bor.Tamara Božinovski, 36 years old, works as an engineer in the geology sector. We found her in the field with a group of about twenty students from the Technical High School in Bor.Showing that nothing is too hard for her even in the fifth month of pregnancy, with a radiant and smiling face, she demonstrated mining measurements to the students.
“Yes, believe it or not, I am a mining engineer. But that shouldn't be surprising because helmets are truly universal, made for both men and women,” says the pregnant miner Tamara with a laugh.
“I think the prejudice that mining is a male profession has long been overcome. Women have given mining a stamp and a completely different perspective through their work. Even after 11 years of working, I can say that I am still in love with my profession. It is a challenging, dynamic, and exciting job that simply offers many opportunities. I am satisfied with the team I work with because the Serbian-Chinese workers are excellent professionals but above all, wonderful people and colleagues. They always strive to support us women,” emphasizes mining engineer Tamara Božinovski, who is also the mother of a daughter and a future mother of a son.Like her older colleague, Tamara Ivanović (26) is also a graduate mining engineer and also emphasizes that nothing is difficult or unusual about women working in a mine.
“For someone who has completed mining studies, it is completely normal to work in the field. I also agree that this is not a job reserved for men. On the contrary, the doors of our Company are always open to interested young people, among whom women are always welcome,” says this confident young woman whose job is to supervise work in the mine and ensure compliance with safety measures.“I, like other colleagues, go down into the mine shafts and work areas. I visit all these places daily. I believe we have proven that we are completely equal to male miners and that we can easily perform any job. Because we are women,” Tamara says with a mischievous smile.
In this Bor mine, out of a total of 1,259 employees, 17 percent are women with an average age of around 30 years, of whom more than 40 percent have higher education.