from gender analysis to transforming gender norms: using empowerment pathways to enhance gender...
TRANSCRIPT
From gender analysis to transforming gender norms: using empowerment pathways to enhance gender equity and
food security in Tanzania
Alessandra Galiè, Gender Scientist, ILRI
Paula Kantor, Senior Gender Scientist, WorldFish
Jemimah Njuki, Senior Program Officer, IDRC
International Food Security Dialogue 2014: Enhancing Food Production, GenderEquality and Nutritional Security in a Changing World, Canada, 30 April-2 May 2014
Presentation overview
-Research focus and key concepts
-Overview of the ‘Crops and Goats’ project
-Research methodology
-Main findings
-Discussion
-A methodology to operationalize GTA
Overall research focus
Background:
-Persistent gender disparities in access to agricultural resources, markets and technologies
-Agricultural development to address the fundamental causes and consequences of gender inequality, how?
Focus:
-Linkages gender analysis, GTA and empowerment
-Option for operationalizing GTA in AR4D
In the framework of the Crops and Goats project
Key concepts
Empowerment
Replacing the domination of circumstances and chance by the domination of individuals over chance and circumstances Sen (1990)
The expansion of people’s ability to make strategic life choices in a context where this ability was previously denied to them Kabeer (1999)
Gender transformative approaches (GTA)
Women and men critically examine unequal gender roles and norms and act to challenge the underlying social structures, policies and norms that perpetuate them
The Crops and Goats project (CGP): overview
Title: ‘Integrating Dairy Goat and Root Crop Production for
Increasing Food, Nutrition and Income Security of
Smallholder Farmers in Tanzania’
Partners: Sokoine Univ. of Agriculture, TZ; Univ. of Alberta; ILRI
Project duration: 42 months (February 2011 - August 2014)
Donors: IDRC, CIDA
CGP’s objective and outcomes
Objective: Improve household income, food security and wellbeing
of 112 poor and women-headed hhs in agro-pastoral communities
through a community-based crossbreeding program for dairy goats,
and participatory trials for cassava and sweet potato varieties
Gender-related expected outcomes:
• Increased ability of women to participate in value chains
• More equitable social relationships between men and women
• Enhanced gender relations and empowerment
Main research question
Is the CGP project’s approach to gender
integration sufficient to progress towards
‘transformative outcomes’?
Methodology
1. Review of project’s gender strategy
2. In-depth interviews with involved livestock keepers:
• Aug 2013
Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) study
27 women and 23 men
• Jan 2014
Semi-structured interviews on changes in gender relations 17 women and 17 men
Project’s gender strategy
-Gender analysis to assess the situation overtime
-Integration of gender in project activities & evaluation
Gender-specific activities:
• Gender transformative and awareness raising trainings
• Secure co-ownership of goats and access to seed
• Facilitate women’s participation in technical trainings
• Ensure women and men have the same access to and control of resources, technologies, opportunities
Main findings from in-depth interviews
Division of labour: many farmers emphasized that all activities are shared; dairy goats are mostly looked after by women and children (after school)
Decision-making: mostly rests with the men although some mentioned increased consultation
Independence: women mostly, and also men felt milk (sold or consumed) reduced reliance on loans
Nutrition and food security: women in particular valued the reliable access to milk and their control of its consumption in the household
Discussion
1. Do gender trainings provide a space to question
gender norms or only a language of equity?
2. Is women’s increase economic independence
strategic or adds a further burden?
3. Is gender equity about sameness or enabling
choices and opportunities?
Discussion continued
4. Who decides what are desirable gender relations?
5. Is a non-participatory approach to empowerment
intrinsically disempowering?
6. What is the potential for larger-scale impact when
wider gender norms are not addressed?
A methodology to operationalize GTA
Individual level: Participatory empowerment pathways
Aim: question assumptions and practices; develop aspirations for self-determination; enhance capabilities to define needs, voice them and act
Societal level: Engage with media for social change; leverage collective action through groups
Aim: catalyze questioning of gender norms towards less strict normative frameworks to allow adoption of more gender equitable behaviors
Proposed approach at individual level: Participatory empowerment pathways
Participatory action research with value chain actors to:
-Define empowerment
-Formulate individual empowerment goals
-Identify opportunities and threats to achieving goals
-Diagnose constraints & solutions in value chains
-Define key indicators to monitor progress towards goals
-Learn from the outcomes of the actions
Proposed approach at societal level:Media and collective action for social change
Media: Engage with innovative media for social change
Package messages interesting for youth as stories for TV and radio, distributed as comics and on social media
Foster social acceptance of new behaviours
Collective action: leverage groups
Build solidarity, reach ‘critical mass’ to challenge existing norms, avoid punitive sanctions