Gender Empowerment in Agriculture and Development:A Case Study using Aquaculture

Ken KellerNCGE Denver 2013kkeller1976@comcast.netKenneth.keller@cobbk12.org

Lesson OverviewSummary: In this lesson, students will examine how empowering women in aquaculture can lead to positive outcomes for gender equity and a state’s overall level of development.

Unit: Unit V (Agriculture, Food production and Rural land Use)Unit VI (Industrialization and Economic Development)

Connections to APHG Course Outline: V. Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use C. Rural land use and settlement patterns 1. Models of agricultural land use 2. Settlement patterns associated with major agriculture types: fishing and aquaculture 4. Roles of women in agricultural production and farming communities VI. Industrialization and Economic Development B. Social and economic measures of development 3. Gender Inequality Index C. Contemporary patterns and impacts of industrialization and development 1. Spatial organization of the world economy 2. Variations in levels of development (uneven development) 6. Sustainable development 8. Women in development and gender equity in the workforce

Essential Questions and Objectives

Essential Questions:1. What role do women play in agricultural production in different

parts of the world?2. What resources are needed to empower women in the field of

agriculture?3. What is the impact economically, socially, politically, and

environmentally in empowering women in the field of agriculture?

Objectives:4. Students will be able to explain the difference in women’s

involvement in agriculture in LDCs and MDCs.5. Students will be able to explain how gender empowerment

reduces a state’s level of gender inequality using the case study of Bangladesh women in aquaculture.

Class Brainstorm #1: What is Gender Inequality?• Men and women are not equal• Rubenstein: “The UN has not found a single country in the

world where women are treated as well as the men… The UN argues that inequality between men and women is a major factor that keeps a country from achieving a high level of development.”

• Hillary Clinton on Gender inequality from Half the Sky:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ8XwFMG5c8

http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Class Brainstorm #2: What is Gender Empowerment?• Rubenstein: “…empowerment refers to the ability of women

to achieve improvements in their own status – that is, to achieve economic and political power.”

• Used by the UN as part of the Gender Inequality Index: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/gii/

• Empowerment involves:1. Level of education 2. Number of legislative seats held by women

Sheryl WuDunn on gender empowerment. TED talk : Our century’s greatest injustice.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFgPtuzgw4o

GEM ~ Gender Empowerment Measure

• Part of the Human Development Index• Examines the extent to which women and men

are able to actively participate in economic and political life and take part in decision-making• More Power Higher level of Development

To the Maps!

1. Women in Agriculture2. LDCs and MDCs3. Gender Empowerment

What connections can you make between these maps?

http://www.worldmapper.org/http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/cdp/ldc/profile/

Map 1: Women in Agriculture

Map 2: Map of LDCs and MDCs

Map 3: Gender Empowerment

What the UN might say…• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDM828TpVpY

Women and Aquaculture

Collaborative Group Activity: Case Study Analysis

• Focus Question:

How will empowerment in small-scale agriculture result in decreasing gender inequality and impact the

development of a nation?

• Small Group Work:1. ESPeN Preparation including Gapminder Data Collection Evidence2. ESPeN Talking Head Analysis of Bangladesh3. Flow Chart Creation

(Small Scale Agriculture Gender Equality)

Whole-Class DebriefHow does your groups flowchart compare to the one created by the researchers?

What resources are needed to empower women in aquaculture?

What is the impact Economically, Socially, Politically, and eNvironmentally in empowering women in the field of agriculture?

Synapse Questions1. What are the long-term effects on development with training

women in the field of agriculture? Remember ESPeN! List at least two for each category.

2. How are gender equity and economic development related?

3. Are women’s activities in aquaculture sustainable?

4. Explain how each of the following individuals (or models )would respond to the case study results in Bangladesh:

A. Judith CarneyB. E. Adamson HoebelC. Demographic Transition ModelD. Johann Heinrich von Thunen

TED talk on Sustainable Aquaculture.How I fell in love with a fish

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_barber_how_i_fell_in_love_with_a_fish.html