gov1 ojobo atuluku

Gender Training for Government Officialsby

Ojobo Atuluku - BPW - Nigeria www.dip.com.ng

Gender responsive public service provision; meeting the strategic interest of the excluded- usually women

and girls; producing results for women and girls

24th May, 2014

“Empowered Women Leading Businesses”The XXVIII BPW International Congress 23rd -27th May 2014

BPW International Congress, Jeju, South Korea Atuluku, Ojobo Atuluku - BPW - Nigeria www.dip.com.ng 1

Gender Responsive Governance • Undertakes analysis for gender differentiation as males and females are not the same.

Neither females nor males are a homogenous group• Take an interested in having adequate knowledge regarding major factors that influence

and are responsible for maintaining or changing the structure of gender differences. • For gender balanced development to happen, policy makers need to aim in relation to

gender to – Create or deepen awareness, – Generate knowledge, – Improve skill and behaviour

• For gender equality and women empowerment to happen, officials must of necessity be able to– Step back and be honest about their position on gender equality – Develop skills – theirs and others’, – Build capacity to translate awareness into very specific practical tools

• Show evidence based results for gender segregated populations24th May, 2014

BPW International Congress, Jeju, South Korea Atuluku, Ojobo - BPW - Nigeria www.dip.com.ng 2

Underlying assumptions for this presentation• Gender not only the social construct attached to being male or

female but also the power relations that exist between men and women in public and private spheres; in formal and non-formal settings; changing across time, across cultures, across class, across geography,

• Government and policy makers as duty bearers and citizens as rights holders

• Equality and inclusion fundamental in good governance regardless of other socio-economic, geographic or political characteristics

• Government officials are duty bearers in their role in public service24th May, 2014


Underlying assumptions for this presentation (2)• In all major comparative development indices, females fare

worse than males• A focus on those worse off is central to development thus a

focus on women and girls as actors and subjects of development is a powerful ‘transforming’ tool for change

• Simultaneous attention to systems, institutions, processes in Government and in the communities and social groups

• Men and women are partners in transforming the status quo• Fundamentally, gender is personal and it is political

24th May, 2014BPW International Congress, Jeju, South Korea Atuluku,

Ojobo - BPW - Nigeria www.dip.com.ng 4

Critical Areas of Concern for Government Officials concerned with change

1. Poverty – the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women2. Education – inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to education and training3. Health – inequalities and inadequacies in and unequal access to health care related services &

reproductive health/rights4. Violence – Violence against women - Gender based violence 5. Armed conflict & insecurity- as it relates to women as victims, survivors and decision makers6. Economy – Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in

access to resources7. Power & decision making – Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-

making at all levels8. Institutional mechanisms – for the advancement of women (decentralized and strengthened)9. Human rights - Lack of respect for human rights of women10. Media – Stereotyping of women and inequality in women’s access to and participation in all

communication systems, especially in the media11. Environment – gender inequalities in the natural resources and in the safeguard of the environment12. The girl child – violation of the rights of the girl child and her invisibility13. Women with disabilities24th May, 2014


Gender Responsive Governance • To attain gender responsive governance, leaders need to have activities that

are able to – Understand the history that has kept women subjugated and discriminated against– Raise consciousness and create empowerment of women, individually or collectively

for long term, not largesse such as giving annual party/gift, – Find ways of making project design and implementation or service delivery more

gender sensitive by involving the excluded and marginalized especially women and girls – Bring about changes to how Government system and its institutions work to benefit

women and men, girls and boys • With the knowledge, appropriate policy, intervention can be designed to

enhance women’s status enabling them to take an equitable and just place with men and to participate equally in the development process.



To Empower Women• We need to believe that Women should play an active role in determining their

own lives/choices• We ought to aim to empower women in leadership across sectors & spaces and

build self-belief/esteem• Government Policies have to be as much about process as about product; arising

from the grassroots; organizing and politically mobilizing; consciousness raising, popular education, developing critical thinking; protecting fundamental human rights

• Don’t make it an issue of paying lip service to empowerment and participation by a ministry, department or agency; but make it potentially very challenging to power relations: concept of gender equality has become co-opted and de-politicized

• Let it be action led by women and girls, for women and girls, in partnership with men and boys



To bring about change, identify gender roles

This involves learned behavior in a given society, that condition which activities, task and responsibilities are perceived as male and female i.e. who does what in a given community. Work can be divided into

• Production• Reproduction • Community managing role and• Community politics



Productive Work

• activities carried out by men and women –production of goods and services • consumption -subsistence and • trade

• functions and responsibilities may differ –the gender division of labour–women’s productive work would be less visible and

less valued than men’s



Reproductive Work• Care and maintenance of the household and its

members–Fundamental for survival–Regarded as not being ‘real work’–Usually unpaid for.–Very likely manual, labour intensive, time consuming–More probably to be responsibility of women and

girls24th May, 2014


Community Work• Involves the collective organization of – social events and services, – ceremonies and celebrations, – community improvement activities, – participation in groups and organizations, local political activities etc.

• Not captured in economic analyses • Voluntary time• Important for – the spiritual and cultural development of communities and – Helps develop community organizing and identity.

• Both women and men engage in community activities– a gender division of labour also prevails here



Community Politics role

• Activities undertaken primarily by men –At the community level, –Organising at the formal political level. –Results in increase in power and status.



Triple Role Multiple Burden• Women, men, boys and girls are likely to be involved in all three areas

of work. • In many societies, however, women do almost all of the reproductive

and much of the productive work. Any intervention in one area will affect the other areas.

• Women’s workload can prevent them from participating in developing projects.

• When they do participate, extra time spent on farming, producing, training or meetings means less time for other tasks, such as child care or food preparation.



1st step: Undertake a Gender Needs Assessment• Women as a non-homogenous group –have particular needs and interests which differ from those

of men as a non-homogenous group, –not only because of women’s triple work role, –but also because of their subordinate position to men in

most societies.• These needs and interests could be –practical or – strategic



Practical Gender Needs:• These are often linked to women’s – reproductive role, – to inadequacies in living and working conditions and – to basic survival strategies.

• Meeting practical needs does not change the relationships which maintain the subordinate position of women as a disadvantaged group.

• Needs shared by all household members – yet identified specifically as practical gender needs of women– women assume responsibility for meeting these need

• No challenge to the subordinate position of women • But they arise out of such position.



Practical gender needs may include:

• Water provision.• Health care.• Income earning for household provisioning.• Housing and basic services.• Family food provision.



Practical Gender Needs & Interests• Tend to be immediate, short-term • Specific to certain women • Related to daily needs: food, housing, income, children’s

health, etc. • Easily identifiable by women • Can be satisfied by accurate/precise elements: food, hand

pumps, clinics



The satisfaction of practical needs and interests

• Tend to make the women beneficiaries and sometimes participants

• Can improve women’s living conditions • Generally, does not change the traditional roles and social

relations



Strategic Gender Interests

• Related to women’s subordination to men. • Relate to issues such as equal pay for work of equal value,

rights to land and other capital assets, domestic violence, women’s control over their own bodies.

• Meeting these needs may require “Social Engineering” (Use of policies to deal with social problems).

• Meeting these needs helps women to achieve greater equality and challenges their subordinate position.



Strategic gender interests may include:• Abolition of sexual division of labour.• Alleviation of the burden of domestic labour and child care.• The removal of institutionalized forms of discrimination such as

rights to own land or property.• Access to credit and other resources.• Equal pay for equal work.• Freedom of choice over family planning and child bearing.• Measures against male violence (GBV) and control over women



The satisfaction of strategic interests

• Tend to make the women agent of change or empower them to become agents

• Can improve the situation the woman has in the society • Can give more power to women and transform the social

relations • Gives room for the development of the whole society



Conclusion• The Women Empowerment Principles is a veritable tool for achieving

gender equality results through policy• As a female in Government, decide what legacy you want to leave

behind• The world bank says investing in women is smart economics - investing

in girls is smarter economics• Woman in the public domain straddle two worlds:– understanding where women are coming from – Authorized role in the development for the state.

• It is therefore easy to be able to make decisions and stand as a champion for all issues pertaining to gender equality and women empowerment

