Gender Considerations
Constraints to Poor Women's Participation in Co-operativesVery poor women and men face their own set of constraints interacting in co-operatives and their markets.
Women are often limited from actively participating in business activities owing to: risk of physical, sexual, and other gender-based violence; limited social standing or social capital in the community with limited access to certain market opportunities or group structures; social or cultural confinement and immobility; inadequate legal protection or enforcement of existing laws; traditional gender roles and expectations; and lack of control over resources (in particular, property). Although this learning theme focuses principally on the constraints faced by women, it is important to recognize the constraints faced by men which limit their participation in co-operatives and the market systems in which they operate. Unintended consequences for WomenAs development projects work to strengthen co-operatives, changes can take place that are considered positive, but which may, ultimately, have unintended consequences for women. It is important to take these into consideration and recognize how to minimize their negative impact on women and household relationships.
Introduction of new technologies and agricultural practices
Shifts to high value crops
Introduction of new market channels
Introduction of new storage facilities
Formalization of contracting between co-operatives and market actors
Introduction of more formalized financial requirements
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Example from the Field: Make It Happen Campaign in RwandaUsing roundtable discussions, the Global Communities' co-operative development program, Enabling Market Integration through Rural Group Empowerment (EMIRGE), in Rwanda, has been promoting and supporting women's involvement in leadership at the co-operative level. Recognizing the importance of gender parity, especially in Rwanda where the government advocates the issue, the EMIRGE program brought on a gender specialist.
Identified challenges for women's participation in co-operative leadership include:
The EMIRGE gender specialist first attempted to answer this question of "why do women not participate as leaders in co-operatives". The approach taken was through roundtable discussions with only female co-operative members. In these first discussions, women realized their opportunities and became very excited about running for leadership positions. However, they met a lot of resistance from men in the community (including within the co-operative and husbands), being met with verbal abuse to women who were participating in the co-operatives. The women soon saw the need to include men in order to demonstrate their capacity to manage, oversee finances, interact with buyers, etc. and, hence, accept women's capacity to operate in the marketplace. The EMIRGE gender specialist advocated to invite men to these roundtable discussions to openly talk about this important topic. This was a key turning point, as once men and women took part in the conversations together, the whole community began to support women's leadership roles. Further, men became community mobilizers and began to go to local leaders to explain why women should be involved. Men in mixed gender groups are now sharing that they see women as more patient, good leaders, good managers, and good financial managers. Any men not supporting women's roles or being verbally abusive are being fined as part of the group protocol. It is also worth noting that there was resistance from the project to include both men and women in the discussions together, as the belief existed that women would enjoy being alone to discuss openly without men. However, the gender specialist insisted on bringing the two groups together, which was successful. |
"My name is Niyonteze Odette, I’m 50 years old of age. I was just a simple member of [the] Impokamu Co-operative of Ruhango District [in Rwanda] for a long time before [the] Make It Happen Campaign (MIHC). The co-operative allowed me to increase my financial situation but I could not join leadership positions. After MIHC trainings, I realized that I can do what others (men) have done in leadership even better. So I stood for elections and now I’m the secretary of the B.O.D. of Impokamu Co-operative that has 404 members." |
"I am Mukamana Odette, I’m proud of being an advisor for Impokamu Co-operative [in Rwanda]. The co-operative is having many members and I can stand up and have a talk in meetings. I stood to be the role model in my co-operative and community. I’m committed to keep mobilizing other women to implement the lessons learned during [the] Make It Happen Campaign and spread it to others. I encourage my fellow women to stand up and regain their self-confidence to keep supporting their households and communities. I mobilized women to do income generating activities as to reduce extreme poverty because that was among the major challenges that limit women from joining leadership positions and start building self-confidence. I am equally devoted to mobilize men as well in equity and gender parity in households and the community in general. I became also a role model in my village and I have started helping my neighbors to be confident and [have] self-resilience." |
Guidelines on Strategies to Improve Women's Participation in Co-operatives
Design the logistics of participation in co-operative meetings and activities around women’s circumstances and needs
Reduce the cultural barriers to women’s participation
Build women’s skills, confidence, and social capital/standing
Address lack of ownership and control of productive assets and land by women
Address lack of access to financial capital because women lack assets for collateral
Address women’s limited opportunity to network and develop business relationships with buyers or suppliers
- Share co-operative and market information using communication channels used by women.
- Identify labour-saving technologies to reduce women’s time on production and other household responsibilities (e.g. local water points and access to draft animals to pull equipment), and, thereby, giving them time to participate in meetings.
- Encourage co-operative meeting times and venues, and market times and venues to allow for easy access and participation by women.
- Support access to information sources about the co-operative activities that are in close proximity to women and available at times when women can access them.
- Announce information about participation in groups using communication channels used by women.
- Hold meetings at times and in venues that support women’s participation.
- Provide for shared child-care while group meetings are being held.
Reduce the cultural barriers to women’s participation
- Gradually obtain the buy-in and support of men on women’s participation in co-operatives and market activities so that women’s empowerment is not seen as a threat.
- Create women-only groups or meetings, if appropriate, to encourage the entry of more women into the market where it is unacceptable for women to intermingle with men that are not family members.
- Encourage membership and leadership criteria that allow women’s participation.
- Advocate for processes, and include training, that enables women to be more fully involved as both participants and leaders of co-operatives.
- Encourage membership to be based on output (e.g., liters of milk for sale or baskets of tomatoes) rather than access to factors of production (e.g. legal title to land or registered ownership of animals).
- Encourage a change from exclusive co-operative membership criteria to a more graduated membership, which is based on increased quality and quantity of product delivered to an association, to allow women to gradually gain access as they become more involved.
- Encourage official membership of women registered in their own names (not their husbands’), such as women who are household heads (primary breadwinners, second wives, or where husbands are not present for various reasons).
Build women’s skills, confidence, and social capital/standing
- Link women with support structures and networks that build their social capital, skills, and business confidence.
- Leverage existing women’s groups as a means of delivering training and conducting other capacity building activities, such as visiting demonstration sites. The groups provide a comfortable environment where women can learn among peers and further build their social capital.
Address lack of ownership and control of productive assets and land by women
- Build the capacity of, or work with, entities that advocate for women’s rights, such as raising awareness of land ownership rights, advocating for equitable land distribution, and supporting better enforcement of existing legislative framework on land policy.
- Encourage membership requirements that do not require land ownership, which would often exclude women’s participation.
- Advocate for rules to allow non–producer members to attend trainings and access benefits, which will still allow women to join and benefit where they have been traditionally excluded because of the lack of certain assets or land rights.
Address lack of access to financial capital because women lack assets for collateral
- Work with lending institutions to design loan products for women, such as the use of non-land assets in lending.
Address women’s limited opportunity to network and develop business relationships with buyers or suppliers
- Leverage existing buyer or supplier relationships and build on the trust in these to embed additional services for co-operatives, especially women members.
- Consider ways to increase the frequency of face-to-face contact for women with the co-operatives’ suppliers or buyers.