Gender Global theme in IPM CRSP

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Gender Global theme in IPM CRSP

• Dr. Maria Elisa Christie, Gender Equity
  Coordinator, IPM CRSP and Director of Women in
  International Development, Virginia Tech

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What is gender?

• Gender social constructions of what is expected
  of, allowed and valued in a woman or man in a
  given culture, context, time and/or location.
• Sex biological differences between men and
  women.
• Gendering/ gendered (verb) tasks, knowledge,
  space, etc. that are associated with the
  biological fact of being a male or female.
• Remember gender is site specific and changes over
  time.

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Examples

• Gendered space
• Gendered tasks who does what?

Women often grow food crops in home gardens.
In many places women produce for domestic
consumption and men for the market.
Women are responsible for weeding and other
specific field tasks in many cultures.
However, men can also perform the tasks assigned
to women.
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Why is gender important in IPM CRSP?

• USAID requires that half of the project
  beneficiaries be women
• There is a disproportionate representation of men
  in the agricultural sciences
• The advancement and empowerment of women
  worldwide is necessary for economic development
• Farm tasks are often gendered
• Agricultural knowledge is gendered, as are crops
• Women conduct 70-80 of the farming in the
  developing world
• Womens empowerment is a moral imperative

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Besides moral and contractual obligations,
integrate gender for practical reasons

• Women can support or resist the projectsometimes
  determining its success or failure.
• They may have knowledge and responsibilities that
  need to be taken into account in order for the
  project to work.
• Sometimes women control the budget and need to be
  convinced of why there should be a change in
  household budget priorities.

You need knowledge of womens roles, knowledge,
and spaces in order to identify constraints and
opportunities.
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Objectives of Gender Global Theme (GGT)

• Gender equity Increasing participation of and
  benefits to women
• Capacity building Empowering teams to integrate
  gender
• Research Producing and disseminating knowledge
  of gender issues in IPM

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Responsibilities of RPs- Year 1

• Identify gender experts in the HC teams and US
  institutions
• Build gender-balanced teams include gender
  expertise
• Gender workplan
• Select students and/or scholars for gender
  research
• Rapid Gender Assessment to identify constraints
  and opportunities and areas for research
• Gather secondary sources in each country
  including previous research carried out by IPM
  CRSP
• Gender workshop for capacity building and to
  initiate gender assessment
• Network with gender experts from participating
  institutions and organizations in host country.

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Interaction between RPs and GGT

• Global IPM CRSP gender team
• Targeted research on cross-cutting themes using
  the Gender Dimensions Framework (GDF)
• Knowledge, beliefs and perceptions
• Practices and participation (who does what
  where?)
• Access and control over key assets
• Legal frameworks
• Annual Reports
• Publications
• RP gender funds

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Womens participation

• The presence of female extension officers has
  ameliorated the social exclusion of women in some
  areas.
• Networking with womens organizations and gender
  experts in NGOs increases our ability to achieve
  gender equity.
• In many cases, women feel more comfortable and
  speak more freely in groups of women and with
  women researchers.

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Take measures to ensure womens participation

• In surveys, it is important that men interview
  other men and women interview other women.
• Data should always be disaggregated by gender.
• Separate Farmer Field Schools for women and men
  allow women the space to ask their own questions
  and to learn at their own pace.

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Qualitative Participative Research Methods

• Focus groups
• Participative mapping
• Activity charts
• Interviews

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Participative mapping Access and control of key
productive assets and resources

• What obstacles impede womens access to
  resources? How can womens needs be incorporated?

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Practices and participation
Use activity charts and other tools

• Such tools help researchers determine mens and
  womens roles and responsibilities within
  communities.
• Allow enough time for activities! Given that
  women often have lower levels of education, time
  can be a gender equity issue and constraint.

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Semi-structured interviews

• Questions to consider
• Is this establishing trust?
• Does this come off as conversation or
  interrogation?

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Recognize mens and womens knowledge, beliefs
and perceptions

• Remember
• Dont erase local knowledge with modern
  technology imposed from the outside.
• Respect the knowledge that the men and women have
  about agriculture.
• Note changes over time.

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Knowledge, beliefs and perceptions

• Questions to consider
• How to use photographs?
• Findings/results. Pitfalls.
• Why separate activities for men and women?

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Group presentations

• Consider
• Comparing findings by gender, ethnicity, sites
• Empowering women
• Language and gender

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Sex-disaggregated data required

• Quantitative statistical information about
  differences and inequalities between men and
  women.
• It is collected in a way which distinguishes
  between the different activities, aspirations,
  needs, and interests of women and men.
• These data make the case for taking gender issues
  seriously and contribute to policy-making.

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Reporting Indicators

• Equity
• Indicators should reflect increasing numbers of
  women involved in training and womens
  organizations/associations involved in the
  project.
• Capacity building
• This will be measured through quantitative
  indicators such as number of women speaking at
  trainings with farmers, completed student theses,
  presentations and reports on gender research the
  number of workshops in each region and the
  development of gender plans within each RP
• Research
• Indicators include sex-disaggregated data
  collected through survey constraints and
  opportunities identified and knowledge, beliefs
  and perceptions relevant to technology packet
  documented.

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Knowledge Products

• Working papers
• Refereed and non-refereed journal articles or
  book chapters
• Extension bulletins
• Presentations at conferences
• PowerPoint presentations for the IPM WID site
• Success Stories for publication by the ME
• USAIDs Gender Stories
• Mass media outputs for radio, television and
  newspapers

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Gender Budget 10k/year/region

• Year 1
• workshops (including travel of people responsible
  for gender in each HC to country hosting
  workshop) gender assessment research networking
  with local gender experts
• Year 2
• 80 research 20 networking could include
  student funding in HC
• Year 3
• 80 research 20 networking
• Year 4
• 80 research and presentations/dissemination of
  research results 20 networking
• Year 5
• 80 presentations and dissemination of research
  results training 20 networking

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Remember

• USAID requires projects to be gender sensitive
  and always incorporate women as well as men
  unless justification is explicitly provided
• Agricultural research is not gender neutral.
  Scientific work affects men and women
  differentially
• Men and women think differently, so include both
  to get a more balanced outlook from scientists,
  extension workers and farmers.
• Make all reports explicit in regard to the sex of
  participants e.g., men and women farmers.

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Thank you! Questions?
Dr. Maria Elisa Christie mechristie_at_vt.edu