Women and participation in agricultural policy-making and development bodies
Greater participation of women in decision and policy making is essential on every level if women are to participate more fully and equally in agricultural extension services and training, in setting an agricultural research agenda responsive to their needs, and in preserving women's knowledge of agro-biodiversity.
Education and participation in decision making are closely linked. The greater access women have to education, the greater will be their ability to participate in policy-making bodies. As UNICEF states: "...education increases women's status in the community and leads to greater input into family and community decision making" (UNICEF 1992).
Education is but one factor, however, in increasing women's participation in decision making and in policy-making bodies. Education alone does not guarantee women's access to positions of power in society. This is evidenced by a look at the statistics on women's participation in agricultural research institutes (see Table 4) and at the data on women's participation in parliaments, at the ministerial level of governments, and in the United Nations system (see Tables 7 and 8). Nowhere do women hold decision-making positions in numbers anywhere near the percentage of school enrolment that is female in the 18-23 age group (see Table 6).
While women make up from 34 to 51 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 23 enrolled in school, the age group associated with tertiary education, they make up a much smaller percentage of those in public life and professional positions in the UN system.
At the national level, women worldwide held only 10 percent of parliamentary seats and 6 percent of ministerial level positions in 1994. Most women in ministerial positions are responsible for health, welfare, education, culture or women's affairs, areas that are traditionally considered to be women's concerns. Economic, political and agricultural ministerial positions are almost exclusively a male preserve.
TABLE 6 - Female Enrolment in the 18-23 Age Group as Percentage of Male Enrolment, by Region, 1995*
Sub-Saharan Africa |
34 |
Arab States |
40 |
Latin America and Caribbean |
50 |
Eastern Asia/Oceania |
41 |
Southern Asia |
3 5 |
Developed Countries |
51 |
* Based on estimated net enrolment ratios for the age group 18-23 years, UNESCO, World Education Report, 1995.
TABLE 7 - Women's Political Participation, by Region, 1994
Share of parliamentary seats held by women (% as of 30/6/194) |
Share of women at ministerial level (% as of 31/5/1994) | |
All developing countries |
10 |
5 |
Industrialized countries |
12 |
8 |
World |
10 |
6 |
Arab States |
4 |
1 |
East Asia |
19 |
6 |
Latin America & the Caribb. |
10 |
8 |
South Asia |
5 |
3 |
Southeast Asia & the Pacific |
9 |
3 |
Sub-Saharan Africa |
8 |
6 |
Least developed countries |
6 |
5 |
European Union |
14 |
16 |
Nordic Countries |
35 |
31 |
OECD |
13 |
15 |
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report 1995, Annex Table 2.4.
In the United Nations system, women hold only 28.2 percent of all positions, 11.3 percent of senior management positions (D1 and above) and only 30.1 percent of professional positions at the P1 to P5 level. In a ranking of 18 major UN agencies, the three that are most directly concerned with food and agriculture, IFAD, WFP and FAO, occupy the 13th, 17th and 1 8th positions respectively in the percentage of women in all positions. At every level, the percentage of women is below the average for the entire UN system, sometimes considerably below:
· IFAD: the percentage of women at all levels is 26.6 percent, at the senior management level, 8.3 percent; and at the professional level, 29.4 percent.
· WFP: the percentage of women at all levels is 22.2 percent; at the senior management level, 21.4 percent; and at the professional level, 22.2 percent.
· FAO: the percentage of women at all levels is 15.3 percent; at the senior management level, 2.4 percent; and at the professional level, 17.5 percent.
TABLE 8 - Women Professionals in UN System - 31 December 1994)
Organization |
All levels combine d (%) |
Senior manage. (D1 and above) (%) |
Professionals exclu. senior level (P-1 to P-5) (%) |
UNFPA |
43.5 |
28.0 |
46.3 |
UNICEF |
38.9 |
21.5 |
40.3 |
UN Secretariat |
33.0 |
15.5 |
35.7 |
UNDP |
32.6 |
16.1 |
36.8 |
UNESCO |
31.9 |
11.6 |
34.4 |
UNHCR |
31.1 |
15.3 |
32.1 |
UNEP |
31.1 |
11.4 |
33.9 |
WORLD BANK* |
30.0 |
||
GATT |
28.4 |
0 |
33.3 |
ILO |
28.1 |
12.0 |
30.5 |
UNCTAD |
26.7 |
14.7 |
28.6 |
WHO |
26.2 |
9.8 |
28.8 |
IFAD |
26.6 |
8.3 |
29.4 |
IMF |
25.3 |
8.0 |
30.0 |
UNCHS (HABITAT) |
24.0 |
0 |
26.1 |
UNIDO |
23.9 |
5.7 |
25.7 |
WFP |
22.2 |
21.4 |
22.2 |
FAO |
15.3 |
2.4 |
17.5 |
Entire UN system |
28.2 |
11.3 |
30.1 |
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report 1995, Table 2.7, based on figures from UN divisions of personnel.
* Only the total figure for female staff is given for the World Bank, as its staff grading system differs from the UN personnel classifications.
Breaking down the data for senior management and professional levels shows that at the junior professional level, women are found at the entry level in nearly equal numbers as men. As men and women climb the ladder to higher positions, the percentage of women declines. Since the pool of qualified women professionals at the junior professional level is nearly equal to that of men, other factors must be at work hindering women's advancement to higher decision-making positions.
TABLE 9 - Women at Different Professional Levels in the United Nations System, 1993
Level |
1993 |
Senior Management (D2 and above) |
12.6 |
Senior professional (D1 and P5) |
16.2 |
Mid-level professional (P4 and P3) |
32.2 |
Junior professional (P2 and P1) |
7.8 |
Source: UN, The World 's Women 1995, Trends and Statistics, Chart 6.9.
According to a study by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), it takes a critical mass of at least 30 percent for women or other marginalized groups to have an impact on the policies of a government or organization:
"As a minority operating in a male domains most women public figures, to be accepted and to function on a basis of equality with men, have had to adapt to and adopt male priorities predominating in public life. Minorities, such as women who are successful in a male world, according to a classic theory of minority behaviour, absorb the dominant culture to such an extent that they tend to dissociate themselves from other women, to underrate their own success and to perceive any discrimination they meet as a result of their own shortcomings. It takes a minority of a certain minimum size, 30-35 percent, to be able to influence the culture of groups and to facilitate alliances between group members" (UN DAW 1992).
Although there have been and are a number of strong women's advocates at the higher levels of some UN agencies, the number of women in decision-making positions in governments, in agricultural research institutes and in the United Nations system is far below the 30 percent that is considered to be the critical mass necessary for women to make an impact on policy.
Box 12 - Women's Participation and Development Goals "The participation of women is a means to achieve the goals of development through gender-aware, more efficient, economy-wide policies. It will contribute to achieving economic growth, but it will also help identify the social goals society is willing to pursue. indeed, an idea which is gaining momentum is that increased participation of women in decision making at all levels will help to 'adjust' the goals pursued through development". United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, United Nations General Assembly, Forty-sixth session. |
