I would really like to hear from other contributors about women's empowerment in relation to the extended family. Many interventions and also analytic frameworks such as the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) centre on strengthening and measuring women's autonomy in decision-making in the assumption that strengthening their voice will improve their bargaining power in intra-household decision-making.
However, data I have been looking at from Nepal (obtained through GENNOVATE) suggests that in the surveyed community some of the strongest women innovators have secured the support of their extended family (the one they married into). In particular, the evidence suggests (and we are still analysing it) that women innovators in extended families consciously deploy their agency to 'sell' their project to family members. Innovator women manage intra-family (so to say) bargaining processes to their own advantage whilst maintaining social norms requiring women to consult. The trade-off in personal autonomy in decision-making is arguably compensated for by support from extended family members for the innovation project. Conversely, single women without extended family support networks may not benefit from support networks and the material resources associated with these, and thus find it harder to maintain innovatory practice.
Love to hear views on this and specific research papers, etc. would be great.
In response to the post by Nancy McCarthy I would like to draw attention to CIMMYT-CCAFS research in Malawi which investigated the potential of household methodologies, specifically GALS, to improve intra-household cooperation. One paper, Exploring the Potential of Household Methodologies to Strengthen Gender Equality and Improve Smallholder Livelihoods: research in Malawi in maize-based systems has been accepted by the Journal of Arid Environments for a special issue on women and is thus forthcoming. A second paper, using quantitative survey data, is in preparation. Our paper supports, empirically, Nancy's study. I paste in the abstract below. However, I want to point out that in Malawi there are huge differences in women's baseline empowerment between matrilineal and patrilineal areas and so it is important not to make generalisations such as 'women in Malawi are more empowered than in neighbouring countries'. NASFAM, our partner organisation, selected intervention sites in Malawi due to indicators they had previously collected which showed very weak to no participation in leadership structures etc.
Abstract to our Paper
Household methodologies (HHM) intervene directly in intra-household gender relations to strengthen overall smallholder agency and efficacy as economic agents and development actors. Strengthening women's agency is one mechanism for progressing towards collaborative, systemic farm management. It is expected this will contribute to improved farm resilience in the face of climate change, strengthen food and nutrition security, and improve other development indicators.
HHM are built around a vision, gendered analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT),an action plan, and indicators. Some HHM - including Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS), the focus of the research - use drawings making them easy to use for low-literate individuals. There is considerable evaluation report evidence of the efficacy of HHM in strengthening value chains, food security, and gender equality. However, this has yet to be complemented by a robust systematic evaluation of the methodology which includes non-intervention communities as controls. Here we report on the findings of a research study into GALS in Malawi where the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (NASFAM) has been implementing GALS since 2013 with 4,274 farmers (2821 women and 1453 men to May 2016). We held sex-disaggregated FGDs with 40 GALS households and 40 non-GALS households, all NASFAM members. Community profiles and a matrix activity focusing on task allocation, asset distribution, and expenditures by gender with 125 non-GALS and 135GALS respondents were also conducted.
Our analyses indicate a significant shift towards sharing of on-farm tasks and household tasks, and joint realization of the benefits from agricultural produce in GALS households. They are building up portfolios of assets including livestock, houses, ox-carts, and land, unlike non-GALS households. Respondents in GALS households, particularly de facto women-headed households, report an increase in social standing and participation in community life. In both GALS and non-GALS households, men and women agree that men continue to dominate marketing and are final decision-makers. However, financial transparency and intra-household agreement on expenditures characterize households with GALS participants.
الدكتور Cathy Farnworth
I would really like to hear from other contributors about women's empowerment in relation to the extended family. Many interventions and also analytic frameworks such as the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) centre on strengthening and measuring women's autonomy in decision-making in the assumption that strengthening their voice will improve their bargaining power in intra-household decision-making.
However, data I have been looking at from Nepal (obtained through GENNOVATE) suggests that in the surveyed community some of the strongest women innovators have secured the support of their extended family (the one they married into). In particular, the evidence suggests (and we are still analysing it) that women innovators in extended families consciously deploy their agency to 'sell' their project to family members. Innovator women manage intra-family (so to say) bargaining processes to their own advantage whilst maintaining social norms requiring women to consult. The trade-off in personal autonomy in decision-making is arguably compensated for by support from extended family members for the innovation project. Conversely, single women without extended family support networks may not benefit from support networks and the material resources associated with these, and thus find it harder to maintain innovatory practice.
Love to hear views on this and specific research papers, etc. would be great.
In response to the post by Nancy McCarthy I would like to draw attention to CIMMYT-CCAFS research in Malawi which investigated the potential of household methodologies, specifically GALS, to improve intra-household cooperation. One paper, Exploring the Potential of Household Methodologies to Strengthen Gender Equality and Improve Smallholder Livelihoods: research in Malawi in maize-based systems has been accepted by the Journal of Arid Environments for a special issue on women and is thus forthcoming. A second paper, using quantitative survey data, is in preparation. Our paper supports, empirically, Nancy's study. I paste in the abstract below. However, I want to point out that in Malawi there are huge differences in women's baseline empowerment between matrilineal and patrilineal areas and so it is important not to make generalisations such as 'women in Malawi are more empowered than in neighbouring countries'. NASFAM, our partner organisation, selected intervention sites in Malawi due to indicators they had previously collected which showed very weak to no participation in leadership structures etc.
Abstract to our Paper
Household methodologies (HHM) intervene directly in intra-household gender relations to strengthen overall smallholder agency and efficacy as economic agents and development actors. Strengthening women's agency is one mechanism for progressing towards collaborative, systemic farm management. It is expected this will contribute to improved farm resilience in the face of climate change, strengthen food and nutrition security, and improve other development indicators.
HHM are built around a vision, gendered analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT),an action plan, and indicators. Some HHM - including Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS), the focus of the research - use drawings making them easy to use for low-literate individuals. There is considerable evaluation report evidence of the efficacy of HHM in strengthening value chains, food security, and gender equality. However, this has yet to be complemented by a robust systematic evaluation of the methodology which includes non-intervention communities as controls. Here we report on the findings of a research study into GALS in Malawi where the National Smallholder Farmers' Association of Malawi (NASFAM) has been implementing GALS since 2013 with 4,274 farmers (2821 women and 1453 men to May 2016). We held sex-disaggregated FGDs with 40 GALS households and 40 non-GALS households, all NASFAM members. Community profiles and a matrix activity focusing on task allocation, asset distribution, and expenditures by gender with 125 non-GALS and 135GALS respondents were also conducted.
Our analyses indicate a significant shift towards sharing of on-farm tasks and household tasks, and joint realization of the benefits from agricultural produce in GALS households. They are building up portfolios of assets including livestock, houses, ox-carts, and land, unlike non-GALS households. Respondents in GALS households, particularly de facto women-headed households, report an increase in social standing and participation in community life. In both GALS and non-GALS households, men and women agree that men continue to dominate marketing and are final decision-makers. However, financial transparency and intra-household agreement on expenditures characterize households with GALS participants.