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More than 25 percent of the global population, including one billion women, depend on forest resources for their livelihoods (FAO 2018). Despite the paucity of sex-disaggregated data, it is increasingly evident that women’s forest-related work often surpasses that of men, not only in livelihood activities at community level, but also in productive initiatives (Sunderland et al., 2014; FAO, 2018).

However, women’s roles often remain invisible and unrecognised, and the wood sector continues to be a male-dominated field. As a result, women continue to work in the informal economy, are paid less than men, their knowledge is not adequately enhanced and their contribution to the sector is not appropriately documented.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are important in meeting the growing global demand for forest products, representing around half of all forest-related employment (IIED, 2016); yet, little information is available on the proportion of women working in MSMEs or the possible impacts of regulatory changes on their participation in such enterprises.

As part of the European Union (EU) Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), the EU and tropical timber-producing countries are negotiating and implementing bilateral trade agreements known as Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) which aim to streamline legal trade in licensed timber. While the VPAs are generally seen as a positive development that can improve the conditions of wood sector MSMEs, there are concerns that the VPAs are only marginally contributing to more consideration given to women in the sector and may even lead to unintended negative consequences to women working in timber value chains (Cerutti et al., 2020; Richards et al., 2019).

Given the importance of MSMEs to the forest sector, as well as the potential impacts that VPAs may have on women employed in MSMEs, the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme produced three case studies of MSMEs with significant female participation working in wood-based value chains in Viet Nam, Côte d’Ivoire and Honduras – three countries that have negotiated or are currently negotiating VPAs with the EU. This web article draws on the gender analyses conducted in the three countries and presents findings related to gender and forestry which are common to the three countries. It also proposes recommendations to address gender inequalities in the forest sector.

Publications available below:

• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in VPA-implementing countries. MALEBI: Women at the forefront of sustainable charcoal production in Côte d'Ivoire
• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: Constraints and opportunities for women in wood-based value chains in forestry cooperatives in Honduras
• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: a case study from La Xuyen wood village in Nam Dinh province, Viet Nam

Methodology

All three case studies started with an in-depth literature review regarding women’s status in each country’s forest sector, focusing on their participation in wood-based MSMEs. The subsequent data collection was carried out using different methodological approaches due to the vast diversity between the three case studies and the impact of the COVID pandemic.

In spite of the pandemic, in Viet Nam, it was possible to carry out field work in the study area (La Xuyen “wood” village and adjacent areas). Qualitative information was gathered through 35 in-depth interviews with authorities, business owners and local men and women. Data collection was also complemented by direct observation on the field to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the local context. 

Table 1. The case studies at a glance

 In Côte d’Ivoire, it was possible to carry out field visits and face-to-face interviews before the outbreak of the pandemic. Relevant information on the Association of Women Producers and Traders of Secondary Forest Products (MALEBI) was gathered through a questionnaire completed by members of MALEBI and then complemented through focus group meetings with those same women. Field visits and open discussions with members, women and men, of neighbouring forest communities were carried out to complement the information.

The Honduran case study focused on community-based forestry cooperatives. COVID travel restrictions rendered it impossible to spend time in the region and all data was gathered through online consultations with in situ cooperative members. Leaders and members from various cooperatives were asked to share their personal experiences and opinion. Replies were documented and crosschecked in order to contrast and consolidate different opinions and perspectives, and evaluated for trends and patterns before being contextualised within the wider literature.

 Summaries of country contexts and key findings

Wood and other forest products are an important export industry of Viet Nam, increasing by an average of 13 percent per year between 2010 and2018. The export value of Viet Nam's wood and forest products reached USD 11.3 billion in 2019, accounting for 6 percent of the world's furniture market share. La Xuyen village is a traditional carpentry village that has been well-known since the 10th century. Wood products in La Xuyen are mainly made from plantation or precious natural forest trees, either imported or harvested in the country. La Xuyen has about 21 companies and 1 700 household enterprises (96 percent of all households in the village) engaged in production, trading and transportation of wood and wood products. Each company has between 10-40 employees, of whom women account for about 14-20 percent. Each household enterprise has less than ten employees, most of whom are family workers with at least one woman and only 1-2 hired workers (usually men). Women participate in multiple stages of the wood value chain in La Xuyen, with a majority being tasked with simple jobs such as sanding and varnishing, and a select group being responsible for technical tasks such as carving, gilding and painting, and tasks that require a special set of skills, such as transportation and operating sawing machines.7

The case study in Côte d’Ivoire covers key issues of the country’s forest sector. First, charcoal is one of the main drivers of forest degradation. Second, access to productive forest resources is still characterised by cultural practices that penalise women. In this context, the case study focuses on MALEBI, a women-s association that produces and sells charcoal from wood harvested in the Ahua gazetted forest (South-Central region) and, in return, is committed to reforesting 30 hectares per year in the same forest area. All the members of the association, including the president and vice-president, are personally and equally involved in the production and trading of charcoal. In parallel to its production and reforestation activities, MALEBI conducts wide-ranging activities for the sustainable development of the communities and their social cohesion. For instance, the association carries out trainings on innovative charcoal production methods, which are both more profitable and more sustainable than traditional methods. It also implements awareness-raising campaigns against bush fires. However, due to its unprecedented nature – a female forest enterprise in a male-dominated sector – MALEBI faces significant challenges due in particular to a system of restrictive sociocultural norms that translate into attitudes and practices that strongly penalise women’s initiatives and entrepreneurship.

Despite the economic growth enjoyed in recent years, Honduras remains one of the poorest countries in Latin America with great income and resource inequality. The wood value chain generates around 26 000 permanent jobs, with women representing less than a quarter of the labour force. In spite of societal norms that associate women with subsistence needs and household responsibilities, in recent decades, women have managed to increase their participation and power within community-based forestry cooperatives. The case study focuses on seven forestry cooperatives with significant female participation – three in the predominantly pine forests of central and southeastern Honduras and four located in the tropical broadleaf forests of the North Coast of the country. Women’s roles vary between cooperatives, fulfilling a range of activities. In addition to participating in wood-based activities (timber sawmilling and carpentry) and administrative, legal and accounting roles, women work in agricultural and non-wood forest product activities for subsistence and cash income. For instance, resin tapping and handicraft activities (from pine cones and needles) are highly valued activities for women in pine forest areas. In recent years several women have managed to become leaders of their cooperatives, including presidents, treasurers and heads of marketing and trade. Women interviewed attributed these improvements to training activities (particularly when men and women are trained together), pro-gender policies in the cooperative sector and external project interventions that have supported women’s socio-economic initiatives.

Discussion

In all three case studies women suffer from stereotyping of gender roles and stigmatisation, according to which female labour or entrepreneurship is given less consideration than their male counterparts.

All case studies found women participating in multiple stages of the value chain (charcoal in Côte d’Ivoire and wood-processing in Viet Nam and Honduras), from the simpler tasks to the more complex duties requiring technical or management skills. However, typically, women’s jobs are poorly paid, informal, part-time, and do not require an extensive set of skills, which could result in them being perceived as less important and meriting less influence in decision-making processes.

However, the three case studies show positive examples where women are achieving more relevance and power in this traditionally male-dominated sector. Women in Honduras, for instance, have been elected presidents and other high-level positions within forestry cooperatives. Women in Côte d’Ivoire have formed their own associations and work in the forest in spite of the reluctance of their husbands. In Viet Nam, they have become business owners of wood-processing enterprises with dozens of employees.

In spite of these improvements, the three case studies have shown that women working in the forestry sector still suffer from both material and regulatory constraints, such as limited access to capital, information, knowledge, skills and business networks as well as cumbersome bureaucracy and poor protection against unfair competition. Discussions with case study participants showed that they had limited information on VPA negotiations and requirements. Some interviewees expressed the concern that VPAs might increase legal requirements and associated costs without necessarily being able to curb unfair competition from unlawful operators. Concerns regarding the potential negative implications of the VPA were highlighted in the case of Viet Nam, where VPA requirements could entail all wood-processing household businesses to convert into formal enterprises. This will cause many household/small businesses to close, or lay off their employees, which in return will affect the workers, especially the female ones.

On the other hand, many interviewees, especially in Côte d’Ivoire and Honduras, believe that the VPAs represent a unique opportunity to enhance women’s participation around resource use decision-making and forest governance, hence benefitting women’s use of forest resources and their access to markets.

The case studies show that one important impact of the FAO-EU FLEGT Programme is linked to the training and capacity building brought along the VPA Process. In all three countries, the lack of training and access to finance have been highlighted as barriers to entrepreneurial activities and employment in the wood sector. Outside project interventions there appear few opportunities for training and capacity building. Women’s participation in wider decision-making spaces is positively influenced by external support that delivers education and awareness, training and capacity building, to both men and women together.

A number of laws have been enacted and policies developed to advance gender equity in Honduras, Côte d’Ivoire and Viet Nam. All three governments have launched initiatives to increase women’s access to credit and facilitate female entrepreneurship and trainings. However, these instruments are not fully implemented in the countries analysed.

Through the Programme, members of the Honduran Federation of Agroforestry Cooperatives (FEHCAFOR), which are helping cooperatives raise awareness among their members around legality compliance, have received training on the anticipated role of the VPA in enabling access to more rewarding markets for their products, including potential access to international markets. Women cite the importance of taking this training to cooperatives and extending it to all stakeholders involved in the wood sector to increase involvement.

In Côte d’Ivoire, MALEBI focuses on capacity building and empowerment of the most marginalized groups in forest communities. The Association provides training on innovative charcoal production methods, which are both more profitable and more sustainable than traditional ones, and carries out awareness-raising campaigns against bush fires.

Both women and men view training opportunities as hugely beneficial. Across the three case studies, there is a consensus that the most effective approach to overcoming barriers to women’s participation in wood-based MSMEs is, wherever possible, to undertake education and awareness and deliver training to men and women together.

Ways forward

As the regulatory environments of Viet Nam, Côte d’Ivoire and Honduras are transitioning or will transition under VPA implementation, affirmative actions to safeguard women’s participation in wood-based value chains is essential. Recommendations for such actions are listed below and aimed mainly at the governments of the three countries and the international development community:

Policy support

Ensure cross-sector policy and legislative development has gender equity at heart. In particular, female entrepreneurship and women’s participation in forest sector MSMEs should be promoted. Policies and programmes to support women’s employment in and ownership of MSMEs in the forest sector should include stronger rights to land and forest resources, investment, capacity building, access to credit, and access to information on funds, markets and economic opportunities.

Streamline bureaucratic procedures

Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of bureaucratic procedures and remove obstacles in institutional communication. It will be essential to reinforce communication between public institutions, civil society organizations and forests sector MSMEs in favour of greater transparency and collaboration. Leaner bureaucracy can also include the establishment of direct consultation mechanisms and multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms on a regular basis. Reducing the legal and practical barriers that MSMEs face would promote more stable employment opportunities for both men and women working in them.

Provision of services

While capacity building is usually understood as the process of developing and strengthening the skills, abilities, processes and resources of an organization, service delivery has a narrower meaning and refers to the actual provision of a specific service or product to an organisation. Targeted services for women participating in forest sector MSMEs, either as owners or employees, should be reinforced or developed. These services should include a wide range of specialised and integrated support activities specifically tailored to the needs of women, including legal assistance, employment training, job advising, market analysis, financial planning, project development, technical assistance and business structuring. They can be provided through government institutions and extension officers, NGOs and international organisations, and producer associations or federations.

Capacity building

Identify and support government and non-government actors dedicated to promoting capacity building through targeted interventions and vocational training programmes that respond to women’s demands and concerns. These gender-positive awareness and training initiatives should target men and women together and place particular emphasis on expanding flexible income-generating opportunities for women.

Voluntary Partnership Agreements monitoring and evaluation

It is essential to establish regular evaluation and monitoring mechanisms and develop tools not only on the effectiveness and impact of the VPA on the reduction of illegal logging and sustainable use of forest resources, but also on the consequences of the implementation of the VPA on socio-economic conditions of local populations and workers in the forestry sector, including those in the informal economy and at household level (e.g. monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, situation analyses, socio-economic surveys, gender analyses, stakeholder analyses, etc.). In particular, it is essential to ensure that the VPA processes do not reinforce the existing de facto exclusion or marginalisation of women in the forest sector, most of whom work in the informal economy, with a diverse activity portfolio for rural women.

Publications available below:

• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in VPA-implementing countries. MALEBI: Women at the forefront of sustainable charcoal production in Côte d'Ivoire
• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: Constraints and opportunities for women in wood-based value chains in forestry cooperatives in Honduras
• Women’s participation in wood-based value chains in voluntary partnership agreement countries: a case study from La Xuyen wood village in Nam Dinh province, Viet Nam