GENDER ISSUES IN COOPERATIVES: AN ILO - ICA PERSPECTIVE 2 Hours on Gender Issues in Cooperatives - An introductory session on gender issues for cooperative leaders

Topic 2.

Women's position in society in general and in cooperatives in particular.

SESSION GUIDE

Two steps. Total estimated duration: 30 minutes

1. Step One: The status of women (15 minutes)
2. Step Two: Gender issues in cooperatives (15 minutes)
3. Checklist

The trainer/moderator will find an overview of the status of women in general in the Background Information, page 14. The overview deals briefly with a few selected areas of common concern for women such as poverty, education, employment and equality issues.

Women in many parts of the world have a very low status and are often treated as second-class citizens. Some progress has, however, been made in the last ten years since the UN Decade for Women (1975-85). Nevertheless, the disparities that exist between North and South, rural and urban, rich and poor, still give rise to particular concern.

The trainer/moderator can introduce the topic in general terms by giving an overview of the status of women, and then deal with the main gender issues and concerns in the region. These issues should be localized to the country or countries in question. For example, land tenure issues will vary from country to country and from region to region. However, in many countries in the developing world, only men can hold legal land rights. Women, who are increasingly becoming heads of households as a result of migrant labour, economic and political upheavals and environmental degradation, are not permitted to own land and this restricts their access to loans and credit facilities for agricultural improvement. (Approximately 20% of households worldwide are female-headed and this figure is steadily increasing. In rural areas of Africa and the Caribbean the proportion is even higher).

The trainer/moderator can explain and display transparencies 5A and 5B which illustrates two important issues mentioned in the text regarding the agricultural sector, namely the division of labour and the ownership of land. The example are taken from rural Africa but are relevant to other rural areas in the developing world.

The trainer/moderator should also ask participants to comment on the issues raised, which will also give participants time to reflect over and digest some of the information presented.

In this next step the trainer/moderator will give an overview of women's position in cooperatives and identify gender-related problems within the sector. The trainer/moderator must compile the necessary gender-related data and information prior to the session. A checklist is provided below to assist in the collection of relevant information. If the trainer/moderator still finds it difficult to collect sufficient, relevant data, he/she can ask participants during the session to assess the general situation in their particular cooperative organization or sector.

The trainer/moderator can start by viewing women's low level of participation in cooperatives from an historical perspective, and then give an overview of the general areas of concern, as in (a) and (b) below. The trainer/moderator can thereafter elaborate where necessary according to the information that has been collected prior to the session. The list of areas of concern is also found on transparency 6, Gender Issues in Cooperatives.

(a)Women's participation in cooperatives is generally low. Women are also conspicuously under-represented at decision- making levels. This low level of participation can be viewed from a historical perspective. In developing countries in Africa and Asia, cooperatives were often originally established by the colonial powers as a means of enhancing cash crop production and marketing. Since the men were involved in cash crop production whilst women tended the food crops, only the men became involved in the commercial sector. The women, although they contributed to the cash crop production in terms of labour, did not become cooperative members and became increasingly marginalized.

After independence, many governments in Africa and Asia retained their cooperative structures as tools for implementing national agricultural and marketing development policies. National cooperatives consequently lost their autonomy and became dependant on or controlled by governments. As most cooperatives were still primarily engaged in cash crop production - still the domain of men - the cooperative membership continued to be dominated by men.

In Latin America the cooperatives were started around the turn of the century either by European immigrants who brought with them cooperative ideas and principles based on the socio-economic trends in Europe at the time, or by governments which introduced them as tools for development. As women were marginalized in the economic sector, they did not become active members of cooperatives.

(b)Areas of concern:

• Low level of participation in cooperative development and particularly that of women. Are efforts being made to increase the membership?
• The quality of participation in cooperatives. In what capacities do women participate, as members, staff, office bearers? Are women involved in decision making processes?
• Constraints to participation in cooperatives such as social, cultural, economic and political restrictions on women, their heavy workload, level of education, selection criteria for members etc. If these constraints exist, what is being done to address the situation?
• Lack of access to and control over resources such as credit, education, training, production inputs, marketing outlets, etc. Do men and women have equal access?
• Cooperative training and education programmes. Do these programmes address women's needs? Are efforts being made to involve more women, e.g. are meetings conveniently timed and are child care facilities available?
• Financial and social benefits. Is it advantageous for women to form cooperatives? Do cooperatives support women groups' income-generating activities?
• The possible existence of gender bias. Do gender-blind policies, practices and services exist within the cooperative?
• Lack of strong cooperative support and commitment to gender issues. How are gender issues addressed? Are gender sensitization programmes carried out?

1. General information
Compile information on the cooperative organization or sector in question:

• Are women involved in this cooperative sector, and if so, in which way? (For example as members, as employees or helping their husbands who are registered members?
• What is the percentage of women involved in this sector?
• What are the criteria for becoming a member, e.g. entrance fee, shares, ownership of land? If the latter, does this hinder women from becoming members?
• Are there any legal, traditional or customary constraints to women's participation in cooperatives?
• Do cooperatives respond to the needs of women?
• Do women organize themselves into women-only cooperatives?
• Do cooperatives support women groups' income-generating activities? Can women increase their income through cooperative activities?
• Is the cooperative sector supportive of equality issues? Is gender awareness training carried out?

2. Position of women in cooperatives
In a mixed cooperative or cooperative sector, compare the positions held by men and women:

• Do women participate in mainstream or marginal activities of the cooperative sector?
• What is the ratio of men and women on the board of directors or management committee?
• How many women hold leadership or managerial positions compared to men?
• What kind of jobs are usually held by the cooperative's female employees?
• In cases where the male and female members of staff carry out the same jobs, do they receive the same salaries and benefits?
• If there have been cut-backs in a particular cooperative sector, investigate which positions are the most vulnerable. What category of staff lose their jobs first?

3. Access to resources:
Do women have equal access to the following cooperative services?

(a) Training and education

• Women cannot assume leadership roles unless they have had access to education and training programmes. What percentage of women participate in cooperative education and training programmes?
• Are women's needs and potentials considered when designing training programmes, or is the main focus on male cooperative members/employees?
• Are training programmes easily accessible to women? For example, does the training take place far from their homes? Are child care facilities available? Is the scheduled time convenient for women with regard to their other responsibilities?

(b) Extension services, technical expertise, modern technology, production inputs

• Experience has shown that female extension workers can communicate better with women than male extension workers. What is the ratio of female to male farmers? And what is the ratio of female to male extension workers in the community/country?
• Do women farmers have access to production inputs such as modern farm tools, machinery, fertilizers?
• Do single women (or female heads of households) have access to production inputs?

  (c) Credit and loan facilities

• Do women experience problems in acquiring bank loans and credit? If so, why, and what can be done?

(d) Market outlets and transport facilities