Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Gender roles shift with social, economic and technological change. For
example, the introduction of new crops and technologies, mounting pressure
on land, or increasing poverty or migration can change the roles of men and
women in agriculture. Migration can empower the women who stay in rural
areas when men leave to work in towns. When technical approaches incor-
porate gender concerns, they can empower women, but when they do not the
consequences are likely to be negative for women and girls.
Gender was included in Phase 2 research design and capacity and the learning
mechanisms. Initially research proposals included gender but only in a marginal
way. Then the CPWF adopted an explicit program-wide gender initiative
(2011-13) (Box 3.6). This was based on a multi-pronged approach to transform
researchers and R4D by asking the question, “Are there barriers to women's
full participation in any activity—workshop, adoption, new technology?”
The focus on gender led to data disaggregation, adaptation in action research
and more targeted use of participatory approaches. For example, this included
specific consideration of men's and women's differing roles in crop and livestock
management from the Nile BDC. It found that women farmers' incomes
increased and that women had an increased role in decision-making when
involved in differentiated ways in local innovation platforms. In Zimbabwe,
where women represent nearly half of all goat owners, an innovation platform
changed the goat market from on-farm purchase by intermediaries to formal
public auctions. This changed the power dynamics in favor of women through
stabilizing prices, rewarding quality, and hence promoting farmer investment
and innovation (ICRISAT, 2011).
In the Volta BDC, CPWF partners researched gender dynamics in small
reservoir management. They found that women farmers grouped together to
overcome local and national barriers to access financing, technology and
agriculture-based decision-making (Lasiter and Stawicki, 2013).
Lessons learned include:
1
Integrate rather than isolate by ensuring gender is taken account of
throughout projects: in survey design, innovation platforms, M&E systems
Box 3.6
Components of the CPWF new gender initiative
•
Basin gender audits;
•
gender checklist;
•
basin gender awareness training;
•
revision of monitoring and evaluation systems;
•
commissioning gender-specific research;
•
special sessions in IFWF3;
•
gender stories; and
•
a sustained gender conversation across CPWF project teams.
Source: CPWF Website (2013)
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