Incorporating Gender in our Work

Carol J. Pierce ColferCIFOR/Cornell(+ E. Mwangi, D. Catacutan, R. Jalonen)

 Developing a congenial atmosphere Gender in communities Gender in research teams

 Links with radical feminists (some seen to ‘hate men’) Buildup of defensiveness (due to longstanding discrimination) Shortage of women in some relevant fields (due to traditional gender stereotyping) Global value systems that prioritise men’s work

 Acknowledge importance of both women and men in accomplishing Component 2 goals Seek and use variety of gender expertise (local, Consultative Group or CG, partners) Keep longer term goals in mind when confronted with antagonism, defensiveness, etc. – be patient, polite, persistent

 Form/use effective interdisciplinary teams to address gender issues (various levels) Start with good cooperation/communication among ourselves Monitor results, learn and adapt, as needed (build on what works) Address gender issues at multiple scales

Gender needs to be incorporated into, or complement, our other researchNOT replace existing methods and approaches

 Assess who does what, who knows about what, who has power over what/whom Develop research strategies that address topics of local interest to both genders Form voluntary community groups to examine and address these research topics Facilitate a cyclical process — goal setting, analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring, re-evaluation

 Develop research frameworks that compare location-specific findings across regions Expand assessments beyond the economic (e.g. governance, equity, voice, subsistence benefits/impacts) across sites Test hypotheses about women, men, forests and trees in long-term sites (Sentinel sites?) – both involvement and impact

 Women may have less time, more domestic responsibilities – requiring care in scheduling Women (and some men) may not know national language – requiring use of local language or translation

 ; Many women (and some men) may be illiterate – requiring creative use of graphics Many women (and some men) may be unused to interacting with strangers – requiring time to accustom them (and their family) to your presence ; Husbands may disapprove – requiring negotiation

 Non-timber forest products Health-related concerns Food and nutrition Agriculture/agro- forestry/swiddens Marketing of ‘women’s products’

? Assumption: ‘Men are no problem’ but…perhaps only true for elites… Soldiers, HIV/AIDS victims, domestic abusers…??? [Surely more positive characteristics than that!] Children (sons)?

 Female research team members tend to have better access to women’s views/lives Male research team members tend to have better access to men (though female outsiders are sometimes seen locally as ‘male’) Social scientists are trained to study people’s perspectives/lives – many have gender expertise

 May require qualitative and descriptive approaches [invisible] – lower prestige in CG May require location-specific research – lower prestige in CG May work best with lon May work best with long term participatory approaches – [historically] unpopular in CG

 Maintains ability to be ‘grounded’ Provides opportunities to test technologies, tools, approaches of use to both sexes Benefits a broader population base, mobilising under-recognized human resources

 In-depth nature of research can help shed light on dynamics/interactions not easily revealed via broad surveys Can be a good basis for generating hypotheses May improve quantification of qualitative results – leading to better impact assessment

 How are you imagining incorporating gender concerns into your work? What are your hopes, fears, worries about it? What sorts of roadblocks/opportunities do you anticipate? What kinds of solutions have worked in the past, or do you envision working in upcoming research?

Incorporating Gender in our Work

by CIFOR

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

2 Embeds 2

Statistics

Incorporating Gender in our Work Presentation Transcript

https://si0.twimg.com	1
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net	1