The CGIAR Consortium Gender Strategy aims to integrate gender issues into CGIAR research to enhance the relevance and impact of agricultural research on development challenges, particularly for poor women. The strategy includes goals for mainstreaming gender in research programs, promoting workplace diversity, and ensuring accountability in research outputs. Key objectives include measurable improvements in gender equity, women's empowerment, and addressing the 'gender gap' in agriculture by 2015.

1. CGIAR Consortium
Gender Strategy
CGIAR Board Orientation
Rome,
June 20, 2012
Jacqueline Ashby
Senior Advisor, Gender
and Research
CGIAR Consortium
Artist: Ashley Cecil; image on Flickr by Piotr Fajfer Oxfam International

2. Topics
• Gender in the CGIAR Strategic
Results Framework
• The Consortium-level Strategy
• What does gender mean for
research impact?
• Integration of gender into CGIAR
Research Programs (CRPs)
• Opportunities and challenges for
Centers, CRPs and Boards

3. 1.Gender in the CGIAR
Strategic Results Framework
Approach:
• Mainstream
gender in the
CGIAR Research
Programs (CPRs)
• Cross-cutting
theme for research
• Promote
workplace
diversity

4. Rationale for gender in the CGIAR
Strategic Results Framework
For research
• If gender disparities in the adoption of
new technologies, resource management
practices and marketing opportunities
are reduced, income and assets for
women producers will increase.
• Improved nutritional status of women
and children will lead to reduced inter-
generational transmission of poverty

5. 2. The Consortium-level
Gender Strategy
• Goal, objectives
and deliverables
• Gender in
Research
• Gender and
diversity in the
workplace
• Accountability

6. The strategy’s overall goal:
• To strengthen the CGIAR
research agenda and its
impact on development
challenges, through a rigorous
integration of gender issues in
the research carried out by
the CGIAR.

7. Gender Strategy
Component 1: CRP Gender Component 2: Diversity and
Strategy Gender in the workplace
Planning considers all relevant Broad understanding of why
gender constraints to the diversity and gender are relevant in
research process and the uptake research for development
of research outputs.
Implementation, monitoring and
review throughout all CRPs Equality of career progression
within the CGIAR
Greater expertise in gender
analysis CGIAR succeeds in attracting and
retaining some of the world’s top
scientists and service function
Research outputs and outcomes professionals
remove constraints faced by
women farmers
BETTER
ACHIEVEMENT OF THE
STRATEGIC LEVEL OUTCOMES

8. CGIAR Consortium Gender
Strategy (Dec. 2011)
Objective
• To improve the relevance
of the CGIAR's research to
poor women as well as
men (reduced poverty and
hunger, improved health
and environmental
resilience) in all the
geographical areas where
the work is implemented
and targeted by end of
2012.
• By 2015 progress towards
these outcomes will be
measurable.

9. Deliverables
Objective Deliverables
• To improve the relevance • All CRPs have an explicit
of the CGIAR's research to gender strategy that is
poor women as well as implemented within 6
men (reduced poverty and months of their inception
hunger, improved health • Research outputs in all
and environmental CRPs bring demonstrable
resilience) in all the and measurable benefits
geographical areas where to women farmers in
the work is implemented target areas within 4
and targeted by end of years following inception
2012. of the CRP.
• By 2015 progress towards • By 2014 Staff training
these outcomes will be and strategic partnerships
measurable. ensure all CRPs have
sufficient gender
expertise.

10. Performance monitoring
Objective • CRP annual reports
• To improve the relevance are to select a set of
of the CGIAR's research to outcome indicators,
poor women as well as
men (reduced poverty and
including some
hunger, improved health gender-responsive
and environmental outcome indicators,
resilience) in all the for reporting at
geographical areas where baseline and on
the work is implemented
and targeted by end of
subsequent progress
2012. • CRP Gender Strategy
• By 2015 progress towards has process
these outcomes will be indicators and M&E
measurable.
• Gender Budgeting

11. Research Capacity
Building
• Increase gender
expertise: requires
high calibre social
scientists
• Ensure gender
awareness at all
management levels
• Develop partnerships
capable of leveraging
gender equality for
positive impact

12. Gender and Diversity in the Workplace
• Diversity in the
workplace aims to
increase the quality of
research.
• Recruitment
• Retention
• A pragmatic approach
utilising targets where
appropriate.
• Recruit Human
Resources expert
2013

13. 3.What does gender mean for
research impact?
• The “gender
gap” in
agriculture
• Risks
• Opportunities

14. The “gender gap” in
agriculture (FAO, 2010)
In most regions of
the world, one out
of five farms is
headed by a
woman
Women comprise
about 40% of
people working on
farms in low-
income countries
Mali women collect firewood for cooking on the dry bed of the Niger
River (photo on Flickr by United Nations).

15. The “gender gap” in
agriculture (FAO, 2010)
Inequalities between women
and men producers:
• hold back agricultural
productivity (yield gaps of
20-25%)
• perpetuate poverty and
unsustainable resource
use
• make women more
vulnerable to climate-
change impacts on
agriculture
• are obstacles to the
CGIAR achieving its
strategic results
Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

16. The “gender gap” in
agriculture (FAO, 2010)
Pervasive inequalities between
women and men in:
• Assets for agriculture --land,
water, trees, fisheries,
livestock, especially
insecure property rights
• Labor markets
• Access to services- financial,
advisory, business
development
• Knowledge and skills
• Technology
• Organization
• Supportive institutions and
Mali women collect firewood for cooking on the dry bed of the Niger
policy
River (photo on Flickr by United Nations).

17. Gender inequality affects:
(2) Decisions about
agricultural production
and marketing
(3) Power over use of
resources like land, water
and livestock
(4) Control over food
availability, spending and
income
(5) Leadership in the
community and
bargaining power in
markets
(6) Time use and workloads

18. Risks of ignoring
the gender gap
• Women don’t buy
into proposed
technologies or
strategies if these
are inappropriate (eg.
more labor intensive)
• Women can’t access
or use information
about recommended
innovations
• Women oppose or
cannot invest in
needed innovations
Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

19. Example: technology is not
adopted
Review of 24 multivariate studies of
technological input use, access, and adoption
fertilizer, seed varieties, tools, pesticide use,
access, and adoption.
• 79 percent of studies found men have higher
mean access
• 59 percent of studies found when unequal farm
size, credit, capital, extension and other factors
are taken into account, the farmer’s sex has no
significant effect on output
• Many other channels perpetuate gender
disparities such as receiving lower prices or
through poor access to markets.

20. Example: women are worse
off and oppose innovations
• Innovations
increase drudgery
for women
• Women do not
share increases in
income when men
control marketing
• Thus, women face
different
incentives from
men
Photo P. Casier (CGIAR).

21. Case –Tanzania village studies
• Rainy season is now much shorter: farmers in the two
villages studied adapted by growing more drought-
tolerant crops.
• Faster-maturing sorghum and maize plus new varieties of
sesame and sunflower were introduced
• Increased marketing of food crops, sorghum and maize,
traditionally grown by women increased their workloads
• New crops-- sesame and sunflower-- increased income but
led to more weeding work for women.
• Women do not benefit from the profits: all grain is
typically sold by men, and women are less likely than
men to control the cash received.
• Increased sale of groundnuts, bambara nuts, and cowpeas
traditionally sold by women provided more access to, and
control of income for women.
Nelson & Stathers (2009)

22. Benefits from increasing
gender equality
Objective • Yield gaps of 20-25%
• To improve the relevance between men and women
of the CGIAR's research to producers are eliminated
poor women as well as • Marketing and value
men (reduced poverty and chains include women on
hunger, improved health a fair, competitive footing
and environmental • Poor rural women
resilience) in all the increase the food and
geographical areas where income under their
the work is implemented control which is
and targeted by end of positively associated with
2012. improvements in
• By 2015 progress towards nutrition, education and
these outcomes will be welfare for the whole
measurable. household.

23. Example: improved nutrition from orange-
fleshed sweet potato, Mozambique
• 2002: the Towards Sustainable Nutrition Improvement Project
targeted improved vitamin intake among children under five
• Sweet potato was a “women’s crop” in 72% of farms but women
sold it in only 48%
• Women farmers tested high-yielding varieties and were directly
involved in their evaluation and selection.
• Women and men of all age groups in families including principal
caretakers of children identified practices that could reduce
women’s workloads
• Male and female extension agents were used for different
audiences and messages
• 90 percent of farmers adopted, vitamin A intake increased 8
times in children in adopter households
Source: World Bank, IFAD and FAO Gender and Agriculture Sourcebook.

24. 4. Gender in CGIAR Research
Programs (CRPs)
Implementation
of the
Consortium-
level Gender
Strategy

25. Mainstreaming
• Gender Strategy
required from
each CRP
• Gender
budgeting in
CRPs

26. Gender and Research
Advisor TORS
• Facilitate CRP
Gender Strategy
submission
• Chair network
• Recommend
strategies to
improve
capacity

27. Cross-cutting research
theme
• CGIAR Gender &
Agriculture
Research
Network
established,
January 2012.

28. Gender Budgeting Issues
• Many CRP proposals
lack a gender budget
• Strategic research
costs are clear
• Integration=add-on:
is difficult to cost
• Monitoring
performance rather
than expenditure will
be critical

29. Cross-cutting research theme
Type of CGIAR Research Program
Comm- Natura Pol- Sys- Nutrit- Climate
Gender-Responsive odity l icies tems ion Change
Entry Points Res-
ources
and
Health
Equal access to
appropriate technology and
advisory services
* * * * * *
More inclusive
commodity &
food value chains
* * * *
Women’s control of income
generated by technology
and institutional innovations
* * * * * *
Women’s asset accumulation and
rights * * * *
Improved information systems on
gender in agriculture * * * * * *

30. Opportunities for CRP
collaboration
• Joint M&E of a small set of
indicators of gender-responsive
outcomes shared across CRPs
• Joint research: reducing gender
inequity in value chains
• Joint experimentation with
novel approaches to enhance
impact
• Sentinel sites

31. 5. Opportunities and challenges
for Centers, CRPs and Boards
• Promote gender
awareness at all levels
• Ensure performance
monitoring of gender in
research and
accountability for its
deliverables
• Invest in capacity
development
• Install policy supporting
gender and diversity in
the workplace

32. “Must-ask” questions for Board
members:
• Have we
diagnosed
properly the
gender differences
in constraints and
needs of our
target
populations?

33. “Must-ask” questions:
Has research been
designed taking
gender into account:
• Who owns or controls
the assets?
• Who does the work?
• Who makes the
decisions?
• Who captures what
share of the benefits?
• Who is able to join
and participate?

34. “Must ask” questions:
Are performance
monitoring and
impact
assessment
designed to detect
differences
among men and
women in
adoption and the
distribution of
benefits?

35. “Must-ask” questions:
• Does the Center
have in place the
recruitment and
retention policies
needed to support
diversity in the
workplace?

36. “Must ask” questions:
Do working budgets,
new proposals and
financial reporting
allocate resources for
social science
(gender) research?
Is there the
appropriate
institutional policy
in place to ensure
gender budgeting is
mandatory?

37. For more information:
http://cgiar.org
How we do
research/
Research on
gender in
agriculture

38. Thanks!