Agri-ProFocus Learning Network
When starting a gender in value chain intervention first there has to be decided on the strategy to follow. This chapter will allow you to situate your organization and to select the most suitable strategy for addressing gender in vale chains. The chapter describes five strategies addressing gender sensitive value chain development from a different perspective. They are schematically represented below.
The five strategies:
1. Mitigating resistance by building on tradition
2. Creating Space for Women
3. Organizing for Change
4. Standards, certification and labels
5. Gender and CSR
1. Mitigating resistance by building on tradition.
This strategy builds on women’s traditional roles in value chains. Women’s visibility in value chains is increased by professionalizing their traditional tasks; which increases the benefits that accrue to women.
This strategy is particularly applicable in:
2. Creating Space for Women.
This strategy (i) positions women in male dominated value chains to increase their visibility and economic decision-making power and (ii) stimulates women entrepreneurship (new enterprises as well as upgrading existing enterprises).
The ‘positioning of women in male dominated value chains’ strategy is particularly easy to apply:
The ‘women entrepreneurship’ strategy is particularly suitable:
3. Organizing for Change.
In order to move from mitigating resistance at the producer level towards women’s empowerment further up the chain and within households, women and men need to organize for change. Due to structural constraints women have limited access to technical assistance and extension services. Since women carry out a lot of the tasks also for cash crops this creates inefficiencies in productivity. This entails interventions throughout the chain targeted towards breaking down structural constraints, as well as building human agency (confidence, self-esteem, skills, capacities).
4. Standards, certification and labels.
As a strategy to address gender, standards and certification target the whole chain. This approach is unique in that it connects to the consumer and because it targets the chain context as well: it sets the standards on who participates in the chain and how. There are two strategies for gender equity interventions through standards and certification.
1. Labels and seals: Selling women’s participation
This strategy is particularly useful where:
2. Making use of existing third-party certified standards
This strategy can be used when a farmer group is already certified to a social or environmental standard (Fairtrade, UTZ, organic and so on) and thus has a documentation and traceability system in place; or, when a farmer group want to enter these markets.
5. Gender and CSR.
This strategy focuses on companies further along the value chain that integrate gender into their corporate strategy. Companies have the potential to address gender inequality and improve the position of women in the agricultural value chains they are part of.
The strategy is particularly useful when:
Pyburn, R. and Laven, A. (2012). “Book Launch - A Woman’s Business: gender equity in agricultural value chain development”. Power point presentation to launch of an early edition of the book: KIT, APF, IIRR (2012) Challenging Chains to Change: gender equity in agricultural value chain development. KIT Publishers, Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam. Presented at the Ninzi Hill Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda. May 25 2012.