Action Learning Network: Notes from the 5th Network Session July 26, 2013 at GNS Sports Complex

What is the Action Learning Network (ALN)?

The purpose of the Action Learning Network is to share and network available resources with the aim of improving the services the voluntary sector delivers. Hosted by the Volunteerism Support Platform with support from Cuso International and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the ALN creates a setting where organizations and individuals can gather to share best practices or resources; share experiences with other organizations and individuals; create and expand networks; examine issues within their respective service sectors; and to explore solutions with the aim of facilitating organizational sector development. The ALN is expected to snowball into a structured body that will provide the scope for organizations and individuals to tap into a pool of existing and documented Guyanese resources and approaches to forward the development of the voluntary sector.

Summary of Main Presentation Points from July 26 Session

Topic for ALN session: Exposing Privilege: Understanding the Role of Human Rights and Gender in Your Work Facilitator: Ms. Samantha Rice, Youth Challenge Guyana *Please note that these notes are a condensed version of the content from the session. The full presentation can be uplifted from the VSP office or VSP website after August* Sex vs. Gender How does sex differ from gender? o Sex is the biological and physiological differences between men and women. The term Sex is not a synonym for Gender. o Gender is the socially constructed differences between men and women. What characteristics a society or culture associates with being masculine v. feminine. These set of characteristics and behaviours are overt and covert within a culture and impact every aspect of a persons life. o Both are parts of a persons identity. o A persons sex does not determine that persons gender identity. Gender Identity Socially defined differences between men and women that are rooted in widely shared ideas, beliefs, and norms about: o How men and women should behave and express themselves; o The type of social and sexual relationships they should have;
1

o What are typical feminine and masculine characteristics and abilities; and, o What are their key defining features. The above are often referred to as Gender Roles

Activity- Gender Roles in Guyana What are the cultural or social constructions of men and women in Guyana? Who/what decides this? Consider: o Institutions o Laws o Family o Peers o Media But, What if these Roles were reversed? See link for the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaB2b1w52yE Why are Gender Roles Important? The socially constructed ideas, beliefs, and norms about the differences between men and women reflect and influence mens and womens positions in society and their respective status and opportunities. Since these ideas, beliefs, and norms are socially constructed, they can also be changed or adapted to promote equity between individuals in any society. Adding More Layers What other identities impact the way women and men are viewed in Guyana? o i.e. ability, sexual orientation, religion, race, age, education, citizenship, class, etc Intersectionality The study of intersections between different disenfranchised groups or groups of minorities; specifically, the study of the interactions of multiple systems of oppression or discrimination. A theory suggests thatand seeks to examine howvarious biological, social and cultural categories such as gender, sex, race, race, ability, sexual orientation, and other parts of peoples identity interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels, contributing to systematic social inequality. Classical conceptualizations of oppression within society, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, and religion or belief-based bigotry, do not act independently of one another; instead, these forms of oppression interrelate, creating a system of oppression that reflects the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination. Example - Sexual Identity What is Sexual Identity? o The term Sexual Identity refers to how a person identifies themself in terms of their sexual orientation.
2

o o o

Sexual Orientation refers to which sex(s) that person is sexually attracted to. A persons sexual orientation may or may not have anything to do with that persons biological sex or gender identity. For example a person may be biologically male, and identify as female (in the ways they behave, dress, and the stereotypical roles in which they are fulfilling in a society) but they may sexually identify as bisexual (sexually attracted to both males and females).

Why Does Inequality Exist? The ways in which we consciously (overtly) and unconsciously (covertly) view others impacts the ways that person is viewed within society, at the individual and group level. The way we view each other is often both limited and limiting. Humans have a tendency to box people in, categorize and stereotype one another. This limits our understanding of each others abilities, capabilities, and opportunities. Our view of others is imbedded in historical and cultural concepts of power and privilege. Power is Access to resources and to decision makers to get what you want done. The ability to influence others. The ability to define reality for yourself and potentially for others. Visible and invisible. Over others, power with others, and/or power within. Power is often connected to privilege Privilege Is the unearned benefits conferred upon members of perceived dominant groups, usually at the expense of others. Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything theyve done or failed to do. Privilege can manifest through visible advantages such as access to wealth, professional opportunities, and social status, OR More subtly through, for example, freedom of behavior and setting the standard of normality against which others are judged. Dominant group members may be unaware of their privilege or take it for granted. Equality vs. Equity What is the Difference? The term equality refers to treating everyone equally, regardless of their age, sex, race, ability, etc so that they can reach their full human potential. The term equity refers to equivalent outcomes in the lives of people in a society, recognizing individual differences, needs, and interests. Creating equity requires a redistribution of power, privilege and resources.

Equity moves beyond equal opportunity, it requires transformative change at all levels (individual, institution, legal, etc)

Statistics from Guyana In 2006, 66% of boys and 73% of girls of secondary school age in Guyana were enrolled in secondary school (Bureau of statistics- Guyana and UNICEF, Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Summary Report, 2006). It is estimated that 3,000 girls drop out of school annually as a result of pregnancy (Stabroek News, February 16, 2013, Government of Guyanas submission to the UN Rights of the Child Committee). 29% of all children under age 5 years are living in a household without their biological father (Bureau of Statistics- Guyana and UNICEF, Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Summary Report 2006). 18% of all Guyanese women, or one in five women, believe that a husband/partner is justified in beating his wife/partner (Bureau of Statistics- Guyana and UNICEF, Guyana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, Summary Report 2006). 77% of women in East Berbice and 65% of women in Georgetown have experienced violence (Starbroek News, June 30, 2012, Joint study by UNFPA- Guyana Ministry of Labour). Women in Guyana earn approximately 47% of what men earn in a given year and women earn 71% of what men earn for the exact same position (World Economic Forums Global Gender Equality Report, 2010). In 2006, the government of Guyana reported that 14% of women and 9.2% of men were unemployed these government estimates are generally thought to be low and still unemployment is too high in Guyana (Bureau of Statistics- Guyana). Women participate in the formal labour force at significantly lower rates than men with 81% of men ad only 35% of women reflected in government statistics as participants in the formal labour force in 2006 (Bureau of Statistics- Guyana); and Between 2003 & 2007 there were 946 reported suicide deaths in Guyana according to the Ministry of Health, 80% of all suicide deaths are young males making suicide the number 2 killer of young adult men second to motor vehicle accidents (Government Information Agency, June 10, 2010). Gender Mainstreaming Is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. Organization Level - governance, policies and procedures Program Level- ways materials are written, presented, monitored and evaluated Three Broad Tools for Gender Mainstreamingo Analytical Tools/Techniques- statistics, surveys, cost-benefit analyses, guidelines and gender impact assessment methods.

o o

Educational Tools/Techniques- awareness training, training courses, manuals and leaflets; and Consultative and Participatory Tools/Techniques- steering groups, think tanks, databases, conferences, seminars, hearings. etc

Gender Mainstreaming Capacity Refers to the financial, technical, material, and human resources that affect whether an organization and its staff members can implement activities and achieve their objectives. Human resources most important! The Evolution: From Integration Focus on womens involvement (participation, representation, parity, numbers) in a development agenda decided by others Focus on women themselves- impact of interventions on women, how to increase their participation (focus on women as the problem or as victims) Gender analysis focused largely at household level- and to a lesser extent community level. Focused on roles- cataloguing differences between men and women. Technical aspects- idea that the development of methods, tools, and technical skills will bring about necessary change. Project-orientation- focusing on the project itself and ignoring the context in which the project operates. Focus on external support agencies- based on the assumption that the impetus will come from these agencies. to Mainstreaming Going beyond numbers (gender parity) to bring perceptions, experiences, interests of women and men to bear on development agenda. Focus on development interventions- policies, sectors and uncovering the gender biases inherent in these. Gender analysis focused on organizations, legal and political structures. Focus on relations of power and privilege- uncovering inequality, conflict, confrontation. A focus on political aspects of promoting gender equality- relations, power, transforming the development agency, changing organizations and institutions. Broader development focus- including the national partner context and the bilateral agency context. Focus on partner countries based on the assumption that the impetus must come from the partner countries. Misconceptions About Gender Mainstreaming Gender Mainstreaming is... o Essential for effective, sustainable development - NOT solely on the grounds of social justice or human rights;

o o o o

Focused on the substantive work of organizations - NOT about achieving gender balance in an organization. Identifying concrete actions to promote gender equality - NOT just about doing gender analysis of an issue. A way of making the goal of gender equality very explicit in all processes and documents - NOT continuing to hide or making these concerns invisible. A complementary strategy to womens empowerment models - it does NOT eliminate the need for targeted activities for women and activities targeted to promote gender equality. A process that requires specialist/catalyst resources to support management in the fulfillment of their responsibilities - it does NOT eliminate the need for gender unit and gender focal points.

Tips for Mainstreaming Your Organization Policy and procedure development- sexual harassment and diversity. Encourage your organization to write in to calls for opinions. When applying for grants know how the issue is gendered. Do the ground work to test-out how the program will be perceived by the community. Involve women and men, girls and boys in consultation, get their perspective on the issue and how it affects them. Encourage collective decision making that takes the opinions and leadership of women and men in the organization into consideration. During hiring, assess (through interview questions) the persons ability to think critically on these issues. Encourage your organization/supervisor to hold a self-assessment workshop to unpack your organizations culture and position on sensitive issues. Encourage strategic partnership and alliance! Monitor the effect of your program throughout. If boys rather than girls are attendingWHY? Adapt programming to address the issue. Training field staff to acknowledge gender and other identities in their work in a sensitive way, being aware of privilege and the organizations position on a certain issue. Evaluate the effect of your program- sex disaggregated data (in raw numbers), and qualitative differences in the ways women and men, boys and girls were impacted by the program. Other Recommendations Sub-committee of organization that is deemed public representatives of organization on gender-related issues (should be comprised of diverse section of organization in terms of race, sex, and age), to become involved in events (by speaking at engagements, womens days, etc) by offering to help organize, contribute, campaign/advertise, write, or becoming involved in activism.

Activist activities could include: rallies, organized events, poster-ing, door-to-door, pamphlets, involving the media, writing response to call for opinions on certain topics, posting articles, campaigns, and research on social media outlets and websites. Post relevant articles and actions of your organization in a separate column of your website. Create a gender tool box and inform all staff about the contents and how it can be used in their programs. Continue to build on gender tool box by including information on events attended, changes to law, amendments and updates made to training materials and glossary of organizations. Continue to work with international organizations (including funding organizations) as a strategic partner in order to further your organizations objectives and to seek out funding for gender-based work.

Links to Videos Used in the Presentation

What if Gender Roles Were Reversed?- Short Film by University of Saskatchewanhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaB2b1w52yE Fafafini- The Third Gender in Samoan Societyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EronVtKYr0c Michael Kimmel- Gender and Privilege- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgaOK74HqiA Jason Katz- TED Talk on Privilege and Masculine Culturehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTvSfeCRxe8 All You Need is Love?- Short Film on Heterosexual Privilege, Homophobia, and Bullyinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnOJgDW0gPI

Ideas for Future Action Learning Network sessions

Possible future topics: Governance and the Voluntary Sector Human Rights and the Voluntary Sector Communication and Healthy Relationships Role of Global Education in Volunteerism Conflict Resolution Parenting Strategies Child Sexual Abuse Community Life Competencies Sexual and Reproductive Health Family Planning Networking and Building Relationships in Volunteerism Volunteerism and Empowerment of Marginalized Groups Violence in Schools Using Social Media to support volunteer recruitment and retention Advocacy Skills

Creating an Enabling Environment for Civic Engagement; Toward Community Transformation; Resource Selection and Development for Civic Engagement

Next Action Learning Network

Time: 9:00am-12:00pm Date: Friday, September 6, 2013 Venue: GNS sports Complex Facilitator: To be announced Topic: To be announced