Introduction to

gender concepts
 Gender
Concepts
• Let’s Define Gender?
• Let’s Define Sex?

• List some Jobs

 Definition of Gender

Gender refers to those

characteristics and roles of
women and men that are socially
constructed
 Definition of Gender
What is Gender about?

• Social roles and relations between men and women

in the society.
• It affects all parts of our lives (social, economic
and political).
• It changes over time.
• It is what we expect men and women to
do and behave.
• It is about how power is used and shared
Differences Between
Sex and Gender
 Gender
Equality
• Entails the concept that all human beings, both
men and women, are free to develop their
personal abilities and make choices without the
limitations set by stereotypes, right gender roles,
or prejudices.
• Gender equality that the different behaviours,
aspirations and needs of women and men are
considered, valued and favoured.
• It does not mean that women and men have to
become the same, but that their rights,
responsibilities and opportunities will not depend
on whether they are born male or female
 Gender
•
Equity
Means fairness of treatment for women and men,
according to their respective needs.

• This may include equal treatment or treatment that

is different but considered equivalent in terms of
rights, benefits, obligations and opportunities.

• In the development context, a gender equity goal often

requires built-in measures to compensate for the
historical and social disadvantages of women.
 Gender analysis
• Is a tool /set of tools to assist in
strengthening development planning,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation,
and to make programmes and projects more
efficient and relevant.

• Gender analysis should go beyond cataloguing

differences to identifying inequalities and
assessing relationships between women and
men.
 Gender analysis
• Gender analysis helps us to frame questions
about women and men’s roles and relations in
order to avoid making assumptions about who
does what, when and why.

• The aim of such analysis is to formulate

development interventions that are better
targeted to meet both women’s and men’s
needs and constraints.
 Empowermen
•
t
Implies people – both women and men – taking
control over their lives by setting their own agendas,
gaining skills (or having their own skills and
knowledge recognized), increasing their self-
confidence, solving problems, and developing self-
reliance.

• It is both a process and an outcome.

• Empowerment implies an expansion in women's

ability to make strategic life choices in a context
where this ability was previously denied to them.
 Gender
•
Mainstreaming
Is a strategy for making women's, as well as men's,
concerns and experiences an integral dimension in
the design, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of policies and programmes in all
political, economic and social spheres so that
women and men benefit equally and inequality is
not perpetuated.

• The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality

• Gender mainstreaming should be done in all areas

and at all levels in society.
 Approache
s
Gender-neutral approaches do not
account for the differences between
women and men and do not consider
how women and men may be
marginalized and harmed or may not
benefit from research programs and
policy.
 Approache
s
Gender Aware (or responsive)
approaches are designed to meet both
women’s and men’s needs. These
approaches ensure that both women and
men will benefit, and neither will be
harmed by research, programs and policy,
such as, for example, by exacerbating
their work burdens.
 Approache
s
Gender transformative approaches actively
strive to examine, question, and change
rigid gender norms and the imbalance of
power as a means of achieving development
goals as well as meeting gender equity
objectives. These research, programmatic
and policy approaches challenge the
distribution of resources and allocations of
duties between men and women.
 Why
Gender?
• Why is it a big deal?
 Realitie
s
• Consistent gender disparities in access to
and benefits from technologies, services
and inputs across developing countries
• Participation in and benefits from markets:
low female membership in agricultural
marketing cooperatives, lack of important
information on prices for marketing
systems, etc.
 Realitie
s
• Men and women are impacted differently by
technologies, interventions and other
emerging threats such as climate change,
HIV/AIDS on women.
• Focus on gender can increase the
productivity of agriculture and livestock
systems, and improve food security and
nutrition.
 Realitie
s
• Findings have shown the importance of
the explicit focus on gender in promoting
household poverty reduction.
• Meaningful representation in both men
and women decision making and policy
bodies, in management positions, in
research and development is an important
component of reducing gender
inequalities
 Realitie
s
• The participation of men and women
in agricultural research and
development leads to better decisions
outcomes, better performance,
creativity and innovation and this has
been shown in a variety of settings,
occupations, and organizations.
 Realitie
s gender disparities
 The potential gains from reducing
• If women had the same resources as men, they could increase yields on their
farms by 20-30%
– raise agricultural output by 2.5-4% and reduce hungry people by 100-150
million (FAO, 2011)

• There is evidence that income under the control of women is more likely to be
used to improve family welfare
– women spend upto 90% of their income on their families, while men
spend
30-40%
– strengthening marital bargaining power and "voice" within the household
decision-making

 Extent of gender mainstreaming /integration in agriculture research and

development programs remains adhoc
– There is no evidence on what potential entry points bring the most benefits
or catalyse change
 GaD vs
• Gender
WiD
and Development (GAD) Approach
- was developed in 1980s in response to
perceived failings of the WID Approach.
Rather than focusing exclusively on women,
this approach is concerned with relations
between women and men. It Challenges
unequal decision-making and power relations
between not only men and women but also
between rich and poor
 GaD vs WiD
• Women in Development (WID)
- is an approach that emerged in the 1970s,
with the goal of integrating women more
fully into the development process. It
includes strategies such as women – only
projects and credit and training projects
for women.
Policy Approaches to WiD and
GaD
 Practical and
Strategic Gender
Needs
Practical Gender Needs (Practical Gender
Issues)
- Gender needs are related to immediate needs
of living, such as food, drinking water, and
medical care. These needs can be fulfilled by
providing inputs (such as food, installation of
wells, establishment of clinics, etc.). Although
the situation of women may be improved by
meeting their practical gender needs, this alone
can not be sufficient to change existing gender
roles and social relationships between men and
women.
Strategic gender needs (Strategic Gender Issues)

- Strategic gender needs arise from women’s

subordinate position and gender bias, such as lack of
resources and education, and inability to avert poverty
and resist violence. Although these strategic gender
needs are commonly experienced by many women,
they may not be aware of their disadvantaged position
nor their potential powers to bring about change. To
meet these strategic gender needs, it is necessary to
encompass social and political reforms though the
empowerment of women. These measures are seen as
relatively long-term objectives.