Keynote address.

1. Gender Equality in Rural Africa:
Key note Address
From Commitments to Outcomes

2. From Commitments to Outcomes
•Mind The Cracks
Why

3. From Commitments to Outcomes

4. From commitments to Outcomes
Sleeping Giant (2012)
• History repeats itself because people
study history but do not learn from it
But most importantly,
“History in rural Africa does not repeat
itself, it has refused to leave.

5. From Commitments to Outcomes
Several well meaning commitments
have not resulted into lasting
outcomes
People keep falling through the
cracks

6. From Commitments to Outcomes
Gender Equality and Equity
Resul
t
Process
Process
Process

7. Gender Equality and Equity
Equality in the
process many fall
through the cracks
Equity in the process
reduces the danger of
cracks
Those who have, more
is addend; those who
do not have, even the
little is taken away

8. Gender Equality OR Equity
• Equity gives people what they need so all can attain the
same results (Equality)
• Equity is in the process; an approach
• Equality is a Result

9. What is the reality with ReSAKSS?
• Even in well meaning programs,
outcomes vary for people
• Some end up falling through the
cracks

10. Gender Equality and Equity
How do people fall through the cracks with regard
to gender?
• Adopting a narrow working definition of Gender
• Under estimating the role of institutions
• Focusing on removing constraints and not the root
causes
• Under estimating rural African

11. Adopting a narrow working definition of
Gender
• The working definition must work for you…
• Each organization serious about gender have a working
definition

12. Gender
Gender is a social construct of prescribed (pre-arranged) roles,
responsibilities, expectations, characteristics, behaviors, rights,
privileges and exclusions assigned to people based on their
multiple identities
• Gender is the niche that society curves out for people
Adopting a narrow working definition of
Gender

13. What are multiple identities?
• Multiple identities are best described by the term intersectionality
• Intersectionality is the complex, cumulative manner in which the
effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or
intersect to inform the experiential reality of individuals and
groups of people, Adapted from The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory
Stamper
Adopting a narrow working definition of
Gender

14. Multiple Identities
Sex:
Male or
Female
Generation:
Silent, boomers,
X, Y, Z
Livelihood: Crop,
Pastoralists, Fisher
Folk
Class: Royal,
wealth, educated,
Profession
Race: African,
Asian, Caucasian
Ability:
Normal, blind,
deaf, dumb,
lameAge: Baby,
child, youth,
adult, mature,
elderly

15. Multiple Identities
• This concept of gender does not consider any identity as
homogeneous
• Keeps probing, “which men, women, youth, trader,
professional, etc”
• People fall through cracks when important identities are over
looked in program design, delivery, M&E, impact assessment

16. Born Before Computers?BBC

17. Position in the Family

18. Child Mothers; Biological roles?

19. Disabled?

20. Generations

21. • Fifty percent of the world’s population
is under the age of 30. This is the
highest youth population in history!
• Africa by 2050 will account for 29% of
all people on earth aged 15-24!
• Which Rural Africa youth falls through
the cracks?
Generations

22. By our working definition, we create
cracks that affect the progress and
achievement of outcomes

23. Under Estimating the Role of
Institutions

24. Under Estimating the Role of Institutions
• Formal and informal rules, practices and norms which shape
social perceptions and interactions between people and
resources around them
• It is the institutions that define the niche we call gender

25. Under Estimating the Role of Institutions
Formal laws
• Are based on written, agreed upon and official
laws of governments or legal entities
• The constitutions
• Byelaws
• Contracts and agreements
• Protocols

26. Under Estimating the Role of Institutions
Informal laws
• Are often not written, based on cultural
beliefs and values; but are strong and held
in high regard by people
• Values
• Practices
• Norms

27. Institutional set up in Rural Africa
Formal Informal
 These seek to level the ground
o Privatization of extension
services across developing
countries
 Become too broad for local
reality
o The little interaction some rural
farmers had with extension was
removed
 Context specific – may be
unique to one community
Upon the Father’s death, the first
son become heir irrespective of age.
In TZ, must marry as part of the
process, even at 15 yrs
 Hardwired and the default
mindset
o Youths and children do not buy
or own sickles (ET)

28. Under Estimating the Role of Institutions
Before colonization gender was purely cultural
Traditional
Attepts to super impose the formal
Colonial era
Mixed grill
Current

29. History – colonial era Institutional set up in current
Rural Africa
Separated formal and informal
• Land tenure – Cultural and lease
hold – the cities
Super imposed the formal over the
informal
• Livelihood strategies to include
commercial commodities
Formalized tradition
• Power of local chiefs
• Staples
Formal
• Resources access in protected
areas
• Export Market dynamics
Mixture
• Acquisition of resources – can be
cultural or formal
• Role of Kings and chiefs
Formalized Tradition
• Inheritance
• Dues to local chiefs

30. Under Estimating the Role of Institutions
Rural Africa lives with and between two worlds
Formal
conventional
World
The
informal
traditional
world
Formalized
tradition

31. Under estimating the role of
institutions
and

32. Gender and Resources
• Resources refer to those means, possessions, assets, and wealth that
are accessed, controlled or owned by individuals, families or wider
communities at micro and macro levels
No resource is gender neutral
Formal and informal laws, norms of access, control and ownership
govern the levels of interactions between an individual and
resources

33. Gender and Resources (Assets)
• Access – freedom to use a resources
• Conflict between formal and informal
• Conditional access
• Control – freedom to decide how a resource is used
• delegated authority
• Temporary control
• Decisions devoid of power to enforce

34. • Ownership – freedom to dispose of a
resource
• Conditional ownership
• Shadow ownership (under surveillance)
• Co-ownership – never joint
Gender and Resources (Assets)

35. • People fall through cracks when we interpret the
observable routine as actual reality
• When the formal and informal conflict, most
rural Africa goes by the informal
Gender and Resources (Assets)

36. Focusing on constraints and not Root
Causes

37. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Effects
Practical needs
Root causes
Strategic needs

38. Focusing on constraints and not the root
causes
Practical Need Strategic need
 Access and control over
productive resources
 Market access
 Access to decision making
 Training to improve
performance
 Full ownership of productive
resources
 Knowledge and skills to
innovate own solutions
 Market literacy
 Power to effect decisions

39. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Maintain/
strengthen the
Status quo
Affirmative
action
Empowermen
t
Transformativ
e
By Monica Kapiriri
Practical
Strategic

40. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Status quo
An intervention involves people according to their gender
niche
• Provides for practical needs of gender groups to continue
improve perform within the gender niches
• Does not rock the boat
• Females for domestic; males for the public
• Females for staples: Men for commercial
• Practical approach
Maintain/
strengthen
the Status
quo
Affirmative
action
Empower
ment
Transform
ative

41. Focusing on constraints and not the root
causes
Affirmative Action: an action or policy that eliminates selected
constraints in favor of the discriminated
It is a practical approach that removes observable barriers or
constraints
• 30% women representation
• 1.5 additional points to female students in education
• Women finance institutions
• The core systems and structure remains the same
• Practical approach
Maintain/
strengthen
the Status
quo
Affirmative
action
Empower
ment
Transform
ative

42. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Empowerment refers to measures designed to increase the
degree of autonomy, agency, and self-determination among
people and in communities, in order to act on their own authority
• Strengthens the disadvantaged to compete more favorably with
in the existing structure and systems
• Practical approach that addresses the shortcomings,
weaknesses of the disadvantaged
• Training in skills and knowledge to perform better
• Mentoring and coaching
• Resource access and control
• Practical approach Maintain/
strengthen
the Status
quo
Affirmative
action
Empower
ment
Transform
ative

43. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Transformative Action moves beyond constraints, to dealing
with the underlying root causes at the institutional and structural
levels; the strategic needs
• It assesses and appropriates the formal and informal laws,
practices and norms that govern interactions between people
and resources
• Revision of land tenure systems
• Appropriating inheritance laws
• Knowledge and skills targeting mindsets
Maintain/
strengthen
the Status
quo
Affirmative
action
Empower
ment
Transform
ative

44. Focusing on constraints and not the root causes
Gender equality is a strategic issue that can only be achieved
through
• Transformative approaches
• Based on gender disaggregated data
Maintain/
strengthen
the Status
quo
Affirmative
action
Empower
ment
Transform
ative

45. Transformative approach
Generate Gender disaggregated
data
SEX GENDER

46. Gender Disaggregated Data
• Help monitor progress based on gender (not sex)
multiple identities
• Most agencies demand sex disaggregated data…

47. Sex-disaggregated Data
Interventions Females Males
A 67 79
B 4 50
C 17 2
D 44 14
E 2 69
Gender Disaggregated Data

48. Interventions Female Male
Widows Married
Women
Under 35 Men Under 35 Traders
A 37 25 5 38 19 23
B 17 0 0 1 0 1
C 10 11 23 4 7 3
D 7 10 27 5 5 4
E 2 0 0 10 19 40
Gender Disaggregated Data

49. From Commitments and Outcomes
Under Estimating Rural Africa

50. Under Estimating Rural Africa
Note:
• Rural people study us more
than we study them
Purpose:
• Maximize benefits, minimize
losses

51. Under Estimating Rural Africa
People fall through cracks when we fail to
anticipate and deal with biases
• Spatial or connectivity or accessibility bias:
More aware, will fool you into believing they
represent the rest
• Seasonal (time) bias: Describe what is
observable in that season and not the overall
reality
• Wealth and influence: the powerful do most of
the talking, other identities may go silent

52. Under Estimating Rural Africa
• Politeness bias: They tell you what they think you want to hear,
not the actual truth
• Expectation bias: They respond to maximize benefits. They will
play along for what they expect to get

53. Conclusion
• Is your definition of Gender
creating cracks?
• The role of institutions: have
you considered both worlds
and in between?
• Constraints - root causes,
where is your focus?
• Have you considered the
biases?

54. Mind the Cracks
Thank you