Abstract
One of CARE’s overarching principles of value chain development is gender justice and equity. Women provide the majority of agricultural labor in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and they are the majority of smallholder farmers.1 In Bangladesh, women traditionally take care of livestock and poultry around the house, and women are playing an increasingly important role in agriculture as men seek offfarm paid work.2 However, while women play an important role in the production of food and the management of livestock, their work is often less visible and less valued than that of men.3 As a woman dairy farmer explained, “As my husband bought the cow he thinks he has the sole right over it. But he doesn’t see my effort, labor, and time spent on cow rearing which makes the cow produce more milk and increases the selling price of the milk.” And as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states, “Women make significant contributions to the rural economy in all developing country regions, yet they consistently have less access than men to the resources and opportunities they need to be more productive. Increasing women’s access to land, livestock, education, financial services, extension, technology and rural employment would boost their productivity and generate gains in terms of agricultural production, food security, economic growth, and social welfare.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, “Gender Impact Strategy for Agricultural Development” (Report, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA, 2008), accessed November 24, 2013. https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/Documents/gender-impact-strategy.pdf;
UNDP, Taking Gender Equality Seriously: Making Progress, Meeting New Challenge. (New York: United Nations Development Program, 2006).
However, FAO in The State of Food and Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Developmen. (Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2011) takes a slightly more conservative estimate of women’s agricultural labor, estimating that women make up 43 percent of the agricultural labor force globally, with wide variation among regions and type of agricultural product. However, in gathering data there remains a challenge where women’s contributions tend to be less recognized.
World Bank, Mainstreaming Gender in Agriculture and Rural Developmen. (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008).
CARE/MEDA, “E-Course on Market Analysis and Value Chain Project Design” (Online course notes, Microlinks), accessed November 24, 2013. http://microlinks.kdid.org/training-group/caremeda-e-course-market-analysis-and-value-chain-project-design
FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Developmen. (Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2011).
Rekha Mehra and Mary Hill-Rojas, “Women, Food Security and Agriculture in a Global Marketplace” (Washington, DC: International Center for Research on Women, 2008).
Simon Bolwig, Stefano Ponte, Andries du Toit, Lone Riisgaard, and Nids Halberg, “Integrating Poverty, Gender and Environmental Concerns into Value Chain Analysis: A Conceptual Framework and Lessons for Action Research” (Working paper 2008/16, Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008);
Christopher Coles and Jonathan Mitchell, “Gender and Agricultural Value Chains: A Review of Current Knowledge and Practice and Their Policy Implications” (Background Paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2010 201., Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2010).
Janet G. Stotsky, “Gender and lts Relevance to Macroeconomic Policy: A Survey” (International Monetary Fund Working Paper, IMF, Washington, DC, 2006).
Mair, Martí, and Ventresca, “Building Inclusive Markets”; Angelica Senders, Anna Lentik, Mieke Vanderschaeghe, and Jacqueline Terrillon, Gender in Value Chain. (Arnhem, Netherlands: AgriPro Focus, 2013).
Quisumbing et al. “Can Dairy Value Chain Projects Change Gender Norms in Rural Bangladesh? Impacts on Assets, Gender Norms and Time Use.” In Gender, Agriculture and Assets: Learning from Eight Agricultural Development Interventions in Africa and South Asi., edited by Agnes Quisumbing, Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Jemimah Njuki, and Nancy Johnson (Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2013), 21–24.
Linda Mayoux and Grania Mackie, Making the Strongest Links: A Practical Guide to Mainstreaming Gender Analysis in Value Chain Developmen. (Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2007).
Richard W. Scott, Institutionsand Organization., 3rd edn (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008);
Christopher Coles and Jonathan Mitchell, “Gender and Agricultural Value Chains: A Review of Current Knowledge and Practice and Their Policy Implications” (Background Paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2010–201., Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, Rome, 2010).
Stephen R. Barley and Pamela S. Tolbert, “Institutionalization and Structuration: Studying the Links between Action and Institution.” Organization Studie. 18, no. 1 (1997): 93–117;
Anthony Giddens, The Constitution of Society: Outline of the Theory of Structuratio. (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1984).
Amartya Sen, Development as Freedo. (New York: Anchor, 1999).
Naila Kabeer, “Resources, Agency, Achievements: Reflections on the Measurement of Women’s Empowerment.” Development and Chang. 30, no. 3 (1999): 438.
Mark Granovetter, “The Impact of Social Structure on Economic Outcomes.” Journal of Economic Perspective., 19, no. 1 (2005): 33–50.
IFPRI, Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Inde. (Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2012).
Copyright information
© 2014 Kevin McKague and Muhammad Siddiquee
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McKague, K., Siddiquee, M. (2014). Gender. In: Making Markets More Inclusive. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373755_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137373755_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48028-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-37375-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Business & Management CollectionBusiness and Management (R0)