Agency: a woman’s own aspirations and capabilities to take action

Structure: the environment (social norms, institutions, policies) that surrounds and conditions women’s choices

Relations: the relationships, coalitions, mutual support through which a woman negotiates her path to expand agency or alter structures

CARE’s Women’s Empowerment Framework

Agency

StructureRelations

WE

Framework

Greater gender equity,

productivity, in sustainable agriculture, leading to

empowerment

Agency

Structure

1. Positive image of women as farmers, workers or entrepreneurs2. Practical knowledge of law and self confidence to claim rights3. Access to and use of information and skills to improve productivity and income4. Equitable division of labor/time5. Increased involvement in decision making at HH level 6. Equitable control over productive assets and use of income7. Increased food and nutrition security

1. Existence of gender equitable land/property and other natural resource laws. 2. Existence of legal support structures for female claimants3. Equitable access to market structure and investment for value creation4. Increased State/local authorities budget allocation to women issues in agriculture5. Attention to gender equity by institutional system

1. Ability to organize, lead and influence 2. Freedom to form coalitions and jointly claim rights and hold duty bearers accountable3. Ability to engage male groups as change and support agents4. Change in institutional and individual attitude, behaviors toward women

Relations

CARE’S WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT FRAMEWORK: APPLICATION TO AGRICULTURE

CARE International Food Security Strategy

Sust. Ag. Prod & mkts

FinancialServices

SocialProtection

Hum.Assistance

Nutrition

Advocacy and Campaigning

Key Points from January 2010 meeting:

•Focus on (poor) women and children (and on building women’s assets and engagement in decision making)

•Multi-sectoral approaches that address underlying causes of poverty

•Five Strategic Objectives (likely)

•Analysis of drivers and finding solutions/ leverage points

•Protecting and promoting resilient livelihoods

•Empowering women to engage in initiatives to reduce food insecurity

•Collaboration, capacity enhancement, monitoring of fulfillment of the right to food

•Accountability of duty bearers to fulfill right to food for poorest women

Messages from Latin America

•Our ANR work should be more than an end in itself – it should also be the means for more significant change (potential to shift power relations)

•Move beyond activities that generate income to those that contribute to broader social change

•Build a strategy with strong positions and principles that we build in our work. Do not try to dictate globally too much detail – contexts are very different, and evolving

•Make sure we integrate the various strategies to make them useful to country offices

Messages from Latin America - 2

•Latin America has a different context – small territory, fewer people. Our solutions are different.

•Do not forget to discuss the issue of child labor/ child work.

•In Latin America, “Women Rule!”

•You are lucky you don’t have Marcos! (just kidding)

•We love you

Messages from Latin America – 3Reflections from Gianluca

Market Engagement, Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change strategies should be highly integrated among each other, as most of the projects actually contain more than one of these themes

Integrating women in VCs can be achieved through integrating women in agriculture activities, wherever possible – work with the whole family rather than with women only

Sometimes a difficult balance between Market Engagement and Food Security (or even Food Sovereignty) – need to take all elements into account when working with very vulnerable populations.

Messages from Latin America – 4Reflections from Gianluca

If there is an imbalance toward markets, market fluctuations can put food security at risk (especially when targeting international markets), unless we have a proper diversification strategy or food security strategy. E.g. from Wal-Mart project in Ancash - people feel uncomfortable about targeting international markets without a proper FS or risk mitigation strategy in place, as they have already had negative experiences with artichokes export during the recent economic downturn

While selecting VCs, it would be good to have clear criteria about the positive or negative energy balance or carbon footprint of each value chain, in order to make choices as coherent as possible with our CC strategy as well.

Messages from Latin America – 5Reflections from Gianluca

Watersheds management and CC adaptation should be an integral part of VCs initiatives, as water scarcity is already affecting both the Andean region and Central America, and climate change might intensify the issue.

The region has a strong preference around working with VCs mainly involving small producers, than in VCs involving large producers with an employment creation effect. There is a strong consideration of the social and economic empowerment effect of vulnerable communities (especially of women) deriving from the work with small producers.

Messages from Latin America – 6Reflections from Gianluca

Latin America has huge potential in terms of very specific / unique VCs linked to the Andes or to the rainforest, and organic production potential should be protected against GMOs wherever possible, even if the priority might be different in other regions.

Very serious consideration should be given to the issue of child labour in the VCs that we are supporting.