Woman, training and work

Gender! A Partnership of Equals
Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.

Cooperatives
Accelerating progress

More than 800 million women and men across the globe are members of cooperatives, and an additional 100 million non-members work in them. Cooperatives are associations of men and women who have joined together to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly-owned, democratically controlled enterprises.

Although the cooperative movement started as small grassroots organizations in Western Europe, Northern America and Japan in the middle of the last century, today cooperatives are a major economic force in sectors ranging from banking, insurance, modern industrial and service companies to agricultural marketing and small and medium sized handicrafts industries. New and innovative cooperatives are being created, such as Internet providers and TV cable stations and the so-called "new cooperatives" in certain countries.



The issues

Gender equality is promoted through globally adopted principles and values which emphasize self-help, democracy, social responsibility, equality and equity. However, cooperatives are influenced by the society in which they operate, and though most have policies on equal opportunities and treatment for men and women, actual practice may differ.

A most important gender issue worldwide is women's low level of active participation and their under-representation in decision-making and leadership positions. For cooperatives to function as democratic, member-driven organizations or enterprises, women must have equal access to decision-making processes. If they are not represented or are under-represented when decisions are being taken, their needs and interests cannot be adequately addressed, nor can they be expected to accept the legitimacy of the decisions taken on their behalf.

Another critical issue is whether male and female members have equal access to, and control over, cooperative resources such as credit and finance, education and training, production inputs and marketing outlets etc. Many cooperatives provide education and training programmes for their members, but they should ensure that these programmes are equally (and easily) accessible to their women members. Special attention should also be paid to whether these programmes address women's as well as men's needs, expectations and aspirations. Hence the need for gender analysis and planning.

Emerging trends

In the rapidly changing global economic environment, cooperatives have been forced to adapt and become more competitive and innovative. They have realized that by developing women's capacities and strengthening their productive capabilities, the cooperatives stand to benefit. By involving more women in decision-making and leadership positions, the scope of cooperatives is broadened, their activities diversified and their social role reinforced. And as important lobbies, they become a stronger economic and more influential political force when more women are actively involved.

Examples have shown that initiatives taken by women have accelerated the progress and change of their socioeconomic situation. In Africa the ACOPAM Programme ("Appui Associatif et Coopératif aux Initiatives de Développement à la Base") in the Sahel region has been one of ILO's most successful employment and income-generation programmes, as has the Zinder Programme in Niger which focuses on local economic development and food security.

Resolving the issues

Cooperative leadership can address equality issues by:

• Drawing up gender-sensitive policies, strategies and plans in a joint effort between women and men; e.g., by addressing the problems of women's access to credit, land, equipment, extension services etc., and by taking positive measures to include more women in their training programmes, and in decision-making and leadership positions
• Awareness creation, gender sensitization, education and lobbying. Cooperatives can help eliminate existing barriers to women's active participation and their access to leadership positions (e.g., membership criteria or legal, traditional, financial, attitudinal constraints).
• Making their training and education programmes sensitive to women needs. Women's capacities and capabilities can be strengthened, resulting in their increased self-confidence and enabling them to participate more fully in decision-making and leadership positions
• Identifying potential women leaders and helping them gain visibility and experience within the cooperative; for example, through training and providing advisors among management staff ("mentoring")
• Using national organizations and networks to collect gender-disaggregated data (i.e., data broken down by gender) and identifying types of projects focused on women's needs, to help them increase their income-earning capacities and alleviate their work burden. For example, they can study how much time men and women spend on various chores and activities, and how this fits in with potential and economically viable sustainable cooperative activities.


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