What is Gender Analysis? "Constraints and Opportunities"

HOME

UNIT 1: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Contraints and Opportunities

Tools: Contraints and Opportunities Profile
Tools: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: What is Poverty? Who is Poor?
Tools: Participatory ExerCise in Gender Analysis: Understanding the Decision-making Process
Tools: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: Women's Confidence

Constraints and Opportunities

During gender analysis, it is useful to inventorise the constraints and opportunities for achieving greater gender equality in the socio-economic environment. In other words, planners must consider what factors most affect development in the area.

These factors can either support or constrain development in the area. They may also influence gender relations and the position of women workers. They can be considered at the macro, sectoral and micro levels as appropriate. They include:

economic conditions, including
- poverty level
- income distribution
- inflation rate
- international trade relations
- structural adjustment programs
- work opportunities
- technology
social conditions, including
- education and training levels of the population
- health
- demographic conditions, such as fertility rate, labour supply, international and national migration patterns
- prevalent norms and values, including cultural, religious and ethnic
political and legal conditions
- at the local, national and international levels
- legislation and regulations
- national development policies
- power and leadership patterns in the community
- patterns of distribution of benefits
institutional arrangements, including
- the nature and extent of
  - government agencies
  - employers and workers organisations
  - other NGOs
  - community or women’s groups
- the capacity of ILO constituents and other partners, including
  - the type of organisation, major areas of intervention and general capacity to plan and implement activities
  - the nature and extent of policies on, and experience with, women workers’ issues
  - the organisational structure to address women workers’ issues
  - perceptions on and concern with gender equality in the organisation

In assessing the socio-economic context, it is useful to identify the extent of direct and indirect gender discrimination.

Direct discrimination occurs when formal, legal and religious rules and regulations prohibit women from participating in activities equally. For example, the Civil Code may restrict women’s rights to enter into legal contracts. The existence of discrimination is called de jure discrimination.

Indirect discrimination occurs when social rules, norms and values inhibit women’s equal participation in activities. For example, employers may tend not to hire women for jobs considered to be "men’s jobs", even where the law stipulates equal opportunity between men and women in employment. Such de facto discrimination is widespread and particularly difficult to combat.

The following tool helps construct a profile about the constraints and opportunities in the environment that can potentially influence gender-related development efforts in the area. You can use the tool for documenting such information in your own work.

Tool: Constraints and opportunities profile

The following three tools are participatory exercises that may be used when conducting gender analysis with the participation of client communities. The first tool helps analyse gender differences in patterns of poverty.

Tool: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: What is Poverty? Who is Poor?

This second participatory exercise helps analyse gender differences in power and patterns of decision-making.

Tool: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: Understanding the Decision-making Process

This third participatory exercise helps analyse the degree of women’s confidence and empowerment.

Tool: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: Women’s Confidence

Updated by MR. Approved by WKB. Last update: 8 February 2005.