In every country around the world, women are managing forests, agroforests and tree genetic resources, but their contribution remains largely underappreciated.
Identifying these contributions, and the barriers to women having more involvement or receiving greater reward for their efforts, is the starting point for developing interventions that can ultimately lead to gender equity. But many researchers lack knowledge of methods for collecting gender-disaggregated data and tools for gender analysis that are appropriate for a particular gender issue or setting.
For this reason, the World Agroforestry Centre has developed In Equal Measure: A User Guide to Gender Analysis in Agroforestry which aims to help those in the social and natural sciences better incorporate gender issues in their work.
“If, as researchers, we are to play a role in reducing or eliminating disparities between men and women then we need to better understand interplays of power, institutions and practices that lead to these disparities,” explains Delia Catacutan, the World Agroforestry Centre’s Country Representative for Vietnam, who spearheaded the creation of the book.
Women are traditionally the main collectors of fuelwood, medicinal and aromatic plants, and other non-timber forest products from forest and agroforestry landscapes but they receive only a fraction of the benefits. Women tend to concentrate their efforts at areas along the value chain that are characterized by low visibility.
Women are generally disadvantaged by insecure access and property rights for forest, tree and land resources, and discriminated against in accessing credit and technology. They are also excluded from decision-making at household, community and national levels. Women lack formal education, employment and personal networks, and are poorly placed to influence resource allocation or research.
Greater participation by women in decision making at household and community levels has been shown to improve forest regeneration, increase crop yields, improve financial management and prioritize funding for pro-poor and empowerment programs.
The methods and tools outlined in the new guide are designed to help researchers identify opportunities for leveraging empowerment and inclusive change, and engaging with those who can bring about change, such as government, civil society and the donor community.
There are 15 different methods contained in the guide, all of which are currently being used to identify gender issues, roles and preferences, mainly concerning forests and agroforestry systems. The methods are all participatory and incorporate a range of tools, including ranking, mapping, modelling and participatory GIS.
The methods have been used in identifying gender-specific perceptions and preferences for ecosystem services, farming systems, gender division of labor in production, marketing of agroforestry products, tree germplasm flow and other subjects. Differences in access to social networks between men and women and how women acquire information related to agriculture and agroforestry are also included.
For each method, detailed steps are given to help in implementation together with the materials needed, the advantages of the method and its limitations. For most methods, examples are provided of where the method has been used in the field.
Catacutan believes that by regularly and consistently gathering gender differentiated data on various aspects of the forest-tree-people interface it is possible to identify men’s and women’s different perceptions, experiences, contributions and priorities.
“When this is coupled with relevant gender-based analyses then we can begin to gather in-depth information on gender differentiation and, in particular, identify the institutional, cultural, and attitudinal factors that underpin these differences.”
The guide was developed during a 3 day writeshop facilitated by the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) and has received support from the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). It is in line with FTA’s Gender Strategy that commits to promoting gender sensitive participatory research techniques that foster inclusion, learning and empowerment.
Download the guide:
Catacutan D, McGaw E and Llanza M (eds). 2014. In Equal Measure: A User Guide to Gender Analysis in Agroforestry. Los Baños, Philippines. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Southeast Asia Regional Program.
