Gender, participatory and ‘transformative’ approaches to

research

Ana Maria Paez Valencia - ICRAFAugust 29 2017

Sex Gender

Key concepts

Is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and

measures must often be available to compensate for women’s historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men

from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality.

Refers to the equal enjoyment by women, girls, boys and men of rights, opportunities, resources and rewards. A critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances.

Gender Equity

Gender Equality

Key concepts

It concerns the allocation of tasks and responsibilities of women and men at

home, at work and in society. Entails intricate relationships of cooperation

and exchange

The ways men and women share or compete for resources, bargain and have power over each other. They arise from the roles men and women are expected to play and their interactions.

Gender division

of labour

Gender Relations

Key concepts

Acknowledge gender differences and inequalities and seek to develop actions that adjust to and often compensate for them No active strategy is used to seek to change the norms and inequities

Ignores differences in opportunities and resource allocation for women and men. Can reinforce gender-based discrimination.Often constructed based on the principle of being “fair” by treating everyone the same

Gender responsive research

Gender blind research

Transformative gender research requires:

Critical awareness of gender roles and norms

Challenging the distribution of resources and allocation of

duties

Involving men & boys to encourage collaboration and

discourage conflict

Increasing women’s

bargaining power

Gender Transformative Approaches

Integrates efforts to address gender disparities in access and control over resources with complementary actions to address underlying social norms and power relations

Household approaches to foster equitable decision-making and relationships

Participatory action research (PAR) – to build capacities and build social capital

Initiatives to foster behavioural change (e.g. communications)

Supporting collective action and networks

Adapted from World Fish 2015

Understanding Participatory Research

• Participatory research is both a range of methods and an ideological perspective.

• Its fundamental principles are that the subjects of the research become involved as partners in the process of the enquiry, and that their knowledge and capabilities are respected and valued.

• Enables local people to articulate their views and express their knowledge through describing and analyzing their own situation and problems.

Purpose

The purpose can be functional or aim for the empowerment of communities.

Representation

• Understand make-up of local communities and power relations within them,

• Include members of different social groups

Levels of participation

• Depend on how much power is retained by the researcher

• Different typologies representing agendas and relationships between more and less powerful actors

Understanding Participatory Research

Adapted from Institute of Development Studies - IDS

Levels of Participation

People participate by being told what is going to happen or has happened.

Unilateral announcement

Passive participation

Answering questions –extractive

No influence in proceedings

Findings are not checked or shared

Information giving

External people define problems/solutions based on consultation

No share in decision-making

Consultation

Externally initiated

To meet project objectives or to get material incentives

Functional part.

Joint analysis, action plans

Learning processes

Interactive part.

Initiate independently of externals to change systems

Self-motivation

Nominal

•Often used to give legimitacyto existing plans

Instrumental

•Means to an end

•Use the skills and knowledge to serve a project

Representative

•Voice in decision-making

•Increases sustainability

Transformative

•Aims at empowerment

•Alters structures of exclusion

Pretty et al. (1995)

White S. (1996)

Key principles of participatory approaches

Behavior and attitude

• Reflection and self-awareness - Listen, learn and respect

• Be prepared to unlearn stereotypes, personal cultural or gender bias

• There is an insider’s and an outsider’s perception of behavior

• Act as facilitator, not an expert

Co-learning

• Recognize specific knowledge and perspectives of different groups

• Share knowledge, experience and analysis

• Combine local and professional knowledge

• Participatory research has the power to reveal multiple narratives

Action-orientated •Be prepared to take action rather than just collect data

Reflection Exercise

• What types of participatory projects have you been involved in? List them and describe them to the group

• Do you have other examples of participatory projects and activities that you have heard about? List them and describe them for the group

• For each of the examples discuss among the group on the following questions:– What was the purpose?– Who was represented?– What level of participation was achieved, and why? – For the purpose of the project, was that level of representation and

participation optimal? – For those groups that were not represented, what obstacles to participation

did they face?– What could be done to improve the representation and the level of

participation?

Activity: Empathy Mapping• Discuss as a group your ‘ideal research participant’ or who your program is

intended to reach. Is this a young man in a rural community? A mother who provides for her large family? Who are some of the most critical voices you and your team need to hear from?

• Once you have decided upon a specific person, complete a point-of-view statement that relates to agriculture, climate change and/or gender. Use the following format to structure this statement.

E.g.: A young woman in this village must travel farther to get water during drought.A married mother in this village is affected by domestic violence

Activity: Empathy Mapping