Document Abstract
Published:
2005
Gender and Collective Action: A Conceptual Framework for Analysis
This paper presents a framework for investigating the intersection of collective action and gender to better understand how gender-oriented analysis can foster effective collective action in the context of agriculture and natural resource management and how collective action can be used as a vehicle for gender equity. It presents three entry points for a gendered analysis of collective action adapted from the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework: motivations for engaging in collective action; effectiveness of collective action (as defined by the group’s objective) and impact on gender equity.
At the heart of the IAD framework is the concept of the Action Arena, which is shaped by a host of initial conditions, including asset endowments, vulnerabilities, and legal and governance systems that influence a range of outcomes. The paper explores these three initial conditions applying a gender lens to allow for an analysis of how women and men experience them differently resulting in different motivations and capacities for engaging in collective action. For example, ICT technologies are not gender neutral and their use is often determined by existing power differentials within a society. Interventions need to take specific measures to counteract these inequities such as the Grameen Bank’s promotion of cellphone ownership by women. Access to such assets enables women to participate more easily in collective action. Also a women's dependence on, or subordination by, male household members and in-laws, may result in a husband’s refusal to allow his wife to engage in, or control the benefits accrued from, collective action.
The paper also looks at how the gender composition of groups affects the effectiveness of collective action, highlighting the importance of gender balance in groups, especially for natural resource management. It concludes with a discussion on the benefits of this approach including:
At the heart of the IAD framework is the concept of the Action Arena, which is shaped by a host of initial conditions, including asset endowments, vulnerabilities, and legal and governance systems that influence a range of outcomes. The paper explores these three initial conditions applying a gender lens to allow for an analysis of how women and men experience them differently resulting in different motivations and capacities for engaging in collective action. For example, ICT technologies are not gender neutral and their use is often determined by existing power differentials within a society. Interventions need to take specific measures to counteract these inequities such as the Grameen Bank’s promotion of cellphone ownership by women. Access to such assets enables women to participate more easily in collective action. Also a women's dependence on, or subordination by, male household members and in-laws, may result in a husband’s refusal to allow his wife to engage in, or control the benefits accrued from, collective action.
The paper also looks at how the gender composition of groups affects the effectiveness of collective action, highlighting the importance of gender balance in groups, especially for natural resource management. It concludes with a discussion on the benefits of this approach including:
- It can help external organisations to learn from and strengthen, informal forms of collective action that women (and poor women, in particular) may engage in
- It can help identify mechanisms for organising gender-responsive formal types of effective collective action.
- It can help us understand the action resources women and men require in order to participate in collective action. This can be used to redress power imbalances by building up the critical action resources so that both can participate effectively.
