• Household responses

Household responses

This book addresses gender and intrahousehold issues that influence gender equality as well as the success of development interventions. The book is a non-technical presentation of research findings from IFPRI’s research programme on gender and intrahousehold issues. The study also addresses implications and key questions for integrating gender research findings into project cycle and policy decision-making processes. The book is aimed at technical personnel and policymakers in national government and international agencies, NGOs and other development practitioners addressing gender issues in development projects and policy.

The book asserts that that an understanding of how resources are distributed within households can profoundly affect policies associated with the design and implementation of development projects. Women’s control of resources with the household is influenced by such social and cultural institutions, and by such factors as women’s access to labour markets, paid employment. The study points to the fact that efforts to improve the distribution of income and resources between men and women in rural areas will not be successful without policies to improve income-earning abilities and opportunities for women.

The book makes several recommendations, for improving the distribution of income and resources between women and men, and they include the following:

• improve schooling systems in rural areas
• remove barriers to female participation in non-farm labour markets
• reform property rights systems
• develop technologies to increase returns to women’s labour

[adapted from authors]

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