eng.empoderamiento social y economico de las mujeres y su impacto a diferentes niveles

8/2/2019 Eng.empoderamiento Social y Economico de Las Mujeres y Su Impacto a Diferentes Niveles

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Womens Social and Economic Empowerment and its Impact at Different Levels

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1. Where does the experience take place?The experience takes place in rural areas in El Salvador, in 96 municipalities in thefollowing departments: Ahuachapn, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, La Libertad andChalatenango. The experience involves men, women and young people over 14 living

in poor rural areas.

2. What do we learn from this experience?Identify and analyze gender the approach adopted by PREMODER and itsadoption/application by the technical team.

Recognize strategic actions undertaken by the program for the empowerment ofwomen within the organization and the business.

Get to know the main features of gender gap for rural women in El Salvador and thedistribution of roles associated to it.

Critically analyze impacts and outcomes of the program on womens lives.3. What are the milestones and key moments of the experience?Disadvantaged position of women in the initial stage of the program

When the gender intervention of PREMODERs program started, it identified thedisadvantaged of women in relation to men, in terms of their participation in income-generating activities, as well as in organizations. It was also noted that culturallywomen were not involved in activities outside the private space of the house. Somewomen took part in organizations, but without any real participation or activity in saidorganizations. They were not involved in decision-making or in business plans. They

were confined to the domestic sphere, as it is an activity culturally assigned to women.

Definition of gender strategy and approach

Starting from this identified initial situation, the Gender and Associativity Unit designeda strategy in order to promote gender equity in the area of intervention. It isimportant to note that the proposal was based on the real context, and thus assuringits application.

Gender and Associativity Unit

The organizational structure of the program included an Associativity and Gender Unit;the person in charge of the unit had the knowledge and experience required, the team

was engaged in achieving proposed objectives and goals, very important aspect thatassured the implementation and monitoring of gender approach in the field.


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Learning Route:

Tools to mainstream gender equity and womens empowerment

in IFADs projects: the experience of Central America

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Methodology of family approach

The methodology promoted the integration and participation of men, women and youthin productive activities with business vision, based on knowledge of cultural aspectsprevalent in the population, enabling better acceptance by users.

Awareness and training for PREMODERs technical team, Services Enterprisesand Beneficiaries

The process of gender awareness constituted a key element to sensitize variousstakeholders involved in the experience, facilitating its application and the definition ofstrategic lines and actions consistent with the reality of the country. Gender approachcannot be implemented if there are not sensible teams, convinced and engaged withthe generation of structural changes in attitude, in order to overcome disadvantagedsituations suffered by women in rural areas.

Developing a plan for the creation and strengthening of capacities in rural

women

The Associativity and Gender Unit was engaged in creating and developing womensskills and capacities for them to join rural organizations, take part in decision-makingand be protagonists of their own development.

Design and implementation of a monitoring, following up and assessmentsystem on gender aspects

With a clear definition of responsibilities and actions by individual members of thestaff, it was possible to monitor and follow up the strategies implemented in the field,in order to measure progress, miscalculations and propose improvements fordevelopment processes.

4. What results and achievements have been obtained in terms ofmanagement and womens empowerment?At personal level

Women with full knowledge of their rights, self-assured, without fear of expressingthemselves.

Women with skills developed in processing and marketing of profitable productiveactivities.

The participation of women in activities outside the house was promoted throughtraining, meetings, visits and commercialization activities; in this way, they contactedpeople and experiences and, above all, contribute to their own development.

With women administrating economic resources there are meaningful changes in lifeconditions of rural families supported by PREMODER, for instance, in education, health,diet, incomes to improve womens health, improved houses and assets acquisition.


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Women have strengthened and developed both their technical and human capacities,in order to exercise influence in their families and organizations with innovativeproposals and projects.

Women have generated economic resources, and thus their capacity to decide on theuse and purpose of said resources has increased; which can be noticed in

improvements at personal, familiar and communal levels.

Women with greater autonomy and freedom to decide how to allocate the resourcesobtained from the income-generating activities, this is translated in better genderrelations.

Women able to leave their homes and communities, with some skills to negotiate andmarket their products.

At organizational level

Women are accepted in the organizational structure due to their shown capacity, indecision-making positions, acting as presidents and administrating resources.

Young women are performing as managers, which are privileged positions in theorganizations due to the responsibility and leading skills required.

Women have developed some capacities, such as public speaking, technicalabilities to defend projects at PREMODERs technical committee.

Beyond their organizations, some women have been able to participate and influencein municipal offices.

More women leading profitable businesses.

Womens participation in productive projects has contributed to generate incomes,

employment opportunities and acquisition of assets for the benefit of their families.

As consequence of mens recognition and acknowledgment of womens contribution toproductive initiatives, womens self-esteem has increased.

Men and women are empowered with their projects, demonstrating negotiating skillswith self-sustainable approach and transparency in funds management.

The organizational structures have identified equity gaps in their organizations,implementing actions to reduce them and increase their management capacity.

At familiar level

Men and women with literacy skills and analysis of the organizations environment;through their projects management they know, assess and monitor members learningprocesses.

Men, women, boys and girls receive social benefits generated by their managementcapacity with NGOs and GOs.

Women with full knowledge of sexual and reproductive health, as a fundamental rightto advance their lives.


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Learning Route:



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Success factors and difficulties in the implementation

The program stands out for having committed and sensitized staff in theimplementation of gender equity, which favored the implementation of the strategyand planned actions.

It is important to emphasize PREMODERs commitment of having mixed teams in theprogram and in service providers.

Having a person responsible for gender from the very beginning, with capacity andexperience in the topic to achieve its implementation by the program and by poor ruralfamilies.

The permanence and continuity of the field technical team was promoted, to guaranteecomplementarily of different areas, increase the organizations historical memory andconstruct a unified and coherent vision along the process.

Main difficulties

The program didnt have resources to implement the strategies .

Challenges

Ensure implementation and monitoring of affirmative action, dissemination campaignsand communication defined by the closing gaps analysis.Systematize and apply lessons learned to other projects.The implementation of gender approach is not a recipe, there is room for innovation.

5. What tools and good practices implemented by PREMODER havecontributed to these achievements?

Train and educate the team on gender issues

We developed an internal process of gender training for the team, in this way the teamwas sensitized on the issues and was aware of the tools and prepared to monitor in thefield. The most outstanding of these processes is the Gender Diploma, processdeveloped in 8-month-period aimed at technical staff and service providers. Otherimportant aspect is the teams interest in self-education on gender issues.

Implementation of PROFOR tool

This is an organizational strengthening tool that contributed to the development ofwomen, identifying their strengths and weakness.

Awareness and training on gender and leadership

An awareness and training process on gender and leadership was designed, aimed atmen and women belonging to organizations, as a strategy to include women and youthin income-generating productive activities. Handbooks and brochures were designed asawareness tools.


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Empowering women to become active members of the organizationWomen were supported with the required documentation and paperwork to becomemember of organizations and have access to services and resources provided byPREMODER, and not to appear merely as housewives.

Definition of affirmative action in favor of women

Among these affirmative actions, it is worth mentioning the training programs aimed atwomen to create and strengthen capacities and skills and generate familiar,organizational and communal incidence; among them: literacy, reproductive health,domestic violence, leadership. These actions are a priority to favor womensparticipation.

Definition of guidelines to favor the inclusion of women in productiveactivities

Work plans were defined, in order to identify womens practical needs and strategic

interests; offer technical assistance and training to women in same conditions than tomen; promote involvement of women in different organizational structures, includingthe production and marketing committee, as well as their participation in shift workand schedules according to their productive activity.

Actions for womens empowerment in decision-making in the organizationand in the business

a) Election of women in governing bodies; b) development of required capacities fortheir participation in key decisions, and thus the educational level of women has beenimproved to get involved in matters related to accounting, costs, sales and profits; andc) guaranty fair distribution of profits and benefits; d) training in the use of by-laws,

internal regulations, rights and duties of the different positions and womensleadership; e) generational replacement at directive boards.

Implementation of Closing Gaps tool

148 members of mixed organizations were trained in the implementation of the toolClosing Gaps: the tool allows measuring equity levels in the organization; as well asdefining actions to reduce gender gaps for the active participation of men and women,as well as access to resources and benefits in the organization.

Through the methodology, gender constrains in the organizations were identified. Theresults were used to formulate integral plans and develop a program of affirmativeaction for each organization (focused on: health, training on different topics, reducing

domestic workload, generational replacement, among others); which meaningfullyimproved life conditions of women and men.


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Learning Route:



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Good practices

Defining participation and membership quota of women in directive positions

Compliance with the requirement of a minimum level of womens membership in the

organization was guaranteed (35% of women). Membership has to take intoconsideration not only gender, but also age, including young men and women.

Generational replacement was promoted, in order to assure business sustainability, aswell as capacity building.

6. Who are the relevant stakeholders (public and private, inside andoutside the territory) in the experience?

The Government of El Salvador through the Agriculture and Livestock Office(Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganadera) SAG.PREMODER: that supports investments and training processes, in order to promote

access to and control over benefits for poor rural families in the area of influence.

Inter-institutional relations and municipal political incidence were promoted; in thisway, different organizations could have access to complementary productive resources.For example, access to credits with low interest rate, new markets, purchase ofsupplies on a larger scale, management of poverty alleviation projects, generation ofadditional incomes, given its seasonal nature and/or time required for business takeoff.

7. Lessons learned Capacity building processes contribute to include women in decision-making

structures. It is more successful to implement gender equity with the integration and

participation of men, women and youth in productive activities as members ofthe family with business vision.

The cross-cutting gender approach needs to be internalized in work teams, inorder to replicate it in the field with rural population and achieve expectedeffects and impacts on the life of rural families.

Gender equity means a change of mentality, in which all stakeholder of RuralDevelopment have to be involved and contribute.

To implement gender equity in IFADs Development projects, there has to beenough resources to favor inclusion conditions, application of affirmativeactions, in order to benefit the most disadvantaged sectors, as well asresources to be invested in productive and profitable initiatives.

The active inclusion and participation of young people assures sustainability ofgender equity in rural organizations, as they are interested and willing to putinto practice new aspects and topics.

Business plans have to be developed in a participative way, including genderequity at each stage and development moment.

It is necessary to visualize womens achievements and leadership in rural areas,as motivation for other women and for them to develop themselves in otherareas outside the household.

eng.empoderamiento social y economico de las mujeres y su impacto a diferentes niveles

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