---------------------------------------------------------- This document has been made available in electronic format by the International Co-operative Alliance ICA ---------------------------------------------------------- June 1995 **************************************** Gender Perspective of ICA Europe Reports **************************************** by Raija Itkonen* Background The ICA European Region decided to review the reports on the issues of its work programme from a gender perspective. The first Regional Assembly held in Prague in October 1994 nominated a task force comprising Raija Itkonen, ICA Europe gender issues coordinator, Moira Lees, Assistant Secretary, CWS, UK, and Coordinator of Corporate Governance Project, and Mary Treacy, ICA Communications Director, to do the reviewing.The review covers East-West relations, Corporate Governance, North-South issues, Co-operative Communications and Co-operative Schools. What is Gender? Gender, like class and ethnicity, is a source of inequality. Gender inequality is also a universal phenomenon. In most countries socio-cultural constraints discriminate against women, making them disadvantaged in their societies. Therefore, the common thinking in co-operatives as in other contexts follows the trend that the concept of gender relates only to women, who are the problem and who should also find solutions to it, as evidenced by the composition of the task force. But gender is a cultural construct of sex roles.The difference between sex and gender is that sex refers to the attributes of women and men which originate from their biological differences, while gender refers to the distinctive qualities of women and men that are culturally created. Thus these differences are not inherent or a fact of nature. Gender Equality The objective of gender equality is to provide women and men with equal opportunities in every field. This means combating traditional stereotyped roles at home, in culture, politics and economy. An invisible gender pattern dominates all aspects of life: culture, language, employment, social relations, etc. Therefore, a wide variety of instruments are needed to eliminate this pattern. Gender inequality is sustained by assigning care work and domestic labour almost exclusively to women and by low value on women`s work in general. In most countries women are working-citizens and care-citizens but not full citizens in the economy and power structures. Without major restructuring of the division and value of work, the gender hierarchy will not change. Gender equality is for women and men. Humanity needs a society which recognizes both equality and difference. Women and men are different. Although this is a scientific fact, difference is not the opposite of equality, nor does difference deny equality. Equality will be achieved only when the work, experiences, knowledge and values of women and men have equal esteem and influence in society. Development Trends There are great differences in economic, social and cultural conditions worldwide, but the common factor is women`s secondary position compared with men - despite the fact that women constitute more than half of the world's population. But today there is a growing agreement that equal opportunities for men and women are needed to release all human resources and thereby the achievement of sustainable human development. More and more development agencies and NGOs are also targeting women with their programmes as experience has shown that in doing so their programmes have more impact due to the fact that, if women are recipients and are given the means of upgrading their status, it will benefit the whole of society. Many global conferences like the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in Autumn 1994, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995, The Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing in Autumn 1995 and the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul in 1996 focus on gender equality as a prerequisite for achieving better overall security. It is obvious that these conferences will put very much pressure on the implementation of shared power and shared responsibility between genders as cornerstones of sustainable structural change and development. Co-operative Identitity The forthcoming Centenary of the ICA in Manchester in September 1995 will consider a Statement on Co-operative Identity, including a definition of co-operatives, a listing of the Movement's key values, and a revised set of principles intended to guide co-operative organisations to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. The European gender review is timely in view of the Manchester Meetings because advancing gender equality and equity, and mainstreaming women in co-operative policies are prerequisites for the future credibility of co-operative identity. An Opportunity for Co-operatives The 150-year-old history of the Rochdale system of co-operatives is brimming with good intentions regarding equality between women and men. The idea of gender equality has, in fact, existed in the Co-operative Movement from the very beginning. Nevertheless, co-operatives have not really appreciated gender equality as one of their special characteristics and success factors. Today co-operatives should not overlook the fact that gender equality will gradually acquire legitimacy of its own. They should instead reveal their great potential and take the opportunity to become organisations that surmount the hurdles of tradition, discrimination and inequality. The recipe is to put the power of gender diversity to full and positive use as a co-operative characteristic, and the factor underpinning co-operative success. East-West Relations The transformations in the former centrally planned economy countries altered the economic and social environment in Eastern and Central Europe. Under the old system, formal gender equality existed and there was a higher participation of women in the labour force than anywhere else in the world. However, such gender equality was to a great extent built on the idea of protecting women and giving them a chance to fulfil their roles as wives and mothers. Social benefits such as free or low-cost nurseries, kinder-gartens, medical care and recreational facilities financed by the State or workplace were extensive. It appears as though these practices are now operating against wome's interests, having deteriorated their workplace image and resulting in greater gender bias in recruitment. Although it is difficult to get any gender-based information on the impact of the transformation process, women seem to have very limited influence on shaping the institutional, structural and policy changes of co-operatives or other institutions. Women play an important role in the economy of Eastern and Central European countries (ECEC) as they represent on average half of the labour force and are, in most countries, equally and often better educated than men.The low valued and poorly paid positions they predominantly hold, however, bear no relation to their education.The gender division of work is also very traditional, leaving women with major household responsibilities. Women's representation within formal associations is, as yet, poorly organized, thus they have limited chances to defend their interests. Consequently, they are an easy target for redundancies. Co-operative laws, together with constitutions, statutes and by-laws are basic instruments to combat gender discrimination. They ensure both genders the right to participate on the same terms. However, equality and justice between women and men cannot be achieved through legislation only. Positive actions are needed to reach the goal. One form of postitive action in co-operatives would be to review all policies from the gender perspective in order to include women`s views on the problems of transition and thereby eliminate the danger of marginalizing women as members and employees without utilizing their knowledge, energy, and skills to build viable co-operatives. The lack of concern about gender equality in the co-operatives' transition process can have serious consquences on their credibility as democratic organisations based on members' needs. Positive action should include the elimination of traditional views on gender roles and the promotion of women`s image as active partners in decision-making and the building of new co-operative structures. One important tool is the development of data and statistics in order to expose the differences between women`s and men`s conditions. Gender equality should be promoted not only because women are subordinated but rather because women's skills, experience and education are needed for co-operative competitiveness. Gender integration in ECEC co-operatives also requires gender focus in foreign aid projects. So far a rather low priority has been given to gender-specific programmes by these co-operatives. Corporate Governance Co-operatives live very often in two separate worlds - in a world of co-operative values and ideals and in a world of business and such conflict will adversely affect their success. Co-operatives claim to be based on values and principles; they also approve of policies and pass resolutions. But do they live up to them? Although much time, energy and human and financial recources are expanded on them, the answer is very often negative. And since values, principles, policies and resolutions are merely alleged, co-operative credibility is inevitably destroyed. The separate worlds of theory and practice are often reflected in the roles and responsibilities of governing bodies versus full-time professional leadership, resulting in conflicting goals and behaviour. But co-operatives need elected leaders and professional management who are guided by co-operative values and principles and are committed to the implementation of the co-op goals in partnership. Co-operators are now about to consider the revision of co-operative principles. The survival and future success of co-operatives depends on their ability to translate their values and principles into practice. The ideals should be woven into a sincere, honest and open business policy. Therefore the principles must be - although challenging and goal-oriented - realistic and trustworthy. Gender imbalance in co-operatives is one of the most striking contradictions between co-operative theory and practice. However, eliminating the unequal power relationship and gender segregation and creating a new partnership between women and men could bring new strength to co-operatives.This partnership means removing every obstacle from women's active participation through shared power and shared responsibilities. Women can bring new perspectives to co-operative management control systems and corporate governance. Research supports the fact that women have skills to offer in view of the changing challenges in working life. If women are given the opportunity to break the glass ceiling and advance to committees, boards and professional leadership positions, they can prove that strong, innovative and effective leaders do not come from the male mould alone. They can demonstrate that the command-and-control or top-to-bottom systems often associated with large, traditional co-operatives, can be replaced by a non-traditional leadership style which allows people to participate and contribute. This can increase co-operative chances to improve efficiency and success in the changing world. Diversity of leadership styles and a combination of the strengths and talents of women and men can change systems and routines within organisations and bring new competitiveness into the co-operative form of enterprise. The importance of gender equality should be recognised at Board level and gender issues should be on Board meeting agendas. It is important that resources, including management time, are made available to examine and progress the issue. As women are the ones who are disadvantaged mostly in gender issues, each co-operative should set itself targets for increasing opportunities for women. In a co-operative, the targets should cover both membership, with the intention of improving female representation on committees and at Board level, and employees; the latter to improve opportunities in the workplace including increasing the proportion of senior female managers. The targets should be achievable within a fixed period of time and should be made public to members and employees.Development pro-grammes to achieve these targets need to be organised and progress has to be monitored and reported. Proposed Equal Opportunities Plan - recognition of gender equality as a co-operative characteristic and success factor - recognition of the strength of democracy and partnership - action plan with time-specific targets for achieving equality - adopt the goal of democracy and partnership in all co-operative policy-making structures and create mechanisms for its implementation - create the conditions for the equal participation and employment for women and men - develop career advancement programmes for women and men through career planning, tracking, mentoring and coaching - establish data bases on the qualifications of both women and men to be used for appointment to quality jobs and senior managerial positions on an equal basis - provide gender sensitivity training to encourage women and men to respect diversity in work and leadership styles, i.e elimination of traditional thinking on the gender roles of board members and in the labour market - encourage both men and women to seek non-traditional occupations - monitoring and reporting progress. North-South Issues "Of the 47 least developed countries in the world 32 are in Africa. Economic decline, recession and external debt continue to worsen their situation. More than a third of the people of Africa live in abject poverty and are unable to meet their most basic needs. In 1991, this number was estimated at about 250 million". "The agricultural sector can contribute up to 50 per cent of the GDP, while the agricultural population can make up to 85 per cent of the total. The heavy burden of poverty falls dis- proportionately on women, especially female-headed households whose proportion is increasing and is now around 35 per cent. Feminization of poverty has therefore become a reality. Although women constitute more than half of the population, have limited access, ownership and co-ownership to land and housing, they nevertheless provide 60 to 80 per cent of the food supply. In formal employment, they are concentrated in low pay, low grade sectors with poor promotion prospects. Women are the backbone of both cash crop and subsistence farming, yet their non-marketed productive and reproductive activities are neither marketable nor recognized as economic outputs. They are thus denied the tools and means of sustainability and still confront considerable discrimination that constitute a major obstacle to productivity". "Women in Africa, as the main providers and traditional managers of food at the family and household level, can play a key role in the equitable distribution and redistribution of scarce resources. Strengthening of women's potential for management of food and food aid resources can ensure that women`s priorities, and their families' well-being, are better served". "Women in Africa must be empowered to participate in economic structures and policy formulation and in the productive process itself. It is now recognized that the contribution of rural women in Africa is critical in development. Women's empower-ment will enhance their capacity to realistically alter the direction of change for their well-being as well as of society as a whole. It is also crucial to engage the younger generation of women as active partners for changes. Consequently, strategies and actions are needed in order to move away from the current welfare orientation to address the economic empowerment of women, and in particular strengthen and support their participation in trade and industry; stem the growing disparity between rural and urban conditions; and move towards environmentally sustainable actions for poverty alleviation through sustainable development". "The educational process reinforces existing gender inequalities which in turn shape the perceptions that influence curriculum desingners, textbook writers, audio-visual aids designers as well as teachers and pupils. However, the impact of appropriate policies and programmes to address the gender disparities in education is yet to be assessed. Decisions on what is to be learnt at what level and by whom and delivered by whom are male-dominated, thus perpetuating gender-based stereo-types". "The absence of gender-disaggregated data based on separate records for men and women, is a source of gender blindness and gender bias against women." The above quotations are from the African Platform for Action adopted by the Fifth Regional Conference on Women, held at Dakar from 16 to 23 November. This Platform of Action, prepared for the Fourth World Conference on Women, provides ample information about gender inequality in Africa from the African perspective and should as such direct the co-operative North-South relations and development activities. Gender equality should be included among the highest objectives of co-operative development work. Investing in gender equality is an effective use of scarce development resources: women in the South are economic and social agents and not passive recipients of welfare. Co-operative Communications The past twenty years have seen an explosion in the field of communications. New computer technology and satellite and cable TV increase the access to information and create new opportunities for participation and development. Humanity is experiencing a fundamental transformation period labelled " the information society". The communication and information systems, the press, radio and television have great influence on people`s understanding of the world, their knowledge, values and attitudes. They are powerful tools which can either work for the advancement of gender equality or contribute to maintaining stereotypes of women and men and support the present power imbalance and the division of responsibilities which prevent equality. The media picture of genders is not just and impartial. Men continue to have more important positions in the media and male-dominated areas enjoy great esteem, whereas media less often views life from women`s perspective. Media output generally focuses on the fields of politics, the economy, engineering, military skills, sports and transport, which continue to be male domains. Women are rarely presented as dynamic forces with their own views. They are more often portrayed as victims or used to attract attention without any real connection to the matter in question (photos, advertisements). When women are used as experts, they generally represent social or cultural affairs. The expertise of women in other fields and women`s positive contributions to society are seldom reported in the media. In view of the above, it is recommended that co-operatives review their communication and information strategies, policies and practices from a gender perspective and reveal, recognize and take into account the exisiting inequalities. The network of co-operative communi-cations and information systems is extensive. It comprises meetings, negotiations, media, research, education and training etc. New technologies will increase their importance. With a systematic gender- positive and gender-balanced approach they can have a significant impact in implementing gender equality in co-operatives and building a more positive image of co-operatives as democratic and progressive forces in society. Greater involvement of women in the technical and decision-making areas of communication and media would increase awareness of women`s lives from their own perspective. In order to combat gender segregation and produce new role models, co-operative media should portray women as leaders and managers. Further recommendation for action is to ensure that the information revolution treats genders equally. Everyone should have access to new technologies and be equipped to work with them. Computer and technological skills should not be gender-labelled. Co-operative Schools Education is a basic human right and necessary for the advancement of gender equality. Equal education benefits both girls and boys and results in more just and democratic relationships between women and men. However, a gender-segregated educational system and a gender-segregated labour market continue to exist. School education continues to steer girls and boys towards traditional gender roles. In view of the project on Co-operatives and Schools, co-operatives are recommended to see to it that their work with schools supports gender-equal education. It is felt that much development work has to be done to make the content and methods of education equal to both genders. School material leaves women`s contribution to history hidden. Women`s achievements and their thinking continue to be invisible both in the curriculum and in the attitudes and values of the educators. Equality must therefore be mainstreamed in the planning and implementation of the project on Co-operatives and Schools. It is important to produce materials that appeal equally to girls and boys and awaken their interest in co-operatives as economic organisations meeting members' needs. The school approach should also promote non-traditional careers for both girls and boys providing examples which improve their awareness of the importance of shared power and shared responsibilities at home, at the work place and in the society. Conclusion In his background paper on Co-operative Identity in the Twenty-First Century Professor Ian MacPherson writes: "Between 1970 and 1995 there has been a rapid expansion of market economies around the world. Traditional trade barriers have changed significantly and many of those changes - for example, the creation of free trade areas, the decline in Government support for agriculture, deregulations in the financial industries - threaten the economic frameworks within which many co-operatives have functioned. To prosper, in many instances merely to survive, co-operatives have to examine how they will react to these changed circumstances. Inevitably, these changes mean that most co-operatives are facing much more intense competition. It is for this reason that the power of gender equality and individual diversity should be put to full and positive use as one of the factors underpinning co-operative success! ----------------- * Ms Itkonen is the Director of International Relations for FCCA, Finland, Board Member of the ICA and the Coordinator for Gender Issues in the ICA European Working Group I on internal matters.