New Report: Gender in Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Institutions in Reducing Gender Gaps in Adaptation

Are women more vulnerable to climate change then men?  If so, what are the factors which contribute to these increases and what can be done to help increase the resiliency of both women and men to the negative impacts of climate change? For answers to these questions and more, please visit Genderinag.org to find a recent report by the World Bank’s Nilufar Ahmad titled “Gender in Climate Change in Bangladesh: The Role of Institutions in Reducing Gender Gaps in Adaptation” and to hear a recent presentation by the author to the Washington-based GRADE Group.

Publication: Gender issue in climate change discourse: theory versus reality

Authors: Baten,Mohammad; Khan,Niaz
Produced by: Bangladesh Online Research Network; BDResearch.org.bd (2010)

Even though gender has become one of the themes of analysis in development policy discourse, it has received little emphasis in climate change policies. By reviewing literature related to climate change and gender, this paper finds that women are more vulnerable to climate disasters than men through their socially constructed roles and responsibilities, and their relatively poorer and more economically vulnerable position, especially in the developing world. In Bangladesh, gender inequalities with respect to enjoyment of human rights, political and economic status, land ownership, housing conditions, exposure to violence, education and health (in particular reproductive and sexual health) make women more vulnerable before, during and after climate change-induced disasters. The paper argues that enhancement of institutional capacity to mainstream gender in global and national climate change and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policies and operations through the development of gender policies, gender awareness, internal and external gender capacity and expertise, and the development and application of relevant mechanisms and tools should be prioritized for a pro-poor development in the realm of climate contingencies.

Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=58988

Publication: Understanding the Complexities Surrounding Gender Differences in Agricultural Productivity in Nigeria and Uganda

We investigate gender differences in agricultural productivity in Nigeria and Uganda. Results indicate persistent lower productivity on female-owned plots and among female-headed households, accounting for a range of socio-economic variables, agricultural inputs and crop choices using multivariate tobit models. Results are robust to inclusion of household-level unobservables and alternative specifications that account for decisions to plant crops. However, productivity differences depend on aggregation of gender indicator, crop-specific samples, agro-ecological zone and biophysical characteristics. More nuanced gender data collection and analysis are encouraged to identify interventions that will increase productivity and program effectiveness for male and female farmers.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220388.2010.536222

Publication: “A woman and Her Land”

The Uganda Land Alliance recently conducted a field study in 8 districts to establish the progress women have made vis avis their rights to land. The districts covered were:  Amuru, Apac, Gulu, Pader, Hoima, Kyenjojo, Mubende and Jinja.

Between May and July 2011, a Documentation Team embarked on field trips to the study districts and visited the individuals that were identified to have made gains in ‘fighting’ for their land rights. These persons were met in their respective homes and they shared their stories with the documentation team.

The detailed experiences captured from the cases have been published into a book titled, “A woman and Her Land-A ray of hope beacons”. This book contains the real life stories as told to the documentation team.

CLICK:http://ulaug.org/departments-and-programs/knowledge-management/the-land-observatory/ula-publications/

Also to accompany the book, a video documentary was captured and will soon be posted on U-tube for public access. Copies of the Documentary DVDs can be accessed on request.

You can also get a hard copy of the book by visiting our offices or send us your physical or and postal address and we’ll get it to you.

As usual, we appreciate your comments on this work because it’s the fuel that drives our efforts forward. Kindly write to us and let us know what you think about anything in the book, including but not limited to content and the design. The first 100 respondents will receive a printed copy of the book at their doorsteps if you provide us with your physical and postal addresses.

 

 

Publication: Gender & agroforestry in Africa: Are women participating?

This report synthesises the results of a review of 104 studies on gender and the adoption of agroforestry in Africa, and aims to identify strategies that challenge gender imbalances in development initiatives. It explores women’s participation in agroforestry, including their ability to manage agroforestry practices, access to agroforestry information, and how they benefit from agroforestry.

The results highlight the substantial benefits that agroforestry can offer to rural women in Africa, mainly because it requires fewer resources than alternative enterprises. But women’s participation is low, with limited access to information and markets, and a mixed record of successful management of agroforestry technologies.

The report provides several technological, policy and institutional recommendations for improving the efficiency of women’s participation in agroforestry. They include domesticating important tree species, and ensuring that women have access to market information and microfinance. The report concludes by suggesting further research in areas such as measuring the income that women generate from agroforestry, and identifying the key ingredients of success stories across Africa.

http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/publications/PDFs/OP16988.PDF?utm_source=General+Subscribers&utm_campaign=78e0f607afTransformations_Online_Issue_137_19_2011&utm_medium=email

Policy Brief: Women and Food Insecurity

The UCLA Center for the Study of Women (CSW) is dedicated to supporting research that promotes social justice and equality and disseminating it widely. I am writing today to share with you CSW’s recently initiated publications series rethinking public policy on gender, sexuality, and women’s issues. Each CSW Policy Brief presents research in support of a policy change that would substantially improve the health and well being ofwomen and their families.

As recent reports have documented, food insecurity is rising around the world. Because this issue is pressing globally, nationally, and locally, we selected “Women and Food Insecurity” as the focus of the first set of CSW Policy Briefs. While the global recession is a contributing factor–, our research shows that certain policy initiatives can have an unintended negative consequence on the food security of women and families. Because International Food Policy Research Institute has a long history of interest and advocacy in this area, we hope that the research presented in these briefs will be useful to your group in advancing its mission.

Links to the individual policy briefs on our website are included below:

Reducing Food Insecurity among Female Farm Workers and their Children

U.S. Farm Bill Makes Women and Children Food Insecure

Reductions in SNAP Increase Health Risks for Food Insecure Women

Helping Local Stores with WIC Certification Will Yield Better Food Options for All

Improving Health Outcomes for Populations Affected by Intimate Partner Violence and Food Insecurity

Reinstate Project Grow! Targeting Food Insecurity Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence

All the CSW Policy Briefs are also available from the California Digital Library (http://escholarship.org/uc/search?entity=csw_policybriefs). If you would like to receive a printed copy of the set of briefs, please let me know.

Publication: World Bank Report Women, Business and the Law 2012: Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion

About the Women, Business and the Law Project:

The project measures how regulations and institutions differentiate between women and men in ways that may affect women’s incentives or capacity to work or to set up and run a business. Women, Business and the Law objectively measures such legal differentiations on the basis of gender in 141 economies around the world, covering six areas: accessing institutions, using property, getting a job, providing incentives to work, building credit, and going to court. While the project provides a clear picture of gender gaps based on legal differences in each economy, it is a simple snapshot measuring only legal differentiation. It does not capture the full extent of the gender gap, nor does it indicate the relative importance of each aspect covered. For a collection of national legal provisions impacting women’s economic status in 183 economies, please visit the Gender Law Library.

http://wbl.worldbank.org/

Publication: Better Access to Water Raises Welfare, But Not Women’s Off-Farm Work

Authors: Gayatri Koolwal & Dominique van de Walle

In the developing world, poor rural women and their children spend considerable time collecting water. Do women living in areas where more time is needed for water collection tend to participate less in income-earning, market-based activities? Do the education outcomes of their children tend to be worse? This note uses microdata for eight developing countries to examine these questions. Better access to water is not found to be associated with greater off-farm paid work for women, but is associated with less unpaid work. In countries where substantial gender gaps in schooling exist, enrollment for both boys and girls tends to be higher.

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The Economic Premise notes are produced by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network Vice-Presidency of the World Bank. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the institution.

To read more, please click here: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPREMNET/Resources/EP67.pdf

Publication: Rural Women and Corporate Investment in African Land

Joint Oxfam and ActionAid paper prepared by Nidhi Tandon, Marc Wegerif and Catherine

Access it here:

http://landforafricanwomen.org/sites/default/files/docs/Rural%20Women%20and%20Corporate%20Investment%20in%20African%20Land.pdf

 

Publication: Do Shocks Affect Men’s and Women’s Assets Differently? A review of literature and new evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda

A new IFPRI Discussion Paper, Do Shocks Affect Men’s and Women’s Assets Differently? A review of literature and new evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda  is now available. This paper attempts to expand understanding of the gender-differentiated impact of shocks on assets through a literature review on shocks and gendered asset dynamics and an analysis of new panel data (2007 and 2009) from Uganda and Bangladesh looking at the impact of negative shocks and positive events on men’s and women’s assets.

(PHND) IFPRI 01113 – Do Shocks Affect Men’s and Women’s Assets Differently?

A Review of Literature and New Evidence from Bangladesh and Uganda

Agnes R. Quisumbing, Neha Kumar, and Julia A. Behrman

http://www.ifpri.org/publication/do-shocks-affect-men-s-and-women-s-assets-differently

http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/ifpridp01113.pdf