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: 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

 

 

Publication: Gender Issues in the Community Management of Biosecurity in Eastern Indonesia

This chapter aims to identify and discuss the role of women in collective community management of biosecurity activities. These activities are related to women’s ‘empowerment capacity’ to undertake knowledge transfer through sustainable training in the provinces of Bali, Sulawesi, and Papua. Untung (Kebijakan nasional ketahanan hayati, 2007) notes that to encourage people’s awareness of biosecurity issues is important, and that the main process for addressing it is through community management (Flora, Community capitals framework, 2007). The research uses qualitative methods (Creswell, Qualitative inquiry and research design choosing among five traditions, 1998), specifically semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and observation with 82 female leaders and other women involved in agriculture, living at the sites. Data collected during this process was analysed using thematic analysis approaches. In this chapter, I discuss the role of women, gender issues and success stories of the utilization of Farmer Field School (FFS) as they relate to community management of biosecurity. This research also acknowledges that women at all sites participated in a diverse range of social, cultural, spiritual, tourism and agricultural activities, particularly in problem solving and decision making processes, as well as the opportunity to manage their family’s economy. There are representations of the success stories of a high level of female leadership at an organisational level including examples from education training and the PKK (Program Kesejahteraan Keluarga or Family Welfare and Empowerment). The initial findings from this research indicates that women participate in the transfer of knowledge between local and outside communities, especially in the behaviour, practices and technology associated with agriculture.

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Publication: Do men and women accumulate assets in different ways? Evidence from rural Bangladesh

This paper examines asset dynamics for husband-owned, wife-owned, and jointly owned assets, using unique longitudinal survey data from rural Bangladesh. Nonparametric and parametric methods are used to examine the shape of the dynamic asset frontier, the number of equilibria, and whether land and nonland asset stocks converge to such equilibria. The paper also investigates the differential impact of negative shocks and positive events on husbands’, wives’, and jointly owned assets. Husbands’ and wives’ asset stocks are drawn down for different kinds of shocks, with husbands’ assets being liquidated in response to death of a household member and dowry and wedding expenses, and both husbands’ and wives’ assets being negatively affected by illness shocks. The paper concludes by drawing out implications for the design of gender-sensitive social protection mechanisms.

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Event (DC): Do Men and Women Accumulate Assets in Different Ways? Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Agnes R. Quisumbing (International Food Policy Research Institute)

Thursday, May 12^th 2011
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Conference Room 4B – 4^th Floor
2033 K Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20006

** Brown Bag Format **

RSVP to B.Pereira@cgiar.org

Abstract:  This paper examines asset dynamics for husband-owned, wife-owned, and jointly owned assets, using unique longitudinal survey data from rural Bangladesh. Non-parametric and parametric methods are used to examine the shape of the dynamic asset frontier, the number of equilibria, and whether land and non-land assets stock converge to such equilibria.  The paper also investigates the differential impact of negative shocks and positive events on husbands’, wives’, and jointly-owned assets. Husbands’  and wives’ asset stocks are drawn down for different kinds of shocks, with husbands’ assets being liquidated in response to dowry and wedding expenses, and wives’ assets being negatively affected by illness shocks.    Factors that affect husbands’ and wives’ ability to form social and familial networks also affect asset accumulation:  wives with more brothers, and who live closer to their natal village, are better able to acquire assets.  Put differently, factors that encourage the formation or maintenance of women’s social networks also reduce gender asset inequality.  The paper concludes by drawing out implications for the design of gender-sensitive social protection mechanisms. 

Publication: Women and Labour Markets in Asia: Rebalancing for Gender Equality

The crisis response and recovery policies of Asian governments have been shaped by the lessons learned from the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. An important lesson emerging from the recent crisis is that the policy goal should not be to return to a “normal” pre-crisis situation but to address fundamental and not just short-term urgencies, and seize the opportunity to rebalance towards a new development trajectory that is job-rich, just, sustainable and inclusive. The main components of “rebalancing” have been identified as transition from public to private sector-led growth, domestic-led growth of consumption and investments in place of export-led growth, shifts to green jobs and green enterprises and deeper Asian regional integration. The theme of this reports is that such rebalancing must, as a matter of both “smart economics” and social justice, also promote gender equality in the labour market. To be successful, rebalancing policies must mainstream gender equality considerations.

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Employment: Gender Specialist Base: Bangkok, Thailand

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is seeking the services of a gender specialist to work for up to one year, full-time with the Lowering Emissions in Asia’s Forests (LEAF) program based in Bangkok, Thailand. This is a consultant position with a competitive salary and a negotiable benefit package. The position is open to applicants from Asian countries.

LEAF is a USAID/Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA)-funded program being implemented by Winrock International and other partners. Started in January 2011, this five-year program is working on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) implementation and capacity building both bilaterally and regionally, in line with USAID’s goals under its ‘sustainable landscapes’ global climate change pillar. Target countries for the program include Lower Mekong countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), Papua New Guinea, and Malaysia, with replication and outreach activities potentially in South Asia (Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, and Nepal), Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Publication: Evaluating the long-term impact of antipoverty interventions in Bangladesh

This paper provides an overview of a research project that assessed the long-term impact of three antipoverty interventions in Bangladesh—the introduction of new agricultural technologies, educational transfers, and microfinance—on monetary and nonmonetary measures of well-being. This paper begins by setting out the conceptual framework, methodology, and empirical methods used for the evaluation of long-term impacts. It discusses the context of the evaluations and the longitudinal data used. Key findings from the individual papers are then presented, followed by an indicative analysis of the cost-effectiveness of these interventions. The overview concludes with implications for programs and policy.

Author:

Quisumbing, Agnes R.

Baulch, Bob

Kumar, Neha

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Publication: A Silent ‘Revolution’? Women’s Empowerment in Rural Tamil Nadu

Staffan Lindberg, , Venkatesh B athreya, , R Vidyasagar , Goran Djurfeldt , A Rajagopal

One of the most significant social changes over the past 25 years in Tamil Nadu is the entry of women into the local political bodies at the village and village union levels through the 33% reservation system. Simultaneously, women are now, to a significant extent, organised in self-help groups. Through these about one-fourth of the households can access loans for small entrepreneurship or, rather more frequently, for smaller emergency/consumption loans. There has also been increased participation of women in the non-agricultural labour market and the emergence in Tamil Nadu of a rudimentary “barefoot” welfare state. In this article we report from a 25-year panel study of 213 agrarian households in six villages in Karur and Tiruchirapalli districts. View Full Article

 

World Bank Justice for the Poor publication, Increasing Access to Justice for Women, the Poor and Those Living in Remote Areas– An Indonesia Case Study.

Increasing Access to Justice for Women, the Poor and Those Living in Remote Areas: An Indonesia Case Study.

Justice for the Poor gender work in Indonesia has been focusing on access to justice for women and community legal empowerment. Women’s ability to access religious courts is a crucial step in opening up their access to broader public services and government poverty-alleviation programs. Community empowerment, engagement with local authorities, and national policy dialogue contributed to noticeable results in access to justice for women. The briefing note outlines the reform process that led to a 14-fold increase in the number of poor clients accessing courts.

Find the briefing note here.

Comments and reflections are welcome and may be sent to Rea Chiongson, J4P gender Advisor, at rchiongson@worldbank.org or to Lisa Noor Humaidah, J4P Indonesia, at lhumaidah@worldbank.org