A Swa-Shakti Working Paper - Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana

ecognise this influence caused by childhood conditioning and gender role
stereotyping 3 in implementing a programme, planning an activity or listening to
SHGs and their problems. For example, while setting
up a childcare centre, the following aspects need
to be recognised as constraints posed by our
gender identity:
a. Women are responsible for childcare so the
location and the timing of the child care
centre has to be convenient to them. But
does this mean that men and the community
at large should not pay attention to these aspects!
If the answer is no, then a debate within the
community especially with men needs to focus on the
role of women as contributors to household income, and
the importance of sharing of responsibilities. It is the
responsibility of the entire family and community and not just
that of the women or the SHG’s to look into childcare options;
b. Helping men to look at child care as a shared responsibility;
c. Helping the community to identify childcare is also an issue of
concern requiring community attention. Usually, a community
being represented by men fails to identify child care as an important
issue, since it is not a part of men’s daily roles or a part of their
socially imposed identity. It is in this way that men’s gender
role limits them in being aware and responsive to the issue of
child care.
The objective is to look at gender issues like those mentioned
above, in every development intervention or activity, which in
itself would lead to mainstreaming of gender.
3
Gender role stereotyping refers to the process whereby society ascribes certain roles to women and men (such as looking after
the household, earning money, etc.) and which over a period of time are taken as given and therefore unchangeable.
Introduction