promoting gender equitable opportunities in agricultural ... - weman

INCREASINGEMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIESEven though women comprise alarge percentage of agriculturallaborers, improving the productivityand efficiency of agricultural valuechains will not automatically benefitwomen. The agricultural sectoris characterized by high levels ofsex segmentation. Women areoften hired for labor-intensive, lowwaged,seasonal tasks, while menoccupy the majority of permanentjobs, as well as managementpositions. 61 The literature suggestsseveral factors that perpetuateoccupational sex segmentation,including beliefs and perceptions,lack of access to education, andlack of access to training and skillsdevelopment.The clustering of women in lowentry,low-return activities limitstheir opportunities to acquirenew skills. 62 In agro-industries,formal training is often provided topermanent workers who tend to bemen (e.g., in management or in theoperation of machinery). Temporarywomen workers typically gain skillson the job through repetitive taskperformance. 63 As such, women areless able than men to increase theirwages and move into supervisoryand managerial positions. Reducedemployment opportunities forwomen may reduce the averageability of the workforce; therefore,leading to lower economic growth.STRATEGIESPartner with the private sector to upgrade women’s workforce skills.Projects can address women’s limited employment opportunities by workingwith the private sector to design programs and activities that equip women fortechnical and managerial positions. Promising practices include designing firmspecificor sector-wide skills development programs for women and establishingformal mentoring schemes with tracks for promotion. Additional principles foradvancing women’s employment opportunities are found in Calvert InvestmentsWomen’s Principles.CALVERT INVESTMENTS WOMEN’S PRINCIPLESCalvert Investments established seven core principles to providecompanies with a set of goals they can aspire to and measure theirprogress against in achieving greater gender equity. The seven principlesinclude:1.2.3.4.5.6.7.Employment and Compensation (e.g., fair wages andelimination of discrimination)Work-Life Balance and Career Development (e.g., supportaccess to child care and provide professional developmentopportunities)Health, Safety, and Freedom from Violence (e.g., prohibit andprevent violence, eliminate unsafe work environments, provideleave time for medical care)Management and Governance (e.g., proactive efforts to recruitwomen for managerial positions and proactive efforts toensure women’s participation in decision-making bodies)Business, Supply Chain, and Marketing Practices (e.g.,encourage women’s entrepreneurship and respect dignity ofwomen in sales and advertising materials)Civic and Community Engagement (e.g., encourage women innontraditional fields and respect employees’ voluntary freedomof association)Transparency and Accountability (e.g., publicize commitmentsto gender equality, establish benchmarks, and conductperiodic self-evaluations)Source: Calvert Investments. “Calvert Women’s Principles, ” March 5, 2009,http://www.calvert.com/womensPrinciples.html.FrameworkPROMOTING GENDER EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES IN AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAINS 50