http://www.gsdrc.org Academic and policy-relevant publications on governance and international development. en-uk Copyright © 2010 Governance and Social Development Resource Centre Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:07 GMT Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:00:07 GMT http://www.gsdrc.org/rss/open george@gsdrc.org george@gsdrc.org http://www.gsdrc.org/images/logos/logo_gsdrc.gif http://www.gsdrc.org 205 90 GSDRC logo Thavy Chhoeun, Panha Sok, Clodagh Byrne What opportunities has the decentralisation process given women in Cambodia to participate in political leadership? What obstacles and challenges hinder women's participation and leadership at the local level? This article from Gender & Development discusses the work of Banteay Srei, a Cambodian NGO, in building the capacity of women to participate in leadership. It describes how Banteay Srei's leadership training activities have enabled women in the targeted villages to make the most of leadership opportunities. However, challenges to women's effective political leadership still remain and it is important for NGOs and women leaders to develop strategies to overcome these challenges. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3648&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3648&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Department for International Development (DFID) How can poverty reduction interventions by donor country offices be designed to reach excluded groups? This guidance note from the UK Department for International Development suggests a structure, methodology and analytical framework for a Gender and Social Exclusion Analysis (GSEA). A GSEA identifies barriers to inclusion and entry points for change. The proposed framework focuses on the three spheres of society, market and state and the interactions between them. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3647&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3647&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Benedicte de la Briere, Laura B. Rawlings Conditional Cash Transfer programmes (CCTs) provide money to poor families, contingent on specific verifiable actions such as children's school attendance or preventative health care. How successful are CCTs in addressing social inclusion and inter-generational poverty? What is their impact on social accountability relationships between beneficiaries, service providers and governments? This summary focuses on the Social Inclusion section in a World Bank paper. While CCTs hold promise, they are not a panacea against social exclusion. They should form part of comprehensive social and economic policy strategies and be applied carefully in different policy contexts. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3641&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3641&source=rss Gender Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT National Democratic Institute for International Affairs How can policymakers increase women's political participation in developing countries? The National Democratic Institute (NDI) explores this issue by analysing the progress of its women’s political participation programmes in Morocco, Indonesia, Serbia, and Nepal. While there is a definite increase in women’s participation, there has not been a corresponding increase in the number of female political leaders. Future programming must focus on preparing women to take on these leadership roles. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3612&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3612&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT UNESCAP-Social Development Division How can research, advocacy, and legal reform reverse social acceptance of practices that violate the human rights of women and girls? This paper by UNESCAP explores these issues through case studies from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and finds that harmful practices have evolved from originally non-harmful colonial, religious and cultural traditions. Combating the entrenched social norms that promote these practices requires a comprehensive, human rights-based approach. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3607&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3607&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Agnes Quisumbing and Lauren Pandolfelli What are the key strategies for closing the gender gap in agricultural production? This paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute reviews attempts to increase poor female farmers’ access to, and control of, productive resources in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Consideration of the literature of the past decade indicates that while promising new approaches to meeting the needs of female farmers are emerging, few have been rigorously evaluated. Future interventions need to consider, among other factors: interactions among resource inputs; the trade-offs between practical and strategic gender needs; and the culture and context specificity of gender roles. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3604&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3604&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Marcia E. Greenberg and Elaine Zuckerman What role do gender dimensions play in post-conflict reconstruction (PCR)? Policymakers have largely been slow to employ gender analysis and focus. This paper proposes a framework of three interrelated gender dimensions to help develop more effective approaches to PCR: (i) women-focused activities, (ii) gender-aware programming, and (iii) strategic attention to transforming gender relations in order to heal trauma, build social capital and avoid further violence. Policies aimed at achieving gender equality may be instrumental for achieving sustainable peace. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3584&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3584&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Jeanne Ward and Mendy Marsh What is the extent and impact of gender-based violence during and after war? Statistics show that the sexual violation and torture of women and girls has become rife in conflict settings. Data also show that gender-based violence (GBV) does not subside post-conflict; certain types of GBV may even increase. This briefing paper from the United Nations Population Fund argues that while international prevention and response efforts have increased in recent years, much more must be done. A multi-sectoral model which demands holistic inter-organisational and inter-agency efforts across health, social services, legal and security sectors offers the best approach for GBV prevention. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3583&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3583&source=rss Gender Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Liss Schanke, Siri Lange (eds) How do Local Government Administrations (LGAs) in Tanzania coordinate and cooperate to reach gender-related goals? This study, published by the Chr. Michelsen Institute, identifies good practices in examining how five district councils cooperate with local communities, civil society organisations and the private sector to improve maternal health, and how well different departments within district councils coordinate their work. Structural problems, partly linked to financial issues, impede sustainable cooperation between local government and civil society. Cooperation with the Department for Community Development is central to enhancing participation and including lower local government levels. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3556&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3556&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Chris Coulter, Mariam Persson, Mats Utas What role do young women play in contemporary African wars? Mainstream thinking on war and conflict sees women as passive and peaceful and men as active and aggressive. This report from the Nordic Africa Institute calls for a broader understanding of women's roles and participation in armed conflict in Africa. Programmes to disarm, demobilise and re-integrate former fighters need to be adapted to local contexts and designed to meet the needs of female ex-fighters. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3543&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3543&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Dale Buscher Why do large numbers of displaced women and girls continue to be abused, raped and exploited? This paper from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children explores risks facing displaced women and how to address them. Women and girls must be involved in their own protection. Their communities, including the men, must be similarly engaged. Yet only individual assessment can adequately address women's unique protection concerns. Women and girls are not just victims but also survivors, caretakers, leaders, peacemakers and providers. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3518&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3518&source=rss Gender Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Marc Sommers Do the concentrated numbers of male youths in urban Rwanda threaten social stability? The World Bank investigates this theory, examining the concept that large concentrations of male youths are disconnected from their cultures and prone to violence due to the ‘youth bulge’. However, interviews with urban male youths in Rwanda indicate that they are constrained by limited opportunities rather than menaces to society. The situation confronting most Rwandan youth and most of their counterparts in Africa remains alarming - a largely silent emergency. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3499&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3499&source=rss Gender Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Joana Costa, Elydia Silva, Fabio Vaz What role can gender play in understanding income growth, poverty and inequality? This working paper, published by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, argues that gender equality is critical in any attempt to reduce poverty. In particular, increasing women's access to the labour market correlated very positively with greater economic equality overall. The analysis draws on microsimulations performed for eight Latin American countries, covering four areas of gender inequality: labour market participation, occupational status, wage discrimination and characteristic endowments. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3498&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3498&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Minna Lyytikäinen How can the EU and other donors support increased women's political participation in post-conflict situations? What can be done to ensure that this results in meaningful change for women in general? This paper from the Initiative for Peacebuilding recommends practical strategies for the EU and other donors to guide the consideration of gender issues into their post-conflict governance interventions. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3487&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3487&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT Susie Jolly Is Gender and Development (GAD) an imposition of western ideas on other cultures? This accusation can obstruct efforts to tackle gender inequality. Yet ideas in development are disproportionately influenced by richer countries. In this paper from BRIDGE, this problem is addressed by looking at culture and where cultural norms come from. Awareness of power dynamics and willingness to tackle gender stereotypes can be effective in challenging cultural norms. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3442&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3442&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT Satbeer Chhabra How can women play a more effective role in peace initiatives? This research from the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development in New Delhi argues that it is important to improve understanding of how women?s and men?s perspectives on peace and violence vary, and whether there are policy implications for these differences. A full understanding of the role of women as actors during war and conflict and as victims of war is essential to ensure full participation of women at all levels of decision-making and implementation in peace processes. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3438&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3438&source=rss Gender Sun, 01 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT Dorine Plantenga Why prioritise gender inequality over other forms of oppression, such as those based on class, ethnicity and religion? This article from Gender and Development draws on insights from gender training sessions to examine gender, identity and power in development organisations. It recognises that identities are always multiple and interconnected, so gender cannot be viewed in isolation. Power dynamics between different identities give privileges to some and make others vulnerable. Gender training should acknowledge these differences and find strategies to promote equality. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3388&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3388&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT Christian Morrisson, Johannes P. Jütting How do gender inequalities in developing countries affect women’s economic activity? This paper from the journal World Development introduces innovative indicators to measure constraints imposed on women by social institutions: laws, norms, traditions and codes of conduct. These are the most important factors in determining women’s participation in economic activities outside the household. Measures to improve women’s access to education and health will have limited impact while social institutions continue to discriminate against women. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3383&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3383&source=rss Gender Sat, 01 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT Esther Duflo, Petia Topalova How do women leaders of ‘reserved’ Indian village councils perform in office, and how is their performance perceived? This paper studies the impact on the performance of policy makers of reserving randomly selected village council leadership positions for women and on voters’ perceptions of this performance. Villages reserved for women leaders have more public goods, and the measured quality of these goods is at least as high as in non-reserved villages. Moreover, villagers are less likely to pay bribes in villages reserved for women. Yet residents of villages headed by women are less satisfied with the public goods received. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3353&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3353&source=rss Gender Thu, 01 Jan 2004 00:00:00 GMT Julie Koch Does gender matter in fragile states? This policy brief from the Danish Institute for International Studies looks at gender relations in conflict and post-conflict situations. It argues that gender relations often matter more in fragile state than in other states, but are all too often ignored by policy-makers. While conflict affects women in different ways to men, reconstruction provides new opportunities for transforming gender relations in a positive direction. http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3319&source=rss http://www.gsdrc.org/go/display&type=Document&id=3319&source=rss Gender Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT