Walking the Tightrope Between Prioritizing Women and Overburdening Women in Food Security Programming August 4, 2010

Why Target Women? Greater impact on household food security dollar for dollar Responsible for household health, food security crops, child care Using food as food Prioritization of intra-household allocation of resources, including food Activities that are inclusive of all community members result in long term sustainability and a more holistic food security program

How Do We Target Women? - Proposal Design Desk and field research Conversations with different members of the community **Note: Solicitation can impact ability to target women via value chain selection, targeted beneficiaries, etc. Establishing Targets Both in terms of number of women and gender sensitive indicators (such as leadership positions, women in higher paying employment positions)

Establishing beneficiary selection criteria that do not exclude women Access to land Timing of program Types of Crops Selection of activities Village savings and loans Agribusinesses traditionally held by women Complimentary services and procurements Considerations such as childcare, physical access Equipment and other procurements (e.g., motorcycles, budget considerations, security) Staffing patterns and training design (women extentionists, avoiding unintended stereotype) Targeting Women, cont.

Do No Harm Increased risk to women from the provision of resources/training (from both men and others in the community) At delivery point (sexual exploitation and abuse, theft) Changes in “power” in household (domestic violence) Establishing operational systems Policies and procedures Education of staff, consultants and volunteers Internal “audit”/review/evaluation Feedback desk and reporting mechanism Staffing and organizational chart that prevents problems from arising

Hey, What about the Men? - Targeting and tailoring messages for men Health Reinforcing the same messages/sensitization Pushing the limits through the program having sub awardees have to have gender policies % requirement of women in programming, example WB having women sign for assets

Avoiding Unintended Consequences - Increasing Women’s Workload Can Result in: Poor infant feeding practices Lack of care of children Women’s health (too busy to go to clinic or take kids) Domestic violence Loss of social safety net (too busy to keep up with other community members) Alternative, of greater access: Exposure to new health risks Unintended shifts in family and community dynamics Demotivation

So Why Bother? - The key is Balance! Healthy women = healthy families and prosperous communities