The Influence of Gender on Rural Honduran Women’s Participation and Leadership in Community Groups

Abstract

Throughout Latin America, increasing women’s leadership has been part of many development efforts. However, extensive research on this topic, especially with rural indigenous women, is limited in the literature. Barriers and opportunities for women to participate in leadership within their communities and local organizations may be related to economic, psychological, and social factors that influence their personal empowerment. This study used mixed methods to explore multiple perspectives of community participation and leadership of two Lenca villages in the western department of Lempira, Honduras. The findings from this study provide insight into structural constraints on women’s leadership in the community, and how gender affects engagement in agriculture. The importance of this research is its applicability to agricultural extension practitioners working in rural communities where participation in traditional gender roles may create gaps in women’s opportunities to engage in decision-making around agriculture, participate in community development, and be valued as leaders. For communities whose livelihoods rely on agriculture, understanding barriers to women’s participation can aid extension practitioners working to increase food security, as women play key roles in both agriculture and in supporting their families. Keywords: gender, women, agriculture, leadership, participation

Integrating gender in research and development: A case study of how organizations working in Honduras approach participatory gender analyses in agrifood systems

“…Although economic empowerment is important, the hyperfocus on this domain ignores the cultural context and local views of empowerment (Cornwall & Anyidoho, 2010;Doss & Meinzen-Dick, 2015), potentially sidelining more holistic, culturally nuanced gender empowerment strategies. For example, the indigenous Lenca of Honduras, place a high value on collective action, decision-making, and leadership at the community level as a route to women's empowerment (Accerenzi & Duke, 2023;Fundación ETEA , 2023;Niewoehner-Green et al, 2019). However, gender norms around domestic roles, lack of self-esteem, mobility, and participation, remain as limitations to women's leadership (Niewoehner-Green et al, 2019).…”

“…For example, the indigenous Lenca of Honduras, place a high value on collective action, decision-making, and leadership at the community level as a route to women's empowerment (Accerenzi & Duke, 2023;Fundación ETEA , 2023;Niewoehner-Green et al, 2019). However, gender norms around domestic roles, lack of self-esteem, mobility, and participation, remain as limitations to women's leadership (Niewoehner-Green et al, 2019). A narrow economic perspective of empowerment undermines the capacity for transformative change, underscoring the need to address local understandings of empowerment, as well as the cultural, psychological, and social domains of empowerment (Costa et al, 2023).…”

A love-hate relationship: An ethnographic study of migration with Lenca women in rural Honduras

“…The Lenca are the largest Indigenous group in Honduras, comprised of nearly 455,000 people and representing 60% of the total Indigenous population in the country (Minority Rights Group International, Minority Rights Group International [MRGI], 2018). The Lenca have traditionally lived in the western and southwestern highlands where subsistence agriculture is the main economic activity (Mast, 1996;Minority Rights Group International;Minority Rights Group International [MRGI], 2018;Niewoehner-Green, 2017;Wells & Davis-Salazar, 2008).…”

“…There he had the opportunity to learn from the Lenca, while recording aspects of a culture that is slowly disappearing. Most of the Lenca live in rural areas, where subsistence agriculture is their main economic activity, however, due to erratic climatic patterns, the harvests from their family farms have been diminishing (Mast, 1996;Niewoehner-Green, 2017). The majority of Lenca live in poverty, under 1.90 USD per day, which limits access to a diversity of food required for food security; it also serves as a catalyst for indigenous people to migrate looking for better economic opportunities (Gavarrete, 2013).…”