Using the Social Relations Approach to capture complexity in women's empowerment: using gender analysis in the Fish on Farms project in Cambodia

Abstract

Gender-analysis frameworks and tools provide a pre-designed methodology which can be used for the purposes of monitoring, evaluation, and learning, as well as for research undertaken for other reasons by planners, practitioners, and academic researchers. This article focuses on the use of Naila Kabeer's concept, the Social Relations Approach, to frame a baseline gender analysis of a food security project undertaken in Cambodia. The Fish on Farms project was designed to establish evidence of the impact of homestead food production, which included fishponds, on nutritional status, food security, food intake, and livelihoods. Integral to the objectives was the need to understand how the project activities affect gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Social Relations Approach was chosen to explore gender relations in context, and to understand better the subjective meanings of empowerment and the pathways to it.Los marcos analíticos y las herramientas basados en el género conforman una metodología prediseñada que puede ser útil tanto para fines de monitoreo, evaluación y aprendizaje (mea), como para la investigación realizada con otros fines por planeadores, operadores y académicos. El presente artículo se centra en el uso del concepto de Enfoque de Relaciones Sociales (ers) propuesto por Naila Kabeer, el cual proporciona un marco para el análisis de género que sirvió de punto de partida para un proyecto de seguridad alimentaria implementado en Camboya. El proyecto Peces en las Parcelas (pp) fue concebido con el fin de brindar evidencia en relación al impacto que tiene la producción de alimentos en parcelas que también contaban con estanques de peces, en términos del estado nutricional, de la seguridad alimentaria, del consumo de alimentos y de los medios de vida de los participantes en el proyecto. Un aspecto fundamental de los objetivos estuvo dado por la necesidad de comprender cómo las actividades del proyecto afectaron aspectos relacionados con la igualdad de género y el empoderamiento de las mujeres. Se optó por el uso del Enfoque de Relaciones Sociales para posibilitar el análisis de las relaciones de género en un contexto específico y comprender mejor los significados subjetivos del empoderamiento y de los métodos para alcanzarlo.Les cadres et outils d'analyse du genre fournissent une méthodologie pré-conçue qui peut être utilisée aux fins du suivi, de l'évaluation et de l'apprentissage, ainsi que pour les recherches entreprises pour d'autres raisons par les planificateurs, les praticiens et les chercheurs universitaires. Cet article se concentre sur l'utilisation du concept de Naila Kabeer, l'approche des relations sociales (Social Relations Approach -SRA), pour formuler une analyse de genre de référence dans le cadre d'un projet de sécurité alimentaire entrepris au Cambodge. Le projet Fish on Farms (FoF) a été conçu pour établir des preuves de l'impact de la production alimentaire familiale, qui englobait des étangs à poissons, sur l'état nutritionnel, la sécurité alimentaire, la consommation d'...

Gender-based market constraints to informal fish retailing: Evidence from analysis of variance and linear regression

“…Given that gendered household labour relations mean that domestic time burdens fall disproportionately on women, these gendered relations also disproportionately negatively impact the business performance of women compared to men. Our results confirm similar findings to those reported PLOS ONE by Arora's study of peasant households in Mozambique [38,39,[50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] Arora and Rada, 2016). That is, labour allocation of unpaid activities such as child-care and domestic chores produce greater time burdens on women; as well as affect individual economic activities, which likely influences overall household productivity in terms of livelihood security and gross profitability.…”

“…Such gender-based market constraints should be considered in future research through more detailed investigation of time-use variables and intra-household decision-making between dual respondents between dual-adult and female-headed households. Literature on the gendered dynamics of intra-household decision-making have examined their significance to household economics, agricultural productivity as well as off-farm paid market activities [21,39]. While our survey collected data on household structure among both single and dualadult households, the percentage of single-adult households and the sampling only of lead respondents did not allow for intra-household analysis at the depth required.…”

“…This paper addresses this research by also considering novel gender perspectives in the new development agenda laid out above. By adopting a 'social relations approach' [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45], this study examines the economic significance of gender relations on the trading floor and within the household, which govern how financial resources, labour and market exchange relations, and freedom of mobility are negotiated between women and men. In particular, the study examines the intersection between time use, household and market exchange relations with livelihood outcomes, by cross-referencing our data with age, education, retailing experience, marital status, household size, location and credit arrangements.…”

“We struggle with the earth everyday”: parents’ perspectives on the capabilities for healthy child growth in haor region of Bangladesh

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In the Shadows of the Himalayan Mountains: Persistent Gender and Social Exclusion in Development

“…There are thus several similarities between the SRA and FPE frameworks in their aim to capture the complexity of gender-power relations, to unpack the gendered nature of institutions at scale, and to map the interactions between policies, practices, and ground realities at different institutional locations (Hillenbrand et al 2014).…”