More equal – more resilient: Transforming gender relations and tackling the climate challenge ”Levelling the Field” presentation, 24 November 2014 Agnes Otzelberger with Fiona Percy, CARE International

1 Why are we here? June 8, CARE’s global efforts in integrating gender and action on climate change “on the ground” Tackling gender inequality = core concern in CARE’s work. Deeply rooted and widespread form of social inequality across the world, everywhere we work Strengthening resilience to climate change, conflict and other shocks because they are on the increase and will otherwise reverse development gains  Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa: Learning to do community-based adaptation to climate change in a gender- equitable way (since 2010, funded by Danida, DFID, ADA and Finland)

2 Beyond assets and inputs: Learning to deal with current & future challenges for smallholders in Africa Beyond agricultural assets: Building local adaptive capacity to deal with smallholders’ challenges in food and farming is about social capital and organisational capacity: Institutions and entitlements: predictable, fair, sustainable access to services, resources, decision-making processes Knowledge and information, e.g. climate information services, indigenous knowledge of weather, plants, strategies Innovation: not just what we innovate but how we learn and do new things; Flexible and forward-looking decision making: from reactive to proactive, from rigid to adaptable And, of course: a stable asset/ resource base (e.g. land, fertiliser, credit, labour etc.) Example from Kenya and Niger: community-based adaptation is an investment worth making! June 8,

3 Beyond closing gender gaps: transforming gender norms and relations in agriculture Gender norms and relations influence all aspects of adaptive capacity and of food production Gender-transformative approach because unequal life chances, opportunities, power and resources cannot be resolved by merely responding to different needs Women’s empowerment does more than closing gender gaps and includes improving gender relations (respect, valuing priorities and contributions, collaboration within households and communities), agency (confidence, aspirations, skills) and structures (social norms, laws, policies) While gender gaps can be quantified, gender norms and relations are very context-specific and dynamic.  doing gender analysis to inform our actions! June 8,

4 Why we use gender analysis June 8, Gender analysis informs action on climate change about gender dynamics of access to & control over assets decision-making at different levels (individuals, households, communities,..) division of labour and use of time participation in public spaces agency and aspirations for oneself control over one’s body …  It’s not always about isolating women and men as two separate groups.  We also want to understand how these dynamics change over time. Climatic shifts, too, catalyse change in gender roles!

Gender analysis in various forms throughout starting early on no one, universal way power analysis assuming that gender relations are not static locally led iterative process, not just data collection 5 How we use gender analysis to inform our work June 8, Analysis should include understanding of drivers of change in gender roles and relations a starting point for monitoring and documenting gender-related outcomes … makes a difference in WHAT HOW WHO  Planning, Implementation, and M&E

6 Gender analysis in the Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa – some examples Differential vulnerability Underlying causes from health to education Interaction between different factors, e.g. socioeconomic, gender, religion, ethnicity Intergenerational differences e.g. deepest poverty levels and absence of infrastructure in Niger while religious practice of “seclusion is spreading from wealthy to poor households Dynamic gender relations and different drivers of change More mutual respect and better collaboration in Ghana, Niger and Kenya (e.g. Village Savings and Loans Associations  social value both for group solidarity and collaboration) Disintegration of families (e.g. migration of young people to cities) and social consequences Changes in accepted gender roles – e.g. women & cattle in Northern Kenya; more collaboration on domestic chores in Northern Ghana Climate information services: More collaborative decision-making in the household, but activities eventually separate Context-specific gender relations  e.g. who does business in Upper East Ghana vs. Northern Kenya?  Empowerment is not straightforward: Example of feminisation of agriculture in Maradi, Niger  Gender relations = negotiation: Example of land access for women’s groups in Ghana June 8,

7 7 Leveling the field: what needs to happen? Researching gender and climate change in agriculture to help us understand: How social relations evolve in the face of rapid or gradual (and unpredictable) change in farming communities (M&E) How gender relations and inequality influence resilience building in agriculture The same vice versa Gender beyond a tunnel view on women as an isolated, homogenous group Deeper changes Focusing only on changes in women’s access to economic assets is only a part of the story. For lasting transformation in agriculture, structural inequalities and power dynamics that make people vulnerable need to be addressed.

THANK YOU! CARE, climate change and gender: Agnes Otzelberger Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa: Fiona Percy