1. ICA-EU Partnership Program
ICA-AP and CUK
Forum on “Development of Co-operatives in Central Asia”
30 June to -2 July 2017, Kyrgyzstan
Participation of women in co-operatives
By Savitri Singh, Program Director
ICA-EU Partnership Program
#coops4dev🌍

2. International Co-operative Alliance + European Commission
#coops4dev🌍

3. Who we are
#coops4dev🌍

4. Introduction Why women in co-operative ?
Co-operative law in Asia and impact on women
Opportunity to Kyrgyzstan and Way Forward
ICA and ILO initiatives
Situation of women in Kyrgyzstan
Initiatives by Govt. of Kyrgyzstan
Women in Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan
ICA-AP-CUK Collaborations
Conclusion
#coops4dev🌍

5. Objectives
Sharing information on status of women’s participation in coop business
Providing input to formulate gender integrated enabling coop law and policy for inclusion of women and social cohesion
#coops4dev🌍

6. Why women in co-operative ?
A co-op can be set up by a group of enterprises or by individual entrepreneurs wishing to benefit from shared services, cheaper goods, easier access to market or higher prices for their products.
Based on seven universal principles, look after the socio-economic and cultural needs of its members
Provide inclusive services such as: education and training on farming and use of farm technology, easy credit, farm inputs, social security, profit sharing, leadership development, community services
#coops4dev🌍

7. Why women in co-operative ?
In countries like Japan, Korea , India and others, the co-operatives look after their members from ‘cradle to cradle’.
Other than business related services, the co-operatives provide child care, old homes and day care, schools, funeral services
Co-operatives unite and mobilize community for ‘Social Good’ such as awareness against social vices, exploitation, discrimination etc.
#coops4dev🌍

8. Co-operative law in Asia and impact on women
Membership norm of co-operative law is ’one member-one family’
For agricultural coops, land holding is main criteria
Most of the farming families are headed by men and land belongs to male member
As a result, women farmers/labourers are deprived of membership and excluded from services and benefits
#coops4dev🌍

9. Corrective measures
India: 10-30% quota for women at the board of coops
Joint membership for spouse in the State of West Bengal and
30% quota in state of Bihar
30% quota in Nepal
Quota in Bangladesh
Korea: encourage joint membership with spouse and membership of household
Japan: encourages joint membership and some quota in management
#coops4dev🌍

10. Gender Issues in Co-ops
Access and control over resources
Low level of active participation
Under representation in decision making and leadership
Division of labour, Special needs
Lack of opportunity for joining and participating in co-op affairs
Denial of coop services
Direct/ indirect discrimination
#coops4dev🌍

11. Gender Equality
Equality refers to the fundamental principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women
Gender is a socio-economic variable to analyse roles, responsibilities, constraints, opportunities and needs of men and women in any context
#coops4dev🌍

12. ICA-AP Initiatives ICA-AP Committee on Women
Collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated data
Training of Trainers for Building of Management Capacity
Regional Women Forum and Conference
Exposure and networking programme for enhancing role of women in co-operative business
ICA-AP Co-operative Ministers’ Conference
#coops4dev🌍

13. ICA-AP Committee on Women
Oct, 1998: Regional Women Committee was set up and held its first meeting in Seoul, Korea
Oct, 1998: The first Regional Women’s Forum held in Seoul, Korea
Objectives: To promote gender integration in co-operatives and increase participation of women at all levels in cooperatives, especially at leadership, in the region.
21 members from 11 countries
#coops4dev🌍

14. Collection and analysis of sex-disaggregated dataIn
Membership of women in cooperatives-31%
Women in leadership- 13% In
Membership of women in cooperatives- 46%
Women in leadership- 23%
#coops4dev🌍

15. Training of Trainers for Building of Management Capacity of Women for Co-operative Development
2016 in India,25 participants
#coops4dev🌍

16. TAGAYTAY+20 Third Regional Conference on Status of Women in Co-operatives in Asia-Pacific
Held in Clark, Philippines in Feb 2016,80 participants from 8 countries
Focus on law, funds and quota
#coops4dev🌍

17. Exposure and networking programme for enhancing role of women in co-operative business
Held on September, 2016 in Korea
22 Participants from 8 countries
#coops4dev🌍

18. Meeting of the Women’s Committee-2016
#coops4dev🌍

19. Region Women Forum-2016: for 30-50% participation of Women
#coops4dev🌍

20. Workshop on Gender equality in Japan-2017
#coops4dev🌍

21. ICA-AP Co-operative Ministers’ Conferences
Highest Forum
Since 1990, 10 Conferences
Latest in April 2017
1997,1999,2002,2004,2007, 2017
#coops4dev🌍

22. Resource generation
#coops4dev🌍

23. Women in Kyrgyzstan
The Global Gender Gap Report 2016-Kyrgyz Repulic at 81st among 144 countries, much ahead of India (87), China (99) Japan( 111) and Korea( 116)
Population sex ratio-f/m-1.02
Labour force participation F 53/m 80, f/m ratio-0.66
Lower wedges than men for equal work
#coops4dev🌍

24. Women in Kyrgyzstan Literacy f -99/Men 100
Participation in decision making/leadership-F 33/M 67, f/m ratio-0.50
In Parliament-f 19/m81
Ministers –f 15/m 85
Total paid employment in non-agriculture sector-42.3%
Violence against women: Ala kachuu (to take and flee), sexual harassment. source:
Domestic violence
#coops4dev🌍

25. Initiative by Govt of Kyrgyzstan
Women enjoy the same rights as men, including under family law, property law, and in the judicial system, although discrimination against women persists in practice.[4] The 2010 Constitution of Kyrgyzstan insures gender equality. Article 16 reads: (2) [...] "No one may be subject to discrimination on the basis of sex, race, language, disability, ethnicity, belief, age, political and other convictions, education, background, proprietary and other status as well as other circumstances." (4)"In the Kyrgyz Republic men and women shall have equal rights and freedoms and equal opportunities for their realization."
#coops4dev🌍

26. Initiative by Govt of Kyrgyzstan
In 2013, Kyrgyzstan approved a road map on Sustainable Development for 2013 to 2017 proposed by the President’s Office. These steps reinforce its first long-term innovative gender equality strategy ( ) and its 2012 initial National Action Plan.
ref:  
#coops4dev🌍

27. Women in agriculture in Kyrgyzstan
Women’s employment in agriculture is relatively high, at about 46.5 percent in Women in rural areas are active in small-scale agro-processing, raising cattle and poultry and cultivating fruits and vegetables on small household plots. A number of microcredit organizations were opened by women’s self-help groups (9).
During the land and agrarian reform that started in 1991, distribution of land was carried out equally; half of the plots were allocated to women 
As of 2002, land ownership and farm management have been distributed to more than small private farms, new cooperative or corporate farms and several hundred thousand private plots of less than 1 hectare
Of the total individual landholding, farms headed by women accounted for 9 percent of the arable land and the remaining 91 percent of arable land was on farms headed by men.
#coops4dev🌍

28. Opportunity for Kyrgyz coops and Way Forward
Membership criteria is crucial for ‘equity and equality’
Data on participation of women and men
The provision of ‘one family-one member’ and condition of land ownership should be avoided/changed
Include spouse as member for all practical purposes such as right to vote, availing credit and other services
Landless farm labourers (female and male) residing in the co-operative area and working on regular basis should become ‘associate members’ for availing services such as credit, marketing and skill development trainings etc.
Provision of associate member exists in Japan for use of service
ICA also admits non-cooperatives but coop promotional organisations as ‘associate members’ who can use services but with no voting rights.
#coops4dev🌍

29. ILO Recommendation no.193 (7.3)
“Special consideration should be given to increasing women’s participation in the co-operative movement at all levels, particularly at management and leadership levels.”
#coops4dev🌍

30. ICA-AP-CUK Collaboration for women empowerment and gender equality
Membership of ICA and ICA-AP Women’s Committee
Participation in Skill development and capacity building programs
Joint initiatives on creation of enabling legal and policy environment
#coops4dev🌍

31. Conclusion
The rational for gender equality are moral and ethical issues – i.e. basic human rights of women and men….
The ICA and all those concerned with the promotion of social justice and equal rights should therefore work together to ensure that both women and men face no longer legal constrains in joining, forming or actively participating at all levels in co-operative enterprises across the globe.
#coops4dev🌍

32. For more information, contact Savitri Singh Program Director savitrisingh@icaap.coop ICA-AP
#coops4dev🌍