Governance

Citation:

Jahan, I., and M. I. Haq. 2019. "Assessment of the Status of Gender Sensitive Migration in Climate Change Adaptation Policies of Bangladesh." Paper presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, December 9-13.

Authors: I. Jahan, M. I. Haq

Abstract:

Female groups of the society are always differently vulnerable to any climatic extreme condition. Climate Change induced migration and vulnerability of women in such migration are drawing attention now-a-days. Women are facing trouble of malnutrition, economic uncertainty, having no or less health care services, domestic violence and trafficking while migrating by themselves or the male member of their family. It is needed to assess that how effectively existing national policies of Bangladesh have addressed this problem. From the of policy documents found that migration is not addressed as an effective adaptation option. Policies are not developed according to needs of the females living in climate vulnerable zones. Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2009 merely mention migration as an adaption option but it lacks the gender dimension and further clarification. Bangladesh Climate Change Gender Action Plan (Bcc-GAP) 2013 is the only document fully concentrated in this regard. Migration of the male population focused in the Gender Action Plan, and it seems women were assumed to stay back and adapt to the climate change circumstances and work on mitigating risks. None of the following policies i.e. Environment Policy, 1992; National Environment Management and Action Plan (NEMAP), 1995; National Water Management Plan (NWMP), 2001; The National Food Policy, 2006; Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2009 address gender issue from climate change migration perspective. The Coastal Zone Policy, 2005; Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2010-2021; Sixth Five Year Plan (2011-15); National Adaptation Program of Action (NAPA), 2009; National Plan for Disaster Management (2010-2015) focus on the gender issue from education, health, employment, poverty reduction and disaster management perspective. But the gender sensitive migration due to climate change has been overlooked there. The policies basically focus on international migration and migration due to economic reasons, and the issue was not addressed as a climate change adaptation option in any of the policies. Migration as a climate change adaptation needs to be mainstreamed in all sectoral policies and gender sensitive migration should be emphasized.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Climate Displacement, Economies, Poverty, Domestic Violence, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Governance, Livelihoods, Trafficking Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Cook, Nathan J., Tara Grillos, and Krister P. Andersson. 2019. "Gender Quotas Increase the Equality and Effectiveness of Climate Policy Interventions." Nature Climate Change 9: 330-4.

Authors: Nathan J. Cook, Tara Grillos, Krister P. Andersson

Abstract:

Interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions strive to promote gender balance so that men and women have equal rights to participate in, and benefit from, decision-making about such interventions. One conventional way to achieve gender balance is to introduce gender quotas. Here we show that gender quotas make interventions more effective and lead to more equal sharing of intervention benefits. We conducted a randomized ‘lab’-in-the-field experiment in which 440 forest users from Indonesia, Peru and Tanzania made decisions about extraction and conservation in a forest common. We randomly assigned a gender quota to half of the participating groups, requiring that at least 50% of group members were women. Groups with the gender quota conserved more trees as a response to a ‘payment for ecosystem services’ intervention and shared the payment more equally. We attribute this effect to the gender composition of the group, not the presence of female leaders.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender Balance, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Quotas Regions: Africa, East Africa, Americas, South America, Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Indonesia, Peru, Tanzania

Year: 2019

Citation:

Ampaire, Edidah L., Mariola Acosta, Sofia Huyer, Ritah Kigonya, Perez Muchunguzi, Rebecca Muna, and Laurence Jassogne. 2020. "Gender in Climate Change, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Policies: Insights from East Africa." Climatic Change 158: 43-60.

Authors: Edidah L. Ampaire, Mariola Acosta, Sofia Huyer, Ritah Kigonya, Perez Muchunguzi, Rebecca Muna, Laurence Jassogne

Abstract:

Gender mainstreaming was acknowledged as an indispensable strategy for achieving gender equality at the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action. Since then, governments have made substantial efforts in developing gender-responsive policies and implementation strategies. The advent of climate change and its effects, which have continued to impact rural livelihoods and especially food security, demands that gender mainstreaming efforts are accelerated. Effective gender mainstreaming requires that gender is sufficiently integrated in policies, development plans, and implementation strategies, supported by budgetary allocations. This study analyzes the extent of gender integration in agricultural and natural resource policies in Uganda and Tanzania, and how gender is budgeted for in implementation plans at district and lower governance levels. A total of 155 policy documents, development plans, and annual action plans from national, district, and sub-county/ward levels were reviewed. In addition, district and sub-county budgets for four consecutive financial years from 2012/2013 to 2015/2016 were analyzed for gender allocations. Results show that whereas there is increasing gender responsiveness in both countries, (i) gender issues are still interpreted as “women issues,” (ii) there is disharmony in gender mainstreaming across governance levels, (iii) budgeting for gender is not yet fully embraced by governments, (iii) allocations to gender at sub-national level remain inconsistently low with sharp differences between estimated and actual budgets, and (iv) gender activities do not address any structural inequalities. We propose approaches that increase capacity to develop and execute gender-responsive policies, implementation plans, and budgets.

Topics: Agriculture, Development, Environment, Climate Change, Gender Budgeting, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Livelihoods, Security, Food Security Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Tanzania, Uganda

Year: 2020

Citation:

Mavisakalyan, Astghik, and Yashar Tarverdi. 2019. "Gender and Climate Change: Do Female Parliamentarians Make Difference?" European Journal of Political Economy 56: 151-64.

Authors: Astghik Mavisakalyan, Yashar Tarverdi

Abstract:

This paper investigates whether female political representation in national parliaments influences climate change policy outcomes. Based on data from a large sample of countries, we demonstrate that female representation leads countries to adopt more stringent climate change policies. We exploit a combination of full and partial identification approaches to suggest that this relationship is likely to be causal. Moreover, we show that through its effect on the stringency of climate change policies, the representation of females in parliament results in lower carbon dioxide emissions. Female political representation may be an underutilized tool for addressing climate change.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Governance, Political Participation

Year: 2019

Citation:

Acosta, Mariola, Severine van Bommel, Margit van Wessel, Edidah L. Ampaire, Laurence Jassogne, and Peter H. Feindt. 2019. "Discursive Translations of Gender Mainstreaming Norms: The Case of Agricultural and Climate Change Policies in Uganda." Women's Studies International Forum 74: 9-19.

Authors: Mariola Acosta, Severine van Bommel, Margit van Wessel, Edidah L. Ampaire, Laurence Jassogne, Peter H. Feindt

Abstract:

While the international norm on gender mainstreaming, UN-backed since 1995, has been widely adopted in national policies, gender inequalities are rarely systematically addressed on the ground. To explain this limited effectiveness, this paper takes a discourse analytical perspective on gender policy and budgeting, with a focus on the translation of the international norm into domestic norms and policies. An in-depth, inductive analysis of 107 policy documents in Uganda examines how the gender mainstreaming norm has been translated at three administrative levels: national, district, sub-county. The analysis finds five processes that reduce the norm's transformational potential: neglecting gender discourse, gender inertia, shrinking gender norms, embracing discursive hybridity and minimizing budgets. Overall, gender mainstreaming largely stopped at the discursive level, and often paradoxically depoliticized gender. The findings explain why gender mainstreaming might be helpful but not sufficient for advancing gender equality and suggest additional focus on promising practices, women's rights movements and stronger monitoring.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, norm translation, norm domestication, transformational potential, Uganda

Topics: Gender Budgeting, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Rights, Women's Rights Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Uganda

Year: 2019

Citation:

Castrellón Pérez, Mariana, and Catherine Romero Cristancho. 2016. "Enfoque de Género en la Implementación de la Ley de Víctimas y Restitución de Tierras: Una Propuesta para la Caracterización de las Mujeres y Niñas Víctimas del Conflicto Armado en Colombia." Revista CS 19: 69-113. doi: 10.18046/recs.i19.2166.

Authors: Mariana Castrellón Pérez, Catherine Romero Cristancho

Abstract:

Keywords: gênero, entidades territoriales, Ley de Victimas y Restitución de Tierras, caracterización, Planes de Acción Territorial, Conflicto Armado, Gender, local governments, Victims and Land Restitution Law, characterization, Local Action Plans, armed conflict

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Justice, Reparations, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights, Violence Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2016

Citation:

Bigio, Jamille and Rachel Vogelstein. 2020. Understanding Gender Equality in Foreign Policy. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.

Authors: Jamille Bigio, Rachel Vogelstein

Annotation:

Topics: Economies, Feminisms, Gender, Feminist Foreign Policy, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Governance, Health, Peace and Security, Security Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2020

Citation:

Siscawati, Mia. 2020. "Gender and Forest Tenure Reform in Indonesia." Working Paper 258, Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia.

Author: Mia Siscawati

Annotation:

This report considers the gender dimensions of forest tenure and forest tenure reform in Indonesia. Data were derived from CIFOR’s research on forest tenure reform in Indonesia at the national and provincial levels, focusing on the provinces of Lampung and Maluku. Additional data were taken from training workshops on gender and community-based forest tenure reform held at these two sites. The study shows that, at the macro scale, the gender dimension of forest tenure reform is marked by the intersection of global efforts toward gender equality and women’s empowerment with the development of equitable and sustainable forest resources through forest tenure reform. At the national level, policies on gender equality and women’s empowerment have contributed to the development of gender mainstreaming policies within the forestry sector. However, national forest tenure reform policies and programs still give little consideration to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The meso scale of provincial and district levels is marked by the implementation of gender-neutral national forest tenure reform policies and programs at landscape level. In Lampung Province, two permits within social forestry schemes, namely hutan kemasyarakatan (HKm or community-managed forests) and hutan tanaman rakyat (HTR, community-based plantation forests), predominate. In contrast, hutan adat (customary forest) is more commonly found in Maluku Province. Local communities in Maluku Province are currently searching for a forest tenure reform scheme that best protects their tenurial rights to forest lands and resources. At the micro scale, the case study of Lampung Province shows that the implementation of forest tenure reform schemes has not significantly changed gender norms. Nevertheless, women’s participation in decision making at household and community level is gradually increasing, albeit in a limited way. Since the implementation of HKm permits, household income from secured forest lands has increased. This rise in income is slowly increasing the likelihood that girls will have higher education. The application of forest tenure scheme(s) at micro scale in Lampung has made women feel safe and secure in managing the land, without fear of intervention by authorities. They are able to manage non-timber forest products and earn cash income to cover living expenses. They also contribute to sustainable forest management, replanting to preserve plants from extinction. In addition, security of tenure rights appears to have led to a decrease in the number of men temporarily migrating in order to look for work or additional cash income. The presence of more adult men in the family has positively contributed to the utilization of the forest land under HKm permits, which has had a positive impact on the land and resources. The case study of Maluku Province shows that the existing tradition of active participation of women in household and community decision making could contribute to the recognition and protection of their rights, and those of other marginal groups, over forest lands and resources.

Topics: Education, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Land Tenure, Governance, Households, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Indonesia

Year: 2020

Citation:

Nyangueso, Samuel Ouma, Samuel Oyoo Orwa, Margaret Ombai, and Salma Sheba. 2020. “Effects of Gender Mainstreaming Efforts on Rural Transport Institutions in Kenya.” Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers – Transport 173 (2): 76-86.

Authors: Samuel Ouma Nyangueso , Samuel Oyoo Orwa, Margaret Ombai, Salma Sheba

Abstract:

This paper reports on an investigation into the effects of gender mainstreaming efforts on the institutions that deliver and support rural transport infrastructure and services in Kenya. It comes at a time when the nation is implementing robust policies, supported by enabling legislative and institutional frameworks for gender mainstreaming as required by the Constitution of Kenya 2010. A multi-level case study was conducted at national and county levels where many institutions were surveyed. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected, covering gender analysis in staffing, decision-making and procurement for a sample of rural transport institutions. Results show that gender mainstreaming efforts have transformed rural transport institutions towards gender-responsive staffing, human resource practices, budgeting, procurement and implementation of transport-related works. However, achieving the constitutional two-thirds affirmative action policy in staffing remains a challenge, more so in technical and decision-making bodies. The study found that the meaning and purpose of gender mainstreaming is not sufficiently understood by the majority of transport sector institutions. Additionally, gender-disaggregated data are neither readily available nor applied to rural transport programming and implementation. A change of strategy and long-term progressive efforts are required to realise gender equity in rural transport institutions in Kenya and beyond.

Keywords: procurement, recruitment, transport, planning

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Governance, Constitutions, Infrastructure, Transportation, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, East Africa Countries: Kenya

Year: 2020

Citation:

Rosul-Gajic, Jagoda. 2016. "Women's Advocacy in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina: Implementation of UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security." Journal of International Women's Studies 17 (4): 143-59.

Author: Jagoda Rosul-Gajic

Abstract:

In this paper, I address the question of how Bosnian women's NGOs have contributed to the implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). What instruments did they use to enforce gender, peace and security norms into state policy and the policy of international actors in the post-conflict internationalized society of BiH? Since national and international actors did not comply with international gender specific norms and standards, I argue that, as norm advocates, Bosnian women's NGOs have been working with a double strategy to influence gender, peace and security policy and enforce change, both by national and international actors. In order to act gender-sensitively, this paper claims--unlike most of the literature on global norm diffusion--it is not only the national actors who need to be socialized to comply with international norms and standards, but also the international political elite. Hence, it not only looks at the process of norm implementation into domestic policies, but also in the policies of international actors in post conflict countries. The methodology followed is a descriptive one wherein the analyses is conducted on information resulting from interviews and published secondary data.

Keywords: UNSCR 1325, gender norms, post-conflict settings, women's NGOs, postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, NGOs, Peace and Security, Peace Processes, Security Regions: Europe, Balkans, Eastern Europe Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Year: 2016