Livelihoods

Citation:

Thomas-Slayter, Barbara, and Nina Bhatt. 1994. "Land, Livestock, and Livelihoods: Changing Dynamics of Gender, Caste, and Ethnicity in a Nepalese Village." Human Ecology 22 (4): 467-494.

Authors: Barbara Thomas-Slayter, Nina Bhatt

Abstract:

Over the past 10 years, Ghusel VDC, Lalitpur District has moved from primarily subsistence agriculture into the wider cash economy aided by the Small Farmers' Development Program (SFDP), which provides credit to farmers mainly for the purchase of buffalo for milk production, and by the National Dairy Corporation, which supports local dairy cooperatives.  Analysis reveals that buffalo-keeping and milk sales are increasing the well-being of many households, while at the same time creating new inequalities in gender roles and responsibilities, greater inequities between Brahmin and Tamang residents in Ghusel, and placing pressures on the ecosystem for increased supplies of fodder and fuelwood. Evidence suggests that there is critical, need for attention to the social, and particularly gender-based, implications of maintaining livestock for milk sales and to the ecological underpinnings of this livelihood system.

Keywords: agriculture, livestock, land

Topics: Agriculture, Caste, Economies, Economic Inequality, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Nepal

Year: 1994

Citation:

Taylor, Matthew, Michelle Moran-Taylor, and Debra Rodman Ruiz. 2006. "Land, Ethnic, and Gender Change: Transnational Migration and its Effects on Guatemalan Lives and Landscapes." Geoforum 37: 41-61.

Authors: Matthew Taylor, Michelle Moran-Taylor, Debra Rodman Ruiz

Abstract:

Migration to the United States of America from Guatemala effects many aspects of Guatemalan life. We document, through extensive ethnographic fieldwork, how migrants and their remittances effect gender relations, ethnicity, land use, and land distribution. Our evidence is drawn from research in four communities. San Pedro Pinula and Gualan represent communities of eastern Guatemala. San Cristóbal Totonicapan is an Indigenous town in Guatemala’s western highlands, and San Lucas is a lowland frontier community in the Guatemalan department of Ixcan, which borders Chiapas, Mexico. Our results reveal that migrants and their remittances, both social and tangible, result in significant changes in land use and land distribution in Ixcan. Migrant money permits the conversion of rainforest into cattle pasture and also results in the accumulation of land in the hands of migrants. In terms of land use, we see in San Pedro Pinula that migrant money also allows the Pokoman Maya to make small entries into the Ladino (non-indigenous) dominated cattle business. In San Pedro Pinula, the migration and return of Maya residents also permits them to slowly challenge ethnic roles that have developed over the last five centuries. When we look at how migration effects gender roles in Gualan and San Cristóbal we also note that migration and social remittances permit a gradual challenge and erosion of traditional gender roles in Guatemala. We point out, however, that migration-related changes to traditional gender and ethnic roles is gradual because migrants, despite their increased earnings and awareness, run into a social structure that resists rapid change. This is not the case when we examine land transformations in Ixcan. Here, migrants encounter few barriers when they attempt to put their new money and ideas to work. Despite the advantages that migration brings to many families, especially in the face of a faltering national economy and state inactivity regarding national development, we conclude that migration and remittances do not result in community or nation-wide development. At this stage migrant remittances are used for personal advancement and very little money and effort is invested in works that benefit communities or neighborhoods. We call for continued studies of the effects of international migration on Guatemalan hometowns that build on our initial studies to better understand the longer-term ramifications of migration in a country where no community is without migrants.

Keywords: migration, land transformation, gender transformation

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Gender Roles, Indigenous, Livelihoods, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Americas, Central America Countries: Guatemala

Year: 2006

Citation:

Tacoli, Cecilia. 1999. "International Migration and the Restructuring of Gender Asymmetries: Continuity and Change among Filipino Labor Migrants in Rome." International Migration Review 33 (3): 658-682.

Author: Cecilia Tacoli

Abstract:

This article examines the different factors which may explain gender-selectivity among Filipino labor migrants in Rome, where women are around 70 percent of this nationality group.  Following the analysis of labor demand in the domestic service sector, it explores  supply aspects, ranging from economic conditions within the Philippine labor market to noneconomic constraints, such as ideologies and expectations of gender. The research findings show that migrant women's commitments and obligations toward their households in home area are generally stronger than those of their male counterparts.  However, spatial distance and increased financial independence may provide some women with the opportunity to pursue 'self-interested' goals while at the same time keeping within the  'altruistic' role dictated by normative gender roles. Important elements affecting women's increased autonomy are life course paths, households’ developmental cycle, class and migration form.

Keywords: international migration, labor migration, gender transformation, employment, gender-selectivity, gender roles

Annotation:

• In the 1970s, labor migrants, primarily from Third World nations, began moving to Southern European countries in search of work. In her article, Tacoli explores the reasons for the predominance of women within the Filipino immigrant population in Rome. In her analysis, she examines “the role of migrant networks in providing access to specific employment opportunities, employers’ perceptions of gender and ethnicity, and the impact of Italian immigration policies on the labor market” (659). In her first section, “Gender and Migration Theories,” Tacoli writes that the study of gendered migration is a recent one. Gender-selective migration has come as a result of the incorporation of females into low-paying, low-skilled occupations; however, this does not explain why some women migrate while others do not (i.e. why migrants to Rome from the Philippines are predominately female while migrants from other countries include very few women). Tacoli characterizes migration as a “socially-embedded process” (662), which depends largely on the household as a determinant of gender roles in the labor market. Additionally, the Filipino government has encouraged international labor migration, which may have had a greater impact on the decision of women to work abroad.

• When Filipino migration to Italy began in the 1970s, the migrant community was primarily composed of women working as household helpers. One factor accounting for women’s domination of the migrant labor force in Italy is the fact that women are more likely to be employed full-time (often as live-in nannies), whereas men oftentimes work part-time. Demand for live-in work has been greater than that for part-time work in Italy, so migrant women have been employed to a higher degree than their male counterparts.Tacoli proceeds to examine the reasons for labor migration from the Philippines to Rome. 
• These reasons range from the desire for higher wages to the desire to experience a westernized lifestyle. The majority of the women who have migrated to Rome are widowed or separated women who were not previously employed, signaling their desperation for employment and the difficulty for women to find jobs in the Philippines. Because of the high cost of moving from the Philippines to Italy, however, those migrating to Italy have tended to be the more affluent members of the Filipino population, which would suggest that survival is not the primary motivator for migration. Surveys indicate that social mobility is actually a more commonly cited reason for moving. Because divorce is prohibited in Filipino society, married women often move as a way to escape unhappy marriages and affirm their independence. In her analysis of intrahousehold relations (p. 671), Tacoli questions whether the decision to migrate is made by the migrants themselves or by other members of the family unit. Findings show that daughters are more likely than sons to migrate as a result of parental pressure, indicating the emphasis placed on duty towards relatives in Filipino culture, particularly among women. Pressure to marry also presents a unique incentive for women to emigrate; as Filipino women seek education abroad, they increase their prospects for marriage upon returning home. Thus, migration allows women to simultaneously pursue the own freedom of movement while conforming to altruistic expectations and familial loyalty. International migrations offers them the possibility to combine self-interest (freedom from the conventional gender roles ingrained in Filipino society) with self-sacrifice (working abroad in order to make more money for their families back home). 

Topics: Class, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Southern Europe Countries: Italy, Philippines

Year: 1999

Citation:

Lorentzen, Lois Ann, and Jennifer E. Turpin. 1998. The Women and War Reader. New York: New York University Press.

Authors: Lois Ann Lorentzen, Jennifer E. Turpin

Abstract:

War affects women in profoundly different ways than men. Women play many roles during wartime: they are "gendered" as mothers, as soldiers, as munitions makers, as caretakers, as sex workers. How is it that womanhood in the context of war may mean, for one woman, tearfully sending her son off to war, and for another, engaging in civil disobedience against the state? Why do we think of war as "men's business" when women are more likely to be killed in war and to become war refugees than men?

The Women and War Reader brings together the work of the foremost scholars on women and war to address questions of ethnicity, citizenship, women's agency, policy making, women and the war complex, peacemaking, and aspects of motherhood. Moving beyond simplistic gender dichotomies, the volume leaves behind outdated arguments about militarist men and pacifist women while still recognizing that there are patterns of difference in men's and women's relationships to war.

The Women and War Reader challenges essentialist, class-based, and ethnocentric analysis. A comprehensive volume covering such regions as the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Israel and Palestine, Iran, Nicaragua, Chiapas, South Africa, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and India, it will provide a much-needed resource. The volume includes the work of over 35 contributors, including Cynthia Enloe, Sara Ruddick, V. Spike Peterson, Betty Reardon, April Carter, Leila J. Rupp, Harriet Hyman Alonso, Francine D'Amico, Nancy Scheper-Hughes, and Carolyn Nordstrom. (Amazon)

Annotation:

Table of Contents:

Many faces : women confronting war / Jennifer Turpin --
The truth about women and peace / Jodi York --
After feminist analyses of Bosnian violence / Darius M. Rejali --
Should women be soldiers or pacifists? / April Carter --
Gendered nationalism : reproducing "us" versus "them" / V. Spike Peterson --
All the men are in the militias, all the women are victims : the politics of masculinity and femininity in nationalist wars / Cynthia Enloe --
Surfacing gender : reconceptualizing crimes against women in time of war / Rhonda Copelon --
Girls behind the (front) lines / Carolyn Nordstrom --
Gender, militarization and universal male conscription in South Korea / Seungsook Moon --
Militarization, conflict and women in South Asia / Anuradha M. Chenoy --
Militarism and Cypriot women / Ninetta Pourou-Kazantzis --
Feminist perspectives on women warriors / Francine D'Amico --
Women munitions makers, war and citizenship / Angela Woolacott --
Women warriors/women peacemakers : will the real feminists please stand up! / Ilene Rose Feinman --
The expanding role of women in United Nations peacekeeping / Janet Beilstein --
War and gender : what do we learn from Israel? / Uta Klein --
Broken dreams in Nicaragua / Diana Mulinari --
Zapatismo : gender, power and social transfromation / Mariana Mora --
Domestic activism and nationalist struggle / Monica E. Neugebauer --
Torture as text / Irene Matthews --
Women's prison resistance : Testimonios from El Salvador / Lois Ann Lorentzen --
Imagining peace / Elaine R. Pgnibene --
"Women of peace" : a feminist construction / Sara Ruddick --
Maternal thinking and the politics of war / Nancy Scheper-Hughes --
War, nationalism and mothers in the former Yugoslavia / Vesna Nikolić-Ristanović --
Drafting motherhood : maternal imagery and organizations in the United States and Nicaragua / Lorraine Bayard de Volo --
Moral mothers and stalwart sons : reading binaries in a time of war / Malathi de Alwis --
Parenting troops : the summons to acquiescence / Rela Mazali --
Women or weapons? / Betty A. Reardon --
Dissension in the ranks : the New York branch of WILPF vs. the National Board, 1914-1955 / Harriet Hyman Alonso --
Solidarity and wartime violence against women / Leila J. Rupp --
Making connections : building an East Asia-U.S. women's network against U.S. militarism / Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey --
Afghan women in the peace process / Pamela Collett --
The impact of women in black in Israel / Gila Svirsky --
Israeli and Palestinian women working for peace / Ronit Lentin --
Silent or silenced? / Lynne M. Woerhle --
The psychology of societal reconstruction and peace : a gendered perspective / Susan R. McKay --

Topics: Armed Conflict, Citizenship, Combatants, Female Combatants, Displacement & Migration, Refugees, Ethnicity, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Livelihoods, Sexual Livelihoods, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Peacebuilding, Rights, Women's Rights, Security, Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Violence

Year: 1998

Citation:

Date-Bah, Eugenia. 2003. Jobs After War: A Critical Challenge in the Peace and Reconstruction Puzzle. Geneva: International Labour Office.

Author: Eugenia Date-Bah

Abstract:

Keywords: economic development, private sector, microfinance, labour market

Topics: Combatants, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Refugees, Economies, Gender, Livelihoods, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, Human Security

Year: 2003

Citation:

Adler, Amy B., Ann H. Huffman, Paul D. Bliese, and Carl A. Castro. 2005. "The Impact of Deployment Length and Experience on the Well-Being of Male and Female Soldiers." Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 10 (2): 121-137.

Authors: Amy B. Adler, Ann H. Huffman, Paul D. Bliese, Carl A. Castro

Abstract:

This study examined the effects of stressor duration (deployment length) and stressor novelty (no prior deployment experience) on the psychological health of male and female military personnel returning from a peacekeeping deployment. The sample consisted of men (n = 2,114) and women (n= 1,225) surveyed for symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress. The results confirmed the hypotheses. Longer deployments and 1st-time deployments were associated with an increase in distress scores. However, the relationship between deployment length and increased distress was found only for male soldiers. The findings demonstrate the importance of considering the impact of exposure to long-term occupational stressors and confirm, in part, previous research that has demonstrated a different stress response pattern for men and women.

Keywords: male soldiers, female soldiers, mental health, peacekeeping

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, Male Combatants, Gender, Women, Men, Health, Mental Health, PTSD, Trauma, Livelihoods, Militarized Livelihoods, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Peacekeeping Regions: Americas, North America Countries: United States of America

Year: 2005

Citation:

Brown, Barbara. 1983. "The Impact of Male Labor Migration on Women in Botswana." African Affairs 82 (328): 367-88.

Author: Barbara Brown

Abstract:

In recent years scholars have become increasingly concerned with the role women  play in society. Researchers  studying women in the Third World have focused particularly on the impact of  development on the social and economic role of women. However, there continue to be large gaps in our understanding of women in the development process. One such gap is the impact of labor migration on women. Labor migration is a common phenomenon today both within the Third World and between it and the industrialized countries. Yet, while numerous scholars have analyzed who migrates and  what causes the migration, there has been little in-depth study of the effect  of this migration on women. Most of the existing literature assumes that migration is a rational response to a  given range of resources and choices and that, as such, the family as a unit, including the women members, benefits from such migration. This view, however,  oversimplifies the situation.  The evidence shows that high male outmigration has led to a modification in the structure of family life and has transformed women's social and economic position to their detriment.

Keywords: labor migration, gender transformation

Annotation:

• In her article, Brown examines that ways in which male outmigration from Botswana alters gender relations. She argues that as men migrate out of the country, development slows, and the decrease in human capital leaves women with the burden of agricultural reproduction at very little pay. Brown notes that gender is disregarded by many researchers in the field, and she focuses her study on the extent to which gender plays into the process of capital accumulation in Botswana. She concludes that migrancy entails changes in family roles that are detrimental to women.

• Brown uses South Africa to briefly illustrate the effect that migration has historically had on the country’s economic system, explaining how rural dwellers were forced into wage labor in order to increase human capital. She proceeds to draw a parallel between this and the situation in Botswana, as the economy in Botswana has shifted from subsistence to commercial agriculture as a result of labor migration. In her study, she focuses on the impact of migration on women, specifically. She argues that as a result of male outmigration, women have become more isolated in their marriage and family positions and their social and economic situation has also changed for the worse. 

• Because of the high levels of outmigration in Botswana, Brown argues, marriage is now delayed until a later age, which means that women oftentimes bear children before marriage and act as single parents. These single mothers face a variety of financial issues, including the fact that they are oftentimes denied child support. This forces women to turn to their immediate family for economic assistance; however, as individualism becomes more highly valued in society, family support becomes less reliable. Research shows that “households headed by single mothers are significantly poorer than male-headed households” (376), largely because women have fewer resources for farming (i.e. access to cattle) than men do. Brown also considers the effect of female outmigration on gender roles. Many unmarried mothers will leave their children with their own parents and search for work elsewhere, allowing her to earn more money.

• In her conclusion, Brown writes that most of the new economic opportunities in Botswana go to men rather than women, making women dependent on men financially. As Botswana transitioned to a capitalist economy, the society became dependent on migrant labor. This increase in migration changed family ties and economic relationships, even leader to a “feminization of poverty” (387), as women are less easily able to access the resources needed to prosper economically.

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Migration, Economies, Poverty, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Botswana

Year: 1983

Citation:

Bouta, Tsjeard, Georg Frerks, and Ian Bannon. 2005. Gender, Conflict, and Development. Washington, DC: World Bank.

Authors: Tsjeard Bouta, Georg Frerks, Ian Bannon

Abstract:

Gender, Conflict, and Development was written as an effort to fill a gap between the Bank's work on gender mainstreaming and its agenda in conflict and development. The authors identify a link between gender and conflict issues and provide the most comprehensive review of external and internal sources on gender and conflict, with a particular focus on policy relevance for an institution such as the Bank. The book highlights the gender dimensions of conflict, organized around major relevant themes such as female combatants, sexual violence, formal and informal peace processes, the legal framework, work, the rehabilitation of social services and community-driven development. And for each theme it analyzes how conflict changes gender roles and the policy options that might be considered to build on positive aspects while minimizing adverse changes. The suggested policy options and approaches aim to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by violent conflict to encourage change and build more inclusive and gender balanced social, economic and political relations in post-conflict societies. The book concludes by identifying some of the remaining challenges and themes that require additional analysis and research. The book will be of interest to policymakers, scholars, researchers, graduate and upper-level undergraduate students of conflict studies/regional studies/gender studies. (Amazon)

Keywords: female combatants, gender mainstreaming

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Society, Combatants, Female Combatants, Development, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, Sexual Violence, SV against Women

Year: 2005

Citation:

Barth, Elise. 2002. Peace as Disappointment: The Reintegration of Female Soldiers in Post-Conflict Societies. A Comparative Study from Africa. Oslo: International Peace Research Institute (PRIO).

Author: Elise Barth

Topics: Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gender, Women, Livelihoods, Militarized Livelihoods, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security Regions: Africa

Year: 2002

Relevant Links: http://www.prio.no/page/Publication_details//9429/40567.html?PHPSESSID=b8a30ac

Citation:

Baden, Sally. 1997. Post-Conflict Mozambique: Women's Special Situation, Population Issues and Gender Perspectives: to be Integrated into Skills Training and Employment. Geneva: International Labor Organization.

Author: Sally Baden

Topics: Economies, Gender, Women, Livelihoods, Militarized Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: Mozambique

Year: 1997