Co-ops and Gender Equality

International Women’s Day (IWD) Message 2020 of the Executive Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) Gender Equality Committee

Photo: ica.coop/Paula Kindsvater via CC 4.0

COOPERATIVES CAN BE THE TOOL TO REDUCE THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC INJUSTICES FACED BY WOMEN!
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are challenges both within cooperatives, and in countries where cooperatives operate. Multiple barriers impose limitations on women, hindering their access to opportunities, often translating into legal restrictions that institutionalise women’s marginalisation. Eliminating those barriers that thwart gender equality is a critical target for cooperative action and a key priority for the International Cooperative Alliance and its member organisations, which aim for a gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

International Women’s Day represents an unmissable opportunity to mobilise global action to achieve gender equality for all women and girls. In 2020, the theme I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action which recognised the multiple benefits of cooperatives. Now, it is time for the UN and international cooperative development sector to increase and prioritise aid to key development actors that strengthen women's economic, social and political empowerment.

Cooperative solutions go beyond business as usual in market economies and can help achieve the Leave no one behind-agenda contributing to “A decade of action and delivery”.

As economic actors, considering gendered norms, women continue to earn less, are more likely to partake in unpaid labour and more apt to be excluded from decent work. However, we must remind people that, when women establish or join cooperatives, they perform innovative labour activities, earning higher incomes and increasing their business performance and competitiveness. Joining cooperatives increases their decision-making in the household, and improves their participation and empowerment within community affairs - given that cooperatives, as people-centred enterprises focus on inclusive employment enabling at large women who suffer multi-faceted inequalities

Some examples show how this can be done.
- In Spain, for example, women represent 54% of management and command positions in worker cooperatives;
- In Italy the percentage of employed women, compared to the total, is 59% that means 1 million and 350 thousand women, with a good retention of employment even in times of crisis, women represent 50% of members and 24.8% of Board of Directors members.
- In the search for strategies to promote the participation of women in decision-making spaces of the cooperative sector, gender violence was identified as an invisible barrier to the greater participation of women in Argentina. In 2019, the Argentine Confederation of Cooperatives (Cooperar) has taken the decision to implement a Protocol of Prevention of Gender Violence, which each entity can then take as an example and adapt it to its characteristics.
-In Nepal, 40% of the board of directors in cooperatives are women and 51% of members in cooperatives are women (out 6.5 million members in the country)
- In the Philippines, cooperatives participate in the implementation of SDGs in several areas with the assistance of the government, specifically, gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Philippine Plan for Gender-Responsive Development (1995-2025) mandated the implementation of gender and development in public and private sector, in accord with the provision of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The Cooperative Development Authority mandates all the registered cooperatives to mainstream gender and development.
-In Nigeria, women constitute of 60% of the cooperative membership with 45% of the cooperative leadership being taken by women. The government and the cooperative movement promoted a Strategic Framework and national policy support and also registered the Nigeria Cooperative Women Alliance (NICOWA) to advocate for women participation in governance of all cooperative organizations and development of women cooperatives.
- In Ethiopia, women make up to 42% of the cooperative membership and participate in different leadership positions in their cooperative thanks to an existing bylaw which states that there should be at least one female member in each and every cooperative management committee.

In times of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction, we see that the cooperatives are always among the first enterprises to be established.

Women are the first ones to join, restoring a fabric based on mutual trust and hope, addressing personal and communal needs such as freedom from violence and armed conflicts. Cooperatives are committed to fight any form of harassment and violence against women and their benefits in building peace and resilience have been recognised by key institutions at multiple levels including the ILO recommendation on the 2017 Employment and Decent Work for the Transition to Peace. Moreover

Considering that gender equity is increasingly seen as a pillar for sustainable economic development and broad social well-being, people-centered economic models which promote human rights of women and girls at all levels need to be reinforced, making the SDG5 a reality.

Cooperatives can be the tool to reduce the socio-economic injustices faced by women!

Executive Committee of the ICA Gender Equality Committee:

María Eugenia Pérez Zea, Chair of the ICA Gender Equality Committee

Xiomara Núñez de Céspedes, Vice-Chair of the ICA Gender Equality Committee and chair of the regional ICA GEC for the Americas

Marjaana Saarikoski, Vice-Chair of the ICA Gender Equality Committee

Nandini Azad, Chair of the ICA Asia Pacific Women’s Committee

Esther N. Gicheru, Chair of the Research and Gender Committee of ICA Africa

Stefania Marcone, Vice President of Cooperatives Europe and Chair of its Gender Equality Working Group

Arti Bisaria, Women's Empowerment Committee of NCUI (the National Cooperative Union of India)

Vanya Boyuklieva, Vice President of Cooperatives Europe

Malena Riudavets, Head of Gender Equality and vice-president of COCETA (the Spanish Confederation of worker cooperatives)

Image: PCW

The Gender Equality Resource Center (GERC) Inc. supports the Philippines's “18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW)” led by the Philippine Commission on  Women (PCW), in coordination with the Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Children (IACVAWC) (November 25-December 12)

FACT SHEET on the Campaign
Source: https://pcw.gov.ph/event/2019-18-day-campaign-end-violence-against-women

World Health Organization (WHO)—global estimates: About 1 in 3 women (35%) worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual violence from intimate partner or non-partner in their lifetime.

The Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), in its National Demographic Health Survey 2017, states that 1 in 4 Filipino women, aged 15-49, has experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence from their husband or partner.

Because violence against women (VAW) appears as one of the Philippines’s pervasive social problems, various measures and mechanisms have been employed and implemented to address it. Among the measures is the “18-Day Campaign to End VAW,” an annual advocacy campaign from November 25 to December 12 (Proclamation No. 1172 s. 2006 by President Gloria Arroyo).

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•       Through Republic Act No. 10398 (Act declaring November 25 of every year as the National Consciousness Day for the Elimination of VAWC), government agencies are mandated to raise awareness on the problem of violence and the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls.

•       Originally, it was a 16-day action against gender-based violence to support the international campaign that originated from the first Women Leadership Institute at Reuters University, New Jersey, USA, in 1991. The action was to run from November 25 (“International Day to Eliminate VAW) until December 10 (“International Human Rights Day”), to emphasize that VAW is a human rights violation and to ensure better protection for survivors and victims of violence.

•       2006: Philippine President Arroyo signed Proclamation No. 1172 to extend the country’s campaign to 18 days to include December 12, which marks the signing in year 2000 of the “United Nations (UN) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,” to supplement the “UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crimes.”

•       2008: The campaign was further strengthened the UN Secretary General launched the “UNiTE to End VAW Campaign” that envisions a world free from all forms of violence against women and girls. For the UN, this vision can only be realized through meaningful actions and ongoing political commitments of national governments, supported by adequate resources.

2019 Campaign Theme and Objectives

•       The PCW, in coordination with Inter-Agency Council on Violence Against Women and Children (IACVAWC), is tasked to lead, monitor, and evaluate the annual nationwide observance of the 18-Day Campaign to End VAW.

•       2016-2021 theme: “VAW-free community starts with Me” to emphasize everyone’s commitment and contributions on ending VAW, and presents an ideal picture of a VAW-free community, thus inspiring the general public to make a personal commitment to end VAWC.

•       2019: The campaign continues to underscore the significant role of individuals, especially the youth, in fighting VAW and girls in various institutions. The campaign focuses on Primary Prevention to reduce incidents of VAW across the country, which can be achieved by empowering individuals to know and claim their rights, and to educate them where to seek help in cases of violence. Specific aims:

- Promote awareness on the forms of violence women and girls experience

- Provide information on laws protecting women and girls

- Feature VAW-related services that people can access and avail

- Gather public support for the campaign.

•       Violence against women and girls is not just a major public health problem—it is also a grave violation of human rights; extremely manifests gender inequity, targeting women and girls because of their subordinate status in the society.

•       UN definition of VAW: “Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.” Violence and the threats of violence can be experienced by every woman of any age, skin color, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disabilities, economic, and social status.

18 Things that We Can Do to Help End Violence Against Women (VAW)

Woman/Girl

1. Empower yourself. Know your rights and available courses of actions in case these rights are violated.

2. Speak out and report to the authorities in case your rights are violated.

3. Encourage others to fight for their rights.

Man/Boy 

4. Respect women and girls in your home, workplace, and community.

5. Join male groups promoting Anti-VAW efforts and participate in discussions to broaden your awareness on the advocacy.

6. Enlighten/advise perpetrators to seek help and join the male Anti-VAW supporters.

Government Agencies

7. Equip yourselves with apt trainings and capacity development sessions to improve service delivery for your clients.

8. Develop monitoring and evaluation strategy to assess the service to  your clients supporters.

9. Let people know that you provide the services! We need to inform the public that there are government offices that they can turn to and trust to assist them towards healing and seeking justice.

Barangay (small village)

10. Ensure that your Barangay VAW Desk is functional. You can use the Barangay VAW Desk Handbook developed by the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with partner-agencies to guide you on what to do.

11. Establish linkages with local and national government agencies, as well as other organizations near your barangay where you can refer victim-survivors of VAW for needed assistance which the barangay is not able to provide.

12. Promote harmonious family and community relationships in your barangay, which is grounded on mutual respect for human rights, and take proactive steps to attain a VAW-free community.

Private Sector

13. Support the Anti-VAW efforts of the government and your immediate community.

14. Establish your own Action Desks where employees and clients can go to in case VAW happens.

15. Develop internal rules to proactively ensure that your workplace is VAW-free.

Academe/Training Institutions

16. Include concepts of VAW and women’s human rights in lesson plans/lesson guides of your teaching staff

17. Continually conduct/spearhead anti-VAW advocacies in your campus, and if possible, to your immediate community through extension programs.

18. Setup a Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) where students and employees can seek help

2019 Campaign Activities The following activities are spearheaded by the PCW in partnership with key partner institutions:

•         Cine Juana Digital Shorts Competition (Deadline of submission of entries: November 4, 2019, 5:00 PM PST; Awarding Ceremony: November 25, 2019).
This competition recognizes film as a powerful tool in raising awareness on violence and inspiring action to prevent it. Open to Senior High School and College students in the Philippines, the competition has the following categories: #JuanParaKayJuana (Male Point-of-View), #LabanJuana (Female Point-of-View), and #LigtasJuana (Promoting Safe Spaces).

•         Orange your Icon for 18 Days Advocacy Initiative (November 25-December 12, 2019)
This activity shall strengthen the anti-VAW advocacy by enjoining new audiences to join the cause to end VAW. The idea is to attract the general public’s curiosity on why major landmarks or iconic spots are orange in color, thereby providing opportunities for advocates to explain the anti-VAW advocacy.

•          2019 Youth Forum on VAW (November 25, 2019 l 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. PICC, Pasay City)
The PCW, in collaboration with the IACVAWC members and other partners, shall hold a forum involving youth participants. The forum shall serve as a venue to promote the concept on non-violence and positive masculinities, and to raise awareness on VAW and other laws protecting women and girls through age-appropriate core messages.

•          Anti-VAW Expo 2019 (November 27-29, 2019. 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM. Multi-Purpose Hall, UP College of Fine Arts, Diliman Quezon City)
The expo shall feature five interactive booths where participants shall be oriented on VAW laws, encourage help-seeking behavior in cases of VAW, leading to a commitment wall to end VAW dubbed as “I Vow to End VAW.”

•          18-Day Campaign Online Advocacy
Everyone is encouraged to share their advocacy activities online through: 

-Use of official hashtag: #VAWFreePH and making their posts public to generate  traction online

-Use of 18-Day Campaign to End VAW Facebook Profile Frame available through the PCW FB   page

-Feature the 18-Day Campaign to End VAW in agency websites and social media accounts

-Sharing the social media cards that PCW will release through its official Facebook and Twitter accounts.

#VAWFreePH

The colorful story of the gender and development (GAD) journey of Philippine co-ops has many lessons on turning challenges to opportunities for advocacy; and on developing creative, passionate, and committed GAD advocates/trainers/role-models in co-ops, and gender-fair co-ops. GAD advocates and gender-fair co-ops are in different areas of the country but are united in doing the difficult task of challenging culture, traditions, and mindsets that spawn stereotypes and inequalities. The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA)’s MC No. 2013-22 (Guidelines in Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives) and MC No. 2017-04 (Tool for Assessing Progress of Gender Equality in Primary Cooperatives as Supplemental to Memorandum Circular No. 2013-22) strengthen the GAD efforts of the country's co-ops.

Cooperatives: an innovative entrepreneurial model built on the foundation of gender equality

-Message of Ms. María Eugenia Pérez Zea, Chair of the Gender Equality Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance, the global organization of co-ops. On the occasion of International Women's Day, 2019. 

"Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change" is the slogan for the United Nations International Women's Day. Cooperators around the world are calling out to show how cooperatives are an entrepreneurial and innovative model that builds on a foundation of gender equality.

With one of our cooperative principles being open membership, gender equality has always been a key feature of the cooperative movement. The cooperative movement is leading the way in terms of innovation, because innovation comes from people – and cooperatives, by placing the onus on members themselves to resolve their needs and aspirations, constantly adapt to the demands of a continually-evolving society.

The 8 of March is an opportunity to acknowledge women's contributions to the development of societies and the world, through both paid and unpaid work. In different countries around the world, the Gender Equality Committee of the ICA is showing how cooperatives are supporting women in work-life balance, providing quality and long-term employment

It is essential that we build inclusive, participatory, and integral processes within our governments to create state policy aimed at achieving equality across all sectors through innovative strategies in which women play a defining role in the construction of the country.

We call for the advancement of a solidarity-based economy, as a way out of issues of social disparity, achievable thanks to its values and essence of democratic participation, inclusion, the common good and equality.

Today we want to also remember the role of cooperatives providing job opportunities and social inclusion for women victims of violence. It is our job to put an end to the trafficking of women and girls, female genital mutilation, child marriage, the gender pay gap, femicide, sexual abuse, and workplace harassment.

This is a task for everyone, not only women. Once we are able to offer decent and inclusive education, equal justice, and reject the impunity of those who have committed violence and abuse against women, we will eliminate all acts of violence, hunger, and poverty by investing in projects promoting equality.

We now have the resources to get us closer to, more connected with, and better informed about what is happening in the world. We can draw on globalisation and the relationships we have between countries to think about equality.

We need to confront challenges and generate cross-cutting changes through innovation, considering how societies are transforming. We see that cooperatives can help in this sense.

The cooperative model is particularly well-suited to resolving these challenges because it has the capacity to fully educate the various actors involved in activities through collective and democratic control.

We have the arduous task of contributing to, and joining, the construction of an ideal future, one that is better for all women and girls.  Let us work to make the fifth Sustainable Development Goal “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” a reality!