Co-ops and Gender Equality

by GERC Inc.

Women and men compose the membership of co-ops. In many cases, more women are in the membership. However, it is still the current reality that even in co-ops where women are the majority of the members, the leadership is mostly men—women’s concerns are hardly heard. This is one of the gender issues that co-ops face. Pursuing gender equality (GE) will greatly help co-ops take action on gender issues, and this action will help the co-ops achieve more economic and social growth, and also enable both men and women to take active roles in co-op development.

Some main reasons why co-ops should pursue GE

1. Gender mainstreaming is a global strategy for GE

2. GE is among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

3. GE in the co-ops' development agenda

4. The gender strategy in the worldwide co-op movement

5. Helps in social audit of Philippine co-ops

6. GE cited as a human right and for good economic sense

7. Guidelines on GAD mainstreaming by Philippine co-ops, through Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2013-22 and "Tool for Assessing Progress of Gender Equality in Primary Cooperatives as Supplemental to Memorandum Circular No. 2013-22," MC No. 2017-04

1. Gender mainstreaming is a global strategy for GE

In 1995, the United Nations (UN) organized the “Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW)” in Beijing, China. The FWCW established gender mainstreaming as a global strategy for the promotion of GE. The "Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA)" , the resultant document of the FWCW, contains the strategic objectives and actions for the advancement of women and the achievement of GE in 12 critical areas of concern:

After 1995, regular reviews have been done on how the BPFA’s critical areas of concern are being addressed. 

After the FWCW was held, the UN General Assembly mandated the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to integrate into its program a follow-up process to the FWCW, including developing its role in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities. In 1996, the CSW adopted a multi-year program of work (1997-2000) that was based on the 12 critical areas of concern. In 2001 and 2006, subsequent work programs were adopted, still based on the BPFA and also the Beijing+5 Outcome Document. In 2010, the UN General Assembly organized a commemorative meeting during the 54th session of the CSW that marked the 15th anniversary of the BPFA’s adoption.

(Reference: Philippine Commission on Women)

2. GE is among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Goal 5 of the SDGs is “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.” Different countries adopted the SDGs in September 2015, aiming at ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all people as part of a new sustainable development agenda. The objective is to achieve in 15 years the specific targets of the 17 SDGs. Goal 5 of the SDGs is "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls." A close examination however reveals that gender equality is present in and is among the targets of all the SDGs. The SDGs are:

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The specific targets of Goal 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls) are:

• End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
• Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
• Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
• Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
• Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.
• Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
• Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.
• Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.

3. GE in the co-ops’ development agenda

Co-ops that promote and practice GE are adhering to the universal values of equality, equity, solidarity, social responsibility, and caring for others as stated in the "Statement on the Co-operative Identity (SCI)." The SCI was adopted at the Centennial Congress of the ICA. GE is in the development agenda of co-ops.

Image: GERC Inc. photobank

4. The gender strategy in the worldwide co-op movement

ICA adopted the “ICA Gender Strategy” in 2000. The rationale of this Gender Strategy is that GE is a moral and ethical issue that touches on the basic human rights of women and men; and that the promotion of economic growth is based on the full use of human resources (GE is good for business) and thus brings added value to the membership and community—valuing differences for social and economic benefits. The Strategy has these priorities and proposals: 

a. Genuine and clear statement of commitment—from top leadership, and visibility of competent women and men leaders

b. Capacity-building—gender training for leaders, staff and members

c. Gender balance—of elected officials and staff (30% to 50% are women)

d. Accountability and monitoring—appointment of gender focal points and use of sex-disaggregated data

e. Human and financial resources—gender budget; gender balance in staff recruitment and selection of officers.

An event in Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative , a progressive and gender-fair co-op in Cebu, PH. Image: AWCF photobank

5. Helps in social audit of Philippine co-ops

Rule 11, entitled “Social Audit of Cooperatives” of Republic Act No. 9520 or the "Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008" includes the contribution of a co-op to the promotion of gender-fair culture and practices as among the indicators for assessing a co-op’s contribution to the uplift of its members’ economic and social needs and those of the communities where the co-op operates.

6. GE cited as a human right and for good economic sense

The "Summary to Engendering Development through Gender Equality in Rights, Resources, and Voice—a World Bank Policy Research Report," published in 2001 by the World Bank and Oxford University Press, underscored the importance of integrating gender into development (“engendering development”). The report said that improving the quality of people's lives is the ultimate goal of development thus the toll on human lives is a toll on development. But there are also costs on productivity, efficiency, and economic progress when gender inequalities exist. The report stated that when hindering the accumulation of human capital in the home and the labor market, and systematically excluding from women or men access to resources, public services, or productive activities, there is gender discrimination that diminishes an economy's capacity to grow and to raise living standards.

The "Guidelines on Gender in Employment Policies," published in 2009 by the International Labour Office in Geneva, emphasized that GE is a fundamental human right that also makes good economic sense. It said that when there is GE, a country’s human capital is used more efficiently leading to profound benefits not just for women but also for families, communities, and national economies.

Multi-awarded Tagum Cooperative (TC) in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines, established in 1967, became a billionaire co-op in 2010. It was also in 2010 that TC achieved a single-digit loan delinquency rate after having a double-digit rate for a long time. Becoming a billionaire co-op, TC attributed its assets growth to the tremendous increase in transactions across the Co-op’s various business lines. TC also attributed a sizable portion of its reduced loan delinquency rate to its GE Program. TC’s efforts in women empowerment and gender and development (GAD) began in the mid-1990s and greatly developed through the years.

Aside from garnering awards as a co-op organization, TC has also been awarded and recognized for its GE efforts. Even if it is busy in implementing its own GE-related activities, TC takes part in GE efforts of its partners, such as being a participant in the GE projects in the Philippines conducted by the Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum (AWCF). The AWCF projects helped TC and other co-ops that participated in the projects to develop and/or enhance their GE involvement and develop even more GE role models, trainers, and advocates in their organizations. As a gender-fair and gender-sensitive organization, TC focuses on improving and enriching the family relationship. It believes and, in fact, has seen that when there is unity in the family and the mother or the father takes a loan from TC, that family is able to take good care and make wise use of the loan proceeds benefits. And when the money is used for its real intention, the family can make a better loan repayment to TC. Both the family and the Co-op thus benefit.

In September 2016, TC became the first and only cooperative in Asia, by far, to receive the “Silver Brand” of the “A-one Competitive Choice for Excellence in Service and Soundness (ACCESS)” conferred by the Association of Asian Confederation of Credit Unions (ACCU). The ACCESS Silver Brand or Certificate cites excellence in the core perspectives of Learning and Growth, Internal Business Process, Customer-member, and Financial. TC first obtained the ACCESS Bronze Brand in 2014, and then the Silver Brand in 2015 that it renewed in 2016, upon passing the close scrutiny of the people behind ACCESS.

(References: “Gender Equality: Empowering Women and Men, and Co-ops—Stories of the Gender Journey of Co-operatives in the Philippines,” Asian Women in Co-operative Development Forum [AWCF], 2012, Philippines, and www.tagumcooperative.coop)

7. Guidelines on GAD mainstreaming by Philippine co-ops, through Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2013-22; tool to assess GAD in Philippine co-ops, through MC No. 2017-04

In 2013, the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2013-22  that is known as the “Guidelines in Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives.” Salient features of MC No. 2013-22:

•   disseminates to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the government so as to ensure the promotion of GE and institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities of co-ops

•   mandates the monitoring of progress in the implementation of GAD programs and activities of cooperatives toward achieving GE

•   describes GAD mainstreaming’s aspects; mechanisms and instruments; and the functions and responsibilities of all in advancing gender in the co-ops.

The guidelines in MC No. 2013-22 will help Philippine co-ops pursue a clear path in achieving GE. But more than just compliance with the MC, it is best that co-ops will aim at becoming gender-fair organizations because they know that both co-ops and members—women and men—will reap many economic and social benefits from GE. The co-ops may have to hurdle many traditions and beliefs that cause gender issues in the organizations and members’ households, but the effort will be worth the struggle and steadfast belief that GE will bring long-term positive change.

In 2017, the CDA issued the tool to assess GAD mainstreaming in Philippine co-ops, through MC No. 2017-04 that is known as the "Tool for Assessing Progress of Gender Equality in Primary Cooperatives as Supplemental to Memorandum Circular No. 2013-22."