The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi

Development programs often rely on women’s participation. However, there is little evidence of whether development programs that engage women’s unpaid labor – particularly in care work – add to their time burdens. We tested this hypothesis on a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program delivered throu...

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Main Authors: Margolies, Amy, Colantuoni, Elizabeth, Morgan, Rosemary, Gelli, Aulo, Caulfield, Laura E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Elsevier 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131450
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author Margolies, Amy
Colantuoni, Elizabeth
Morgan, Rosemary
Gelli, Aulo
Caulfield, Laura E.
author_browse Caulfield, Laura E.
Colantuoni, Elizabeth
Gelli, Aulo
Margolies, Amy
Morgan, Rosemary
author_facet Margolies, Amy
Colantuoni, Elizabeth
Morgan, Rosemary
Gelli, Aulo
Caulfield, Laura E.
author_sort Margolies, Amy
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Development programs often rely on women’s participation. However, there is little evidence of whether development programs that engage women’s unpaid labor – particularly in care work – add to their time burdens. We tested this hypothesis on a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program delivered through community-based preschools in Malawi. The mixed-methods study was conducted over one year using data from 1,168 female caregivers from a cluster-randomized control trial. A longitudinal binomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the proportion of time spent caregiving in a 24-hour period (expressed as minutes) at baseline and then separately for each treatment group at 6-months and 1-year post-randomization. In addition, two rounds of 38 qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 76) were conducted with women, men and adolescent girls to explore their perceptions of program activities, time use and gender attitudes. We found that the program quantitatively increased daily caregiving time for participating women by approximately 30 min. However, this effect occurred only during the lean season when preschool scale-up investments increased. Qualitatively, program-related tasks were not considered burdensome. Moreover, participants saw contributions as important investments in their children’s development. These findings add to limited evidence of the impacts of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs and early childhood interventions on women’s time use. Measuring women’s participation through mixed-method evaluations can aid interpretation to avoid harm and to better understand the tradeoffs of women’s time.
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publishDate 2023
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spelling CGSpace1314502025-10-26T13:01:55Z The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi Margolies, Amy Colantuoni, Elizabeth Morgan, Rosemary Gelli, Aulo Caulfield, Laura E. women's participation participation mixed model method nutrition-sensitive agriculture time use patterns programmes child development gender unpaid work care work nutrition agriculture development Development programs often rely on women’s participation. However, there is little evidence of whether development programs that engage women’s unpaid labor – particularly in care work – add to their time burdens. We tested this hypothesis on a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program delivered through community-based preschools in Malawi. The mixed-methods study was conducted over one year using data from 1,168 female caregivers from a cluster-randomized control trial. A longitudinal binomial logistic regression model was used to estimate the proportion of time spent caregiving in a 24-hour period (expressed as minutes) at baseline and then separately for each treatment group at 6-months and 1-year post-randomization. In addition, two rounds of 38 qualitative in-depth interviews (n = 76) were conducted with women, men and adolescent girls to explore their perceptions of program activities, time use and gender attitudes. We found that the program quantitatively increased daily caregiving time for participating women by approximately 30 min. However, this effect occurred only during the lean season when preschool scale-up investments increased. Qualitatively, program-related tasks were not considered burdensome. Moreover, participants saw contributions as important investments in their children’s development. These findings add to limited evidence of the impacts of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs and early childhood interventions on women’s time use. Measuring women’s participation through mixed-method evaluations can aid interpretation to avoid harm and to better understand the tradeoffs of women’s time. 2023-03 2023-08-08T09:33:03Z 2023-08-08T09:33:03Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131450 en https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13063-017-2003-7 https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxy148 https://dx.doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.246652 https://doi.org/10.1177/0379572120986693 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-021-01203-6 https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz245 Open Access Elsevier Margolies, Amy; Colantuoni, Elizabeth; Morgan, Rosemary; Gelli, Aulo; and Caulfield, Laura E. 2023. The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi. World Development 163(March 2023): 106122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106122
spellingShingle women's participation
participation
mixed model method
nutrition-sensitive agriculture
time use patterns
programmes
child development
gender
unpaid work
care work
nutrition
agriculture
development
Margolies, Amy
Colantuoni, Elizabeth
Morgan, Rosemary
Gelli, Aulo
Caulfield, Laura E.
The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title_full The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title_fullStr The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title_full_unstemmed The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title_short The burdens of participation: A mixed-methods study of the effects of a nutrition-sensitive agriculture program on women’s time use in Malawi
title_sort burdens of participation a mixed methods study of the effects of a nutrition sensitive agriculture program on women s time use in malawi
topic women's participation
participation
mixed model method
nutrition-sensitive agriculture
time use patterns
programmes
child development
gender
unpaid work
care work
nutrition
agriculture
development
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131450
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