Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review

There is a growing literature on gender norms—the unwritten, informal social rules that determine socially acceptable behavior for men and women—and how they shape the possibilities for women’s empowerment. Research on social norms is moving beyond public health into other sectors, including agricul...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hillenbrand, Emily, Miruka, Maureen
Formato: Capítulo de libro
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147063
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author Hillenbrand, Emily
Miruka, Maureen
author_browse Hillenbrand, Emily
Miruka, Maureen
author_facet Hillenbrand, Emily
Miruka, Maureen
author_sort Hillenbrand, Emily
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description There is a growing literature on gender norms—the unwritten, informal social rules that determine socially acceptable behavior for men and women—and how they shape the possibilities for women’s empowerment. Research on social norms is moving beyond public health into other sectors, including agriculture, and there is growing interest in incorporating a social norms lens in policy models and strategies for women’s empowerment. In this chapter we review the current thinking around the gender dimensions of social norms and offer some examples of how gender norms influence and shape some of the key indicators of women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector. There is much to learn about how norms operate, how to change them, and how interventions can most strategically build on this understanding, particularly in agriculture. We first outline how different disciplines have approached social norms within the larger framework of behavior-change models and how norms, as categories of collective beliefs, differ from and relate to attitudes and practices. We discuss how feminists frame gender norms in the goal of gender equality and present some of the growing literature from women’s economic empowerment programs on how entrenched gender norms broadly can hinder women’s economic gains. We discuss five common domains of gender norms that are applicable to agricultural programming across multiple contexts, including norms that shape skills, capacities, and self-confidence; norms that govern productive and reproductive work; norms that shape access and control over inputs, land, and productive resources; and norms that can limit women’s intrahousehold voice and influence. We also emphasize the context-specificity and inherent fluidity of gender norms, which shift in response to new opportunities as well as over the life cycle of men and women. Presenting some global evidence about what seems to work to support transformation of harmful norms, we conclude with reflections on the complexities, precautions, and ethical dimensions of integrating a social norms approach into women’s empowerment in agriculture programming.
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spelling CGSpace1470632025-11-06T03:52:28Z Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review Hillenbrand, Emily Miruka, Maureen gender agricultural policies poverty social norms rural areas women women farmers There is a growing literature on gender norms—the unwritten, informal social rules that determine socially acceptable behavior for men and women—and how they shape the possibilities for women’s empowerment. Research on social norms is moving beyond public health into other sectors, including agriculture, and there is growing interest in incorporating a social norms lens in policy models and strategies for women’s empowerment. In this chapter we review the current thinking around the gender dimensions of social norms and offer some examples of how gender norms influence and shape some of the key indicators of women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector. There is much to learn about how norms operate, how to change them, and how interventions can most strategically build on this understanding, particularly in agriculture. We first outline how different disciplines have approached social norms within the larger framework of behavior-change models and how norms, as categories of collective beliefs, differ from and relate to attitudes and practices. We discuss how feminists frame gender norms in the goal of gender equality and present some of the growing literature from women’s economic empowerment programs on how entrenched gender norms broadly can hinder women’s economic gains. We discuss five common domains of gender norms that are applicable to agricultural programming across multiple contexts, including norms that shape skills, capacities, and self-confidence; norms that govern productive and reproductive work; norms that shape access and control over inputs, land, and productive resources; and norms that can limit women’s intrahousehold voice and influence. We also emphasize the context-specificity and inherent fluidity of gender norms, which shift in response to new opportunities as well as over the life cycle of men and women. Presenting some global evidence about what seems to work to support transformation of harmful norms, we conclude with reflections on the complexities, precautions, and ethical dimensions of integrating a social norms approach into women’s empowerment in agriculture programming. 2019-10-31 2024-06-21T09:10:56Z 2024-06-21T09:10:56Z Book Chapter https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147063 en https://doi.org/10.2499/9780896293649 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Hillenbrand, Emily; and Miruka, Maureen. 2019. Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review. In 2019 Annual trends and outlook report: Gender equality in rural Africa: From commitments to outcomes, eds. Quisumbing, Agnes R.; Meinzen-Dick, Ruth Suseela; and Njuki, Jemimah. Chapter 2, Pp. 11-31. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147063
spellingShingle gender
agricultural policies
poverty
social norms
rural areas
women
women farmers
Hillenbrand, Emily
Miruka, Maureen
Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title_full Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title_fullStr Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title_full_unstemmed Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title_short Gender and social norms in Agriculture: A review
title_sort gender and social norms in agriculture a review
topic gender
agricultural policies
poverty
social norms
rural areas
women
women farmers
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147063
work_keys_str_mv AT hillenbrandemily genderandsocialnormsinagricultureareview
AT mirukamaureen genderandsocialnormsinagricultureareview