Presented by Nurul Amin Siddiquee and Rosie Southwood at the Gender and Market Oriented Agriculture (AgriGender 2011) Workshop, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 31st January–2nd February 2011

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MostMarginalized

WomenEP people in Rural Areas

People & comms

affected by disaster &

environmental change

Most marginalized

in urban areas

CARE Bangladesh Programming Framework

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Women’s Empowerment-Theory of Change

CARE Bangladesh Impact Statement on the most Socially,

Economically and Politically Marginalized Women

Women will be empowered by:

Exercise of greater choice in decisions affecting their lives

Reduced violence against women

Strong Social movements built on women's solidarity and participation of men

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CARE Bangladesh Strategic Directions

Economic EmpowermentImproved access to dignified employment for the poorest and most marginalized, especially women; markets for their products; information & services for their economic activities; and technical support for their entrepreneurial initiatives.

Goal of the ProjectGoal of the Project35,000 targeted landless and smallholding households mostly women in North and

Northwestern Bangladesh have increased incomes and more sustainable livelihoods through incorporation into a strengthened

milk value chain (2007-2011)

Increase production by improving access to inputs, markets, and services by mobilizing groups of poor producers and input service provider

Improve the milk collection system in rural and remote areas

Improve the breeding/Artificial Insemination (AI) network

Ensure access to quality animal health services at the producer level

Improve the policy environment.

Objectives of the ProjectObjectives of the Project

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Gender Analysis of the Dairy Value ChainHighlighted the different position of men and women across the chain and addressing issues of power reflected in the production and exchange relationships

Main Challenges

Women and their HHs are not organized into groups to take advantage of training and other information.

Women and girls consume less milk in the household than their male counterparts.

Women do not have decision making authority on the livestock assets especially large ruminants.

Gender roles and tradition limit women’s opportunities as dairy producers, collector, processors, livestock health worker and input seller

Equal opportunities for independent women entrepreneurs cannot be found and leveraged.

Women are overburdened as housekeepers, Small Scale Producers and day labourers

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Improving Productivity and Capacity

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Women LHW

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Strategies

• Start with a few but being reflective on women barriers in the field

and address those accordingly

• Introduce successful women farmer leaders and entrepreneurs as

model for others (“Change agents”)

• Take positive discrimination for women (e.g. No training fees from

women LHW, more refreshers)

• Work with family member and community elites of prospective

women farmer leaders and entrepreneurs for motivating and

reducing the work load for them

• LHW association

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THANK YOUTHANK YOU