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Reference frameworkGender Equality (GE)

IN PROGRAMS AT DÉVELOPPEMENT INTERNATIONAL DESJARDINSAugust 2016

Photo: Paul Julien, Madagascar

Cadre de référence Égalité entre les femmes et les hommes (EFH) 2

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“ The first equality is equity. ” - Victor Hugo


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Table of contents

04 1.0 INTRODUCTION

06 2.0 CONTEXT

› 2.1 A Historic Concern

› 2.2 Review of Concepts

09 3.0 THE DID POSITIONS ON GENDER EQUITY

11 4.0 THE GE INTEGRATION APPROACH PROPOSED

14 5.0 INTERVENTION LEVERS

Reference frameworkGender Equality (GE) 4

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IntroductionEquality between women and men is part of the fundamental development values at Développement international Desjardins (DID). Indeed, DID firmly believes that it has a role to play:

• in encouraging participation by women in the sustainable economic development of their communities as both actors and decision makers on an equal footing with men, and • in contributing to the reduction of inequalities between women and men regarding access to resources and the benefits of development and their control.

Gender equality does not imply that men and women become identical but rather that they have equitable possibilities and opportunities in society. To achieve equality, changes are required to institutional practices and social relationships that strengthen and maintain these disparities. Consequently, the DID approach advocates the following:

• The projects and the various interventions carried out by DID with its partners can have different effects on women and men. As a result, DID advocates a cross-cutting approach in its programs counting on tangible, well- targeted activities to contribute to reducing these inequalities. • Women represent an active force and generate a significant impact on the development of their local communities and countries. DID and its partner institutions, therefore, have a role to play to encourage this valuable economic contribution that benefits the entire community. • Active in the area of inclusive finance, DID seeks to encourage access to financial services for all segments of the population through various strategies, products and services as well as context-driven interventions. The inclusion of women, therefore, forms the core of its mission. • Stemming from the largest cooperative group in Canada, DID fully acknowledges the merit of local ownership and the need for decision-making bodies within financial institutions to reflect their clientele, which in particular assumes encouraging the active participation of women and men in the governance of their institution.

Photo: Élodie Côté-Jacques, Panama


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According to the World Bank Global Findex

database, 58 percent of women in 2014

had a bank account, while the rate had only

been 47 percent in 2011. The gap between

men and women remains high at 9 percent.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC)

estimates that 70 percent of the formal

SMEs held by women in emerging countries

are served poorly or not at all by financial

institutions.

Source : Goldman Sachs. Giving credit where it is due. How clos-ing the credit gap for women owned SME can drive global growth. February 2014.

Photo: Karina Turgeon, Vietnam

Photo: Linda Bergeron, India


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2.0 CONTEXT2.1 A Historical Concern

Since it is active in the development sector, DID has always been concerned with the impact of its programs for women. In addition to the actions carried out as part of its interventions with its partners, specific highlights related to it as an institution should be noted in this regard:

1985 : Publication of the Theoretical Framework for Intervention with Women in the Third World

1985 : Formulation of the first Gender and Development Policy, updated every 3 years since 1995

1985 : Publication of Application of the Gender and Development Policy in programs at Développement international Desjardins - Notebook 7 of DID publications

2002 : Publication of Application of the Policy on Integration of Women and Gender Equality in programs at Développement international Desjardins

Because the concepts have evolved, as have the needs of women and men for access to financial services, it has now become relevant to redefine the DID reference framework for gender equality (GE).

2.2 Review of Concepts

Starting with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 1976, Canada became formally committed to supporting gender equality, not just because it is a development goal in itself, but because it is also indispensable to achieving sustainable development and a reduction in poverty.

In the 1980s, the approach that was advocated was to integrate women into development. This approach aimed at integrating women into existing development efforts. In the case of DID interventions, this translated into expanding access by women to services provided by existing savings and credit cooperatives. The criticism made of this approach refers to the facts that: • it disregarded the aspect of the relationships between women and men, and • it presupposed that gender-based relationships would change on their own as women became economic partners.In the 1990s, this approach was replaced by Gender and Development (GAD). The GAD approach, in turn, is focused on the relationships between women and men. It aims at involving women and men through a participative approach to give power to women to remedy gender-based inequalities.

The Gender and Development approach was subsequently called Gender Equity and Gender Equality (GE).

2006 : Publication of an evaluation report: Gender Equality in DID Network Partners: Current Status and Perspectives


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1985 : Formulation of the first Gender and Development Policy, updated every 3 years since 1995

1985 : Publication of Application of the Gender and Development Policy in programs at Développement international Desjardins - Notebook 7 of DID publications

Equity leads to Equality

Gender equity means being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, measures are often needed to compensate for historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating as equals. Equity leads to equality.

Gender equality means that women and men enjoy the same status and have equal opportunity to realize their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development, and to benefit from the results.

Originally it was believed that equality could be achieved simply by giving women and men the same opportunities. Same treatment, however, was found not necessarily to yield equal results. Today, the concept of equality acknowledges that women and men may sometimes require different treatment to achieve similar results, due to different life conditions or to compensate for past discrimination.

Gender equality, therefore, is the equal valuing by society of both the similarities and the differences between women and men, and the varying roles they play.

(Excerpt from: An Integrated Approach to Gender-Based Analysis, Status of Women Canada, 2004.)

Photo: François Bussières, Madagascar

2006 : Publication of an evaluation report: Gender Equality in DID Network Partners: Current Status and Perspectives


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In other words, the goal of equality (equality=goal) is that women and men have the same rights and opportunities. Equity (equity=methods) means that the methods (measures and practices put in place to meet needs) used to achieve this goal are specific to the gender. The two concepts can be illustrated as follows.

Equality and Equity

Source : Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire



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3.0 THE DID POSITIONS ON GENDER EQUITYThis reference framework was drawn up using various strategies tested in collaboration with DID partners over the last 45 years and is based on the lessons learned from these specific experiments. To summarize, DID has taken the following positions on gender equity:

• Both women and men make a considerable contribution to development, however the opportunities and constraints related to development do differ and vary considerably whether one is a man or a woman.

• The financial inclusion of women has a considerable impact on local community development and on national plans, due to an increase in productive investments, job creation and creation of wealth. Women are active in the informal and formal sectors and have remarkable entrepreneurial capacity.

• In terms of development, women make an extraordinary contribution to the family. They are often in charge of managing the family budget, responsible for the children’s schooling and financial literacy and provide extra income.

• Obstacles of many kinds hinder the access by women to financial services, such as products poorly suited to their current and evolving needs, low level of financial and entrepreneurial education, other constraints (financial, familial, cultural, etc.). As a result, inclusive finance institutions must identify these obstacles and adapt their service offer to avoid them and increase access by women to financial services.

• Even today, women are too often limited to a single product (group microcredit, mobile banking, etc.) generally offered on the fringe of formal financial institutions. However, women, just as do men,

> have need of a vast range of financial services (savings deposits, payroll services, insurance, etc.) and not just credit,

> have personalized financial needs that change over time, and

> are entitled to professional financial services provided by a sound and sustainable financial institution staffed by professionals.

• Encouraging a woman to take out a loan similar to one issued to other women in her group without taking into account her specific needs, is not doing her a service. A loan ought always to be based on the need of the borrower and the capacity for repayment.

• Women and men are both present in various segments of the market, in particular entrepreneurs and farmers, but the services that are delivered to these segments are notably deficient. Financial and non-financial services to meet the specific needs of entrepreneurs and farmers, including the specific needs of women entrepreneurs and farmers must, therefore, be developed and delivered by inclusive finance institutions that have actual expertise in the sector.

• Women benefit greatly from financial literacy efforts, but it is also necessary to strengthen their entrepreneurial competencies to develop their full potential and increase their impact on economic development.

• Women, who often face greater constraints on travel than men, need locally-provided financial services. Technology plays a part in the solution to this problem. Various measures, along with some prudence, however, are needed with regard to mobile transactions (legal framework that protects the most vulnerable, proper education, etc.).

Closing the gap between women and men around the world would add US $28 billion to the global GDP in 2025, the equivalent of today’s American and Chinese economies combined. Source : McKinsey&Company, The Power of Parity: How Advancing Women’s Equality Can Add $12 Trillion to Global Growth, Sept 2015.

Women reinvest up to 90 percent of their income in their family and community in contrast with only 30 to 40 percent for men. Women invest especially in the health of their children, family nutrition and education. An increase in the income of mothers has an effect up to 20 times higher on the nutritional status of children than the same increase in the income of men. Source : Agence française de développement, Boîte à outils genre, Appui au secteur privé, entrepreneuriat et inclusion financière. 2015.



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Twelve winning strategies for integrating women with inclusive finance

1- Properly understand the needs of women and their concerns through in-depth analysis of their social, cultural and economic context.

2- Take a consultative approach in which women and organizations working with them can give their point of view towards incorporating them into financial inclusion.

3- Work, whenever pertinent, with women’s groups to reach a greater number of women more effectively.

4- Gain in-depth knowledge of the market and the sectors of activity in which women entrepreneurs are involved.

5- Target agricultural or commercial value chains in which women form a critical mass for specific financial products whenever possible, even if these value chains are not necessarily the most profitable.

6- Collect and monitor gender-sensitive and gender-specific data.

7- Offer women a complete and diversified range of financial services, including transaction services.

8- Encourage access by women to financial and entrepreneurial education.

9- Adapt financial services, financial services methodologies, financial services delivery procedures, financial and entrepreneurial education efforts to the specific needs of women whenever pertinent.

10- Strengthen the capacities and awareness of financial institution staff for the delivery of financial services to women.

11- Hiring women as loan officers may boost financial inclusion in certain countries.

12- Improve inclusion and the quality of participation by women within decision making circles, whether in families, communities or institutions, in order to foster the social and economic development of women.

Phot

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4.0 THE GE INTEGRATION APPROACH PROPOSED

Based on the preceding, DID has outlined an approach to integrate gender equality (GE) into its programs. The following is a review of the basic principles of this approach.• The approach that is advocated must be participative, which means that the stakeholders must be consulted and regularly informed and that the partner institutions endorse the approach.• This must be conducted as early as possible in project design and must be transparent at all levels, (design,

targets, strategy, monitoring of results, etc.). However, it should not be completed before project start-up and before results of the gender-based analysis are released.• It is important to distinguish between the specialized activities included in the project and those that will be institutionalized into partner institution operations.

Photo: Karina Turgeon, Vietnam



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THE APPROACH TO INTEGRATING GENDER EQUALITY (GE)

Gender-based Analysis

Monitoring of Activities and Results

Evaluation of Results and Impacts

Knowledge Sharing

• Diagnostic study of the initial situation• Analysis of the results at time zero• Literature review• Identification and consulting of stakeholders

• Group discussions• Interviews• Surveys• Sharing gender-based analysis with stakeholders

• Identification of the problem which the program aims to solve and how to use 4 types of leverage• Identification of activities to carry out and those in charge of them• Planning of activities to be carried out

• Determining and integrating gender-sensitive and gender-specific indicators• Identification of results to achieve and verification methods• Sharing gender-based analysis with stakeholders

• Implementation of tools and monitoring• Regular monitoring of progress on activities and achievement of expected results• Analysis and management of discrepancies• Readjustment of strategy as needed

• Analysis of results at program completion• Consulting with stakeholders• Evaluation of impact on institutions and beneficiaries

• Group discussions• Interviews• Surveys

• Lessons learned• Publication of results• Editing inspirational stories• Handover to stakeholders

GE Strategy



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s• Lessons learned• Publication of results• Editing inspirational stories• Handover to stakeholders

“There will never be equality so long as one feels inferior or superior to the other. There is no room for patronage among equals.”

― Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Photo: Paul Julien, Madagascar


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5.0 INTERVENTION LEVERS

As an actor in the areas of development and inclusive finance, DID intervenes using several types of

leverage to encourage gender equality. The following chart displays four levers for intervention used by

DID in its programs and gives several examples of the measures and indicators that can be introduced

and adapted according to the context and function of the approach shown in the preceding figure.

Photo: Karina Turgeon, Togo


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4 GE INTERVENTION LEVERS

LEVERS MEASURES INDICATORS

Access to resourcesFoster equitable access by women to financial and non-financial services adapted to their needs

Access to powerPromote the active participation of women in positions of responsibility within the institutions supported by DID

Access to jobsEncourage managerial practices for human resources that take into account the specific needs of women in the institutions supported by DID

Access to knowledgeEncourage acquisition of the knowledge required by women to suitably manage their personal finances and the basic knowledge for management of their small business

• Raise awareness among partner institutions of the importance of putting an adapted service offer into place to meet the needs of women along with proper promotion of this service offer

• Design financial products specifically adapted to women’s circumstances

• Hire women loan officers

• Make available positions of responsibility known among women within institutions and their governing bodies• Encourage women to hold these positions and offer the coaching and training needed to help them obtain and hold these positions• Ensure that women are not just present but that they play an active role

• Design policies for human resource management based on gender equality• Put suitable promotional mechanisms into place• Make positions that are available known to women within the institutions• Offer women the coaching needed for promotion

• Assess the initial level of knowledge of women and reassess the level after training• Design and deliver financial literacy programs that take into account the specific needs of women• Design and deliver basic training on small commercial or agricultural business management taking into account the specific needs of women

• Number and % of loans made to women

• Rate of renewal for women’s loans

• Rate of repayment for women’s loans

• Average savings on deposits for women

• Number and percentage of women loan officers

• Ratio of women holding positions as managers and officers

• Attendance rate of women and men board members at meetings

• Frequency of speaking by women as recorded in minutes of board meetings

• Level of application of human resources policies (access to different jobs, equal pay, adapted work conditions, etc.)

• Number and percentage of women employed in the institutions

• Number of women promoted

• Number of women who attended financial literacy training

• Number of women who benefited from business management training or coaching

• Results of the knowledge test

• Percentage of women who apply best practices in the area of financial and entrepreneurial education

Photo: Karina Turgeon, Togo

Développement international Desjardins (DID) is a world leader in providing consulting and technical assistance services in the area of inclusive finance.

Our expertise is based on over one hundred years of experience acquired by the Desjardins Group, the leading cooperative financial group in Canada and the sixth largest in the world.

We take inspiration from best practices that have been tested in collaboration with our numerous partners for creating, expanding and strengthening financial institutions in developing and emerging countries.

Providing technical assistance, operating an institution or as an investor, DID is characterized by in-depth expertise in the following fields:

Firmly focused on the future, DID draws on its talented staff to expand access to financial services for populations in developing countries. Together we are building the future. That is our ultimate goal.

www.did.qc.ca/en

▪ Savings Mobilization▪ Agricultural Finance▪ Technolgical Solutions▪ Training Services▪ Supervision

▪ Financing Entrepreneurs▪ Microinsurance▪ Housing Financing▪ Governance▪ Investment

Phone (418) 835-2400Fax (418) 833-0742

Développement international Desjardins59, avenue Bégin, Lévis (Québec) G6V 4C3 [email protected]

Photo: Yves Boily, Djibouti

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Reference framework - Accueil | Développement …€¦ · · 2016-10-18benefits of development and their control. ... the population through various strategies, ... This reference