Gender, Power and Campaigns

CALP WebinarFebruary 5, 2014

Shawna Wakefield

GENDER, POWER and CAMPAIGNS

Oxfam CALP Webinar February 5, 2014

From Oxfam national influencing guidelines

• “Addressing unequal gender and power relations is foundational to Oxfam’s theory of change and must be addressed as an organisation that puts women’ s rights at the heart of all we do.”

• “Women and girls represent the majority of poor people Oxfam is trying to reach through its work. This means that our influencing propositions, and the strategies to achieve them, must recognise and respond to the specific needs and capacities of women and girls.”

Why Gender Power Analysis?

• Gender analysis has been required in Oxfam projects, programs and campaigns, given gender is a key determinant of poverty and suffering.

• Gender power analysis is needed given power inequality undermines gender equality and developments goals.

Characteristics of Power

• Women and men hold multiple roles and relationships. With each, their level of power can vary.

• Power can be economic, political, social, cultural and symbolic. People are rarely powerful in (nor powerless across) all forms.

• Power is not a zero-sum game. • Power is socially constructed. • A person’s experience of power can depend on their

gender, race, class, age, etc.

Considerations for Gender Power Analysis

• What are the gender dimensions and impacts of power relations?

• Who holds power? How does their gender reinforce it? Which women want to be leaders in transformative change that we could engage?

• Where are decisions made? Are they closed spaces to which women?

• How can we address the barriers (social norms, attitudes/beliefs, legislation) to change? What strategies will we use to transform power?

Adapted from Gender at Work

A framework for looking at gender and power

Forms of Power (with Gender Dimensions)

• Personal power (Power Within, Power To): The power within and power to know, pursue and achieve one’s interests.

• Cooperative power (Power With): The power with others to work together to pursue one’s collective interests.

• Controlling power (Power Over): The power over others through rules and governing processes (visible), through determining who has the right to participate in decision-making and the settings in which people interact (invisible), as well as through the power to define what is possible, reasonable or logical within a given context through shaping ideologies of kinship, capitalism, religion, science and education (hidden).

Principles of Power Transformation

• Transformative power• is rights based• aims to transform gender power relations and norms based on a gendered

power analysis• incorporates an understanding of how multiple identities intersect to

create and sustain discrimination and violence• facilitates and supports individual and collective capacity for sustainable

change• supports women’s articulation of their own political voice and agendas• supports partner organisations to identify their own needs and implement

their own agenda• creates an enabling environment for women’s leadership at all levels and

in all domains (family, economic, political and social).

Lessons on Influencing on Women’s Rights and Gender Justice

• Strong alliances with WROs ensure women’s perspectives, interests and demands are reflected

• We can use our influence to convene, foster linkages between and build broad-based alliances

• Legal advances are necessary, but transformation requires change in social and cultural norms

• Engaging men and boys is necessary to build a broad constituency against gender discrimination

• We need to allocate resources to do gender power analysis and integrate in our advocacy, campaigns, and influencing strategies

Examples

• Solidarity for African Women’s Rights presented by: Shukri Gesod, Gender Justice Lead- Pan- Africa Programme

• Violence against Women and the Arms Trade Treaty

presented by: Caroline Green, Gender Policy Advisor

Food for Thought

• Did anything surprise you about how gender power analysis was incorporated?

• What have you learned that you could apply to your work?

• What did you notice about what worked and didn’t?

Some inspiring examples

CLOSETHEGAPwww.closethegap.in

WE Can Campaignwww.wecanendvaw.org

Female Food Heroeswww.oxfam.ca/grow/female-food-heroes

There is no magic bullet but..