Gender Analysis in Mexico - Essay Example

Gender Analysis in Mexico Affiliation Gender Analysis in Mexico Gender analysis is a type of socio-economic examination that extricates the way gender relations is directly related to a number of development problems. It mostly emphasizes on the way the gender relations will affect the resolutions made and what could be done to improve the situation. So as to know how to deal with gender analysis, frameworks were created to provide the right procedure for effective results. These frameworks mostly deal with women empowerment and equality in various projects being undertaken by the community. They showcase the importance of awarding women with the same roles as men so as to motivate women to come up with different ideologies (Leach, 2003). The case study in Mexico simply highlights how gender is embedded in the improvement of sanitation and water availability in peri-urban and rural areas. The Joint programme on establishing effective and democratic water and sanitation management in Mexico used a conventional approach in upgrading the involvement of women in water related public institutions. This case study used the Moser framework because it focused mainly on the planning principles of those planning to incorporate gender into their work programs or projects. Moser (1993, 5) stated that those planning to do so lacked the needed planning doctrines and procedural tools. It emphasized on women’s participation in the local water management and their duties in boosting water access in the community. Men, women and the local authorities were advised on how to positively contribute in the improvement of water access in the community. Each of them was assigned particular roles in achieving these objectives and to be able to work simultaneously. The programme found this beneficial especially to the women because they felt appreciated to be able to be a part of the desired change. The Moser framework which is also referred to as the triple-roles framework merely provides different approaches towards attaining the same goal. It places priority on giving men and women roles for the economic development of their projects. It implements gender division of labor and gender distribution of resources. The community is expected to know which roles they play according to the resources they have (Candida, et al 1999). This framework provides a simplistic way of collecting women’s and men’s data while at the same time provide access and management to resources (Warren 2007). Using the proper methods to collect data is very important in any type of framework so as not to create any biasness in implementing the solution. To be able to achieve the required results one needs to fully understand the principles stated and be able to finalize their goals. This particular framework was most applicable in the case study according to the Joint programme. They wanted to establish the different roles given to men and women and how they were done. Secondly, how they got access to various resources and their use of knowledge in decision making and finally what were the advantages and disadvantages of gender division of labor in the community (Warren 2007). They did so by dividing the findings into three main sectors. One of them was Gender-sensitive diagnostics on water management whereby the goal was to present the challenges women and men faced in getting water and how their decision making affected water management from an ethnic and gender point of view. The second sector was Institutionalization of gender mainstreaming in water-related public policies and institutions which trained institutions of gender issues to extend their work to environmental care and sector institutions told to practice credible water management, provide public information and give out civil protection. The last sector was known as Women’s participation in water management which entailed creation of water disinfection management and installation of household based safe water systems. Women in the local communities were adversely included in this project during every step of the way. The Gender-sensitive diagnostics on water management was able to gather information on women’s involvement in economic and political matters while at the same time offer insight on what levels of education they had acquired, mortality rate, health and domestic violence. This data was used effectively in enforcing the propositions of the programme into the local communities. Institutionalization of gender mainstreaming in water-related public policies and institutions also realized its goals because first, women in Veracruz were able to increase their budget in water management. Secondly, in Tabasco, they have been able to balance gender in the water management offices. Thirdly, in Chiapas, gender departments have been created in the Water Institute and Civil Protection Unit. Finally, also in Chiapas the Institute for Public Information is creating awareness of women empowerment in twenty three municipalities. Finally, we have Women’s participation in water management which also garnered its results whereby there is easy management of household based water systems and women do not have to go too far places to get water. There was also introduction of local committees mostly managed by women to safeguard the safe water systems. This has led to women independence although one cannot ascertain its economic effects yet. The framework tried to understand the social aspect of which includes bringing change while focusing most importantly on gender issues (Chow 2003). The case study was used as a tool for how gender disparity is quite a common factor in the under development of various regions. It was supposed to visualize on women’s and men’s roles, choices, beliefs and the abilities they have in acquiring resources. Gender is a social issue not only focusing on women’s participation but how they are able to relate with men (Chow 2003). The case study did not necessarily cover the whole aspect of social role in the development project. It did however provide resources to the community specifically to the women while forgetting the roles of the men. The framework seems to forget that gender is intertwined with race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality and even age. It could have first tried to find out the preferences of the various women so as to get a better conclusive report. Despite all this one of its goals should be to capture social work. Social work is very crucial in determining which framework to use so as to attain the best results. In order to cover all basics of the relations between the women and men plus between the women and the authorities the framework needed to expand its’ scope on resources (Hugman, et al 2010). First, it could create an objective that would ensure that they have created a platform that is reachable for the women to communicate with higher authorities in terms of water management. Secondly, give out training to women in water related issues so as to give them motivation to construct new ideologies for water availability and retention. Thirdly, provide public forums in the community so that even the men in the village can be able to air out their views without any victimization creating a sense of belonging. There is another framework that could be used in this case study namely the Social Relations Approach because unlike the Moser framework, it focuses on the relations between the authorities, market and family rather than resources, activities and roles(Warren, 2007). This means that when the case study is looked at another perspective it might be able acquire to better results than the latter approach. This gender relations approach is considered more effective when the empowerment of women involves the grassroots level of social groups to the uppermost influence of higher authorities (Candida, 1999). Moser framework tries to create programs with the most efficient use of allocation of resources because that is one of its main goals. It also analyzes projects that also targets men which is also important for economic development growth. It also has a closed view of defining resources which can be a good thing in terms of creating simple development projects that everyone can quite understand. Lastly, it focuses on one of the important economic factors which is resources and therefore ends up building efficient projects. The weaknesses of this framework seem to outnumber the strengths in various aspects. First, due to the fact that it focuses mainly on resources it can favor men in the long run because they might be able to acquire more resources than women. Candida, (1999) argues that every gender analysis should have time variable because it is not required to be static in growth, however it is difficult to determine future economic growth using the Moser framework. This approach may also enable users into thinking that men and women are not united and can only work in separate groups and in this particular they might end up disagreeing on various matters in the future which might lead to the dissolution of the program. The framework also showcases how different roles are played without showing how they inter-relate which does not encourage prosperous relations for better developments. This approach is also considered too materialistic because it does not portray relations between people. It also does not put emphasis on who will do community work rather than who does productive work which does not include social importance. Rather than focusing on planning the development project it tends to dwell more on statistics therefore not giving directions to follow for the interested parties. It also lacks in showcasing the important roles both women and men play in the gender analysis which should be quite the contrary so as to empower both genders to give out their best (Leach, 2003). If the case study was to use Social Relations approach it would have created better relations between various sectors in the community namely relationships between people of different status, age ,race, color and status. This approach would have shown how the women, men and local authorities would have worked together in achieving the goals. The Gender-sensitive diagnostics on water management would have been used in the Institutionalization of gender mainstreaming in water-related public policies to spearhead the empowerment of women by acknowledging the fact that women were in better positions of acquiring water even in far places. The gender relations approach tends to focus on more aspects than the latter approach because it highlights factors like self-esteem, respect, individuality, leadership and most importantly time (Chow, 2003). This approach would have put the spotlight on the water institutions and how they might be bias in the planning process. This gives a clear view of what is expected from these institutions and the roles they must play. It also has the aim of empowerment like most existing frameworks by highlighting the specific roles women should play in today’s society. This approach believes that women should be provided with various gender relations that they can use to improve their lives and the steps to use to get there. Hugman, et al (2010) argues that in order to be able to choose the right framework for a particular project various factors need to be considered in order to achieve the best results. First, planning and analyzing are the main tools used in providing simple methods to be used for effective decision making. Secondly, there is the tool of communication that enables one to create awareness on gender issues and train people. The third tool is monitoring and evaluation which aids in giving out the pros and cons of a particular project. Finally, there is context analysis which moulds the relationships of any methods used. The other factor that might be overlooked is the gendered aspect of the gender analysis that was used in the case study. There were various propositions that were considered in the case study in terms of the welfare of both men and women. This was realized in the gender division of labor where women became in charge of home based safe water systems while men aided in decision making in the Water Institute. There was also access and control of water resources in the communities by ensuring women especially mid-wives could easily get water and that they got involved in policy making in the water management. The other factor considered was new trends that women were able to embrace by refusing to be housewives and engaging men in sanitation matters and water availability through the local authorities. Gender analysis is a process used by policy makers to analyze the impact of the proposed policies and legislation on men and women in conducting various development projects. It also emphasizes on the different roles men and women are given on project developments. In creating gender analysis tools, one should consider gender equality issues so as to achieve the required results (Chow 2003). The extents in which gender issues are considered in a framework depend on the knowledge and information of the staff used in creating them. However, advocacy of gender equality should be encouraged. When addressing gender issues a person should highlight four main factors. The first factor would be target groups that the framework deems fit for the particular study. Secondly would be the activities it plans to undertake so as to achieve its’ goals. Thirdly, it is the outputs one is willing to get from this exercise and finally produce purpose and goals of the framework that are relevant to the development project (Leach 2003). The framework used in the case study focused on the resources the community would be able to earn by empowering women to get more involved in water programs. My recommendations would be to use a more laid back approach that focuses on the relations between the authorities, family and market. I would put my strength in gaining long term results rather than short term results in making women among the policy makers in various water developments projects. Finally I would encourage awareness and training of the community to motivate various ideologies in bettering their surroundings. References Esther, C., (2003), International Sociology, Volume 18, No 3, and Gender Matters: Studying globalization and Social Change in the 21st Century. Leach, Fiona E. (2003). Practicing Gender Analysis in Education. New Delhi: Oxfam Publishers. March Candida, Smyth Ines, Mukhopadhyay (1999). A guide to Gender- Analysis Frameworks. Richard Hugman, Mehmoona Moosa-Mitha, Otrude Moyo, (2010). International Social Work 2010, 53 Issues 9, p 629 -643. Towards a borderless social work: Reconsidering international social work. Warren Hannah (2007), Gender and Development 2007, Using gender analysis frame: theoretical and practical reflections Volume 15, Issue 2, p 187-198. Read More