Beyond Gender in the Development World
The management structure of many non-profit organisations is dominated by men and often functions as a reflection of wider inequalities in society, states Shola Oshodi. Managers – mainly men – have often paid lip service to redressing imbalances and even when programmes have been developed they have been implemented as an adjunct to other factors or programs. In this context, Oshodi calls for a more gender fair culture within the non-profit sector.
In recent times the words gender and empowerment have become more and more a part of the development discourse. Different meanings, contexts and perceptions have been ascribed to it by different people depending on which side of the divide one is on. It has become a major issue that international or transnational NGO donors have now made part of their criteria in funding other organisations and their programs. But can one really say that gender and empowerment are reflected in these organisations themselves? Can the non-profit sector successfully become engendered without empowerment?
The importance of gender and empowerment in NGO’s cannot be overemphasized. Over the years these two terminologies have, to some extent, brought about a new awareness and raised the interest and determination of people in development to deal with age-old traditions, mindsets and assumptions that have stereotyped and affected more than half of the world’s population. Although these issues are currently being dealt with, more needs to be done if the desired objective of equality and justice for all is to be achieved, especially as it relates to the nonprofit sector as an institution.
Organisational culture, according to Kelleher et al (1996), “is the pattern of shared beliefs, and values that has worked to solve important organizational problems in the past” [Grabbing the tiger by the Tail, (CCIC, 1996), P.42]. These values and beliefs include and are not limited to patriarchy, bureaucracy, work behavior, workplace politics, symbols, power and masculine principles. These values and beliefs were typical of the first set of NGO’s, which came to shape and govern the way nonprofit business is conducted today. These stem from the society in which the founders and leaders grew up. The prevailing organisational culture today is predominantly what is obtainable in the larger society, and this is patriarchal and hegemonic and seeks to promote male interest over all others. Given the above definition one can by the same token say that organisational culture has also worked against solving important organisational problems of gender and empowerment within the non-profit sector. Men occupy most of the top positions in the non-profit sector in a similar way to what can be found in the private and public sector. It is a reflection of the bureaucratic and patriarchal culture of the larger society.
The structure of organisations have also not helped matters as most of the “substructure of organisations remains essentially patriarchal: designed by men, led by men in ways comparable with men’s interest” [Grabbing the Tiger by the Tail (CCIC, 1996), p. 13]. Such structures range from the composition of the management team to board membership. Therefore, the management of non-profits - mainly by men - leaves one with a big question of how can men with mindsets and stereotypes that see women as subordinates and lesser equals actively plan and execute development programs for women. These policies or activities cannot effectively tackle issues that relate and dwell on the subordination and disempowerment of women.
Prevailing organisational culture and structure have coloured and brought about several inimical attitudes on the part of players in the non profit sectors in handling the issue of bringing a gender perspective into their organisation and work. “It is an inconvenience to some, … others nod in agreement, but postpone taking the responsibility, … yet others give in to denial that NGO’s might even perpetuate social inequalities” [Clayton Andrew, NGO’s Civil Society and the State: Building Democracy in Transitional Societies, (1996),P72]. In general, they pay lip service to gender issues in their organisation while others pay little or insignificant attention. On the whole, it has been shown that even those who have made it part of their organisation’s objective, most of the time treat it as an adjunct to other factors or programs they believe are more important.
In fact women’s movements have had to spearhead and place the issue of gender and empowerment at the forefront of the development discourse, leaving these movements with the responsibility of negotiating and bargaining with men and powerful masculine institutions. Right from the 18th century till today, the women’s movement “have organised against inequalities based on sex and demanded legal reforms aimed at removing patriarchy within the family and society” [New C, cited in Jackson and Pearson, Feminist Visions of Development, (1998, London and New York) P75]. This has been done by seeking legislative reform and through lobbying of international bodies like the UN to advocate for women’s rights.
In addition, these movements have succeeded in moving women’s interest into the public arena of politics, economics and power institutions through the reframing of issues into rights for women while at the same time advocating for women’s right to occupy positions of power in terms of political and economic decision making within the society.
If one examines NGOs, would NGO’s themselves be truthfully labeled as organisations that further the pressing issues of gender and empowerment through the setup of their own organisations? NGO’s have often allocated resources and implemented various programs to help women, but often these were actually designed and implemented by men. Furthermore, as a way of upholding the prevalent status quo between the sexes, they have sought to remove and substitute the word “women” with gender.
It is highly important that the terminology gender should be used together with the word women to make NGO's in the development circle grab the bull by the horn instead of providing them with a term under which they hide and embellish their unwillingness - intentionally or otherwise - to bring about equality and justice within the development world.
Gender issues should not only be tackled from the feminine perspective, but also from the masculine, in terms of re-educating men to change their perception of women’s role /position which should in turn bring about a change in the nature of men’s participation which would better foster the empowerment of women. Rowlands, (1998) notes that eliminating male bias and moving women out of the condition of near-universal subordination that they still currently occupy, will require cultural, economic and political changes [Afshar Haleh, Women and Empowerment (1998), P17].
Although there have been various attempts to treat gender and empowerment as separate and distinct terms in development, both are interrelated. One cannot function or successfully be achieved without the other. For some time now the focus has been on the number of women employed as against men without a correlation of the type of job/positions women are employed in or occupy in the non-profit sector. I sincerely believe that the issue of gender cannot be fully treated without empowerment. An organisation, in complying with the request on the need to ensure some sort of gender fairness, may still perpetuate bias, inequality and injustice by employing women at the lower cadre of the organization.
There is a need for development managers especially in sub-Saharan Africa to work towards transforming the formulation and execution of development policies from the way it stands now into more “feminist values of openness, fair treatment, clear lines of accountability, unity and shared responsibility and above all a commitment to people trust” [Kelleher et al, Grabbing the tiger by the Tail, (CCIC, 1996), P41]. Empowerment for women may well stem from the involvement and leadership of women at all levels rather than the inclusion of women for the sake of “number equality” as many people think or advocate. As rightly pointed out by Fowler, (1997) this would be further aided by a gender fair culture within NGO practices [Fowler Alan, Striking a Balance: A guide to Enhancing the Effectiveness of Non-Governmental Organizations in International Development (1997, London :Earthscan), P79].
* Shola Oshodi-John is the Programme Coordinator for the Civil Liberties Organization, Nigeria’s foremost human rights and membership based organization. She has worked with international organizations and women’s groups within and outside Nigeria for the past six years with a focus on international development, gender and public policy and non-profit management.
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