Beyond Pink and Blue: The Gender at Work Framework
The second part of this blog series introduced several Gender Analysis Frameworks. This sub-part delves into the Gender At Work Framework through a case study.
This article was written in collaboration with Nadia Mercado, a professional who works in the sectors of Food Security and Financial Inclusion for rural areas.
Case Study: The financial lives of women in rural Paraguay
Personal data & other details about the participants will not be disclosed to preserve confidentiality of the source
Introduction
The Program
About the data
Analyzing the data
- Women in the “Others” category mainly generate income by making furniture, ornaments, decorations or other handicrafts. In contrast, men in this category work in more “male” dominated jobs like carpentry, motorcycle workshops, ceramic factories, electronics or mechanical work.
- The more “feminine” jobs, such as the sale of traditional food and sewing/crafts, are done only by women.
- Agriculture, which is the primary income generating activity in Paraguay, is conducted by more men than women.
In rural areas, there is a lack of trust in financial institutions, therefore people prefer to save at home. Also, talking about money is considered taboo, and if the money is saved at home, they don’t risk mentioning the actual amount during a survey. Hence, some of the data may be biased.
- More men in the top 2 income categories save money at home, while women in all six income categories do so.
- More women are seen saving in groups. The difference in numbers may be due to more women being available for group meetings as they are at home for most of the day compared to men.
Using the Gender At Work Framework
Considering the country’s context, the program details, and the analysis above, can you discern what the program aimed to change, or what could potentially be changed?
We have applied the ‘Gender At Work’ Framework to answer these questions.
What did the program change? — ‘Building awareness on savings’
The program promoted savings through the graduation approach, and introduced Saving Groups.
Most women are seen working odd jobs, which indicates that they don’t have a fixed income. Uncertainty about daily or weekly earnings poses a difficulty in making financial commitments. There are no flexible credits in financial institutions for those who don’t meet the minimum requirements, hence savings groups seem to be a better option.
Saving groups enable women to support each other and save money together. They can do this by starting a joint business, for example by selling food at local fairs and saving their profits.
What could the program change? — ‘Lack of awareness of a woman’s contribution in the household economy’
Most women in the study stay home and are in charge of household chores as well as childcare. Some also make products like traditional food or ornaments that are sold from their house, instead of an actual store. However, the majority of women don’t perceive this as employment or contributing to the household economy; instead, they view their husbands as the primary breadwinners.
This could be changed by organizing awareness campaigns that recognize and value women’s work in the household economy.
References
[1] Paraguay Demographics 2020 (Population, Age, Sex, Trends) — Worldometer
[2] Rural women access to credit and savings in Paraguay | Sustainable Development Goals Fund
