IDRC-MR137e

WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE NAIROBI CONFERENCE

Material contained in this report is produced as submitted and has not been subjected to rigorous editing by IDRC Communications Division staff. Mention of proprietary names does not constitute en­ dorsement of the product and is given only for information. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Authority Relationships among Women: Lower Class Women and Female Researchers in the Field Beatriz Schmukler and Marta Savigliano . 1 - 39

The Sexual Division of Labour in Brazilian Industry Elizabeth souza-Lobo . • . . . • . . . . 40 - 52

Integration of Zambian Women in National Develop­ ment: Analysis of Constraints and Prospects Raj Bardouille ...... • . . . . 53 - 92

Female Participation and Industrial Development in Thailand Amara Pongsapich ...... 93 - 115 Reproduction, Production and Women's Labour Activities in the Home Suzana Prates ...... 116 - 135

Methodologies for Doing Research on Women and Development Pat Ellis • ...... 136 - 165

Measurement Issues in the Study of Working Women: A Review of the Philippine Experience Marilou Palabrica-Costello ...... 166 - 185

Women's Participation in Two Irrigation Projects in the Philippines Jeanne Frances I. Illa . • . . • ...... 186 - 244 Contributors

Raj Bardouille is an economist appointed to the Manpower Research Unit and the Department of African Studies at the University of Lusaka in Zambia.

Pat Ellis is a Barbadian sociologist of education currently completing doctoral studies at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.

Jeanne Frances Illo is an economist appointed to the Institute of Philippine Culture, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Marilou Palabrica-Costello , a sociologist, is in the Mindanao Centre for Population Studies at Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines.

Amara Pongsapich , a sociologist, is the Deputy Director of the Social Research Institute at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Suzana Prates, a sociologist, is general coordinator of GRECMU (Grupo de Estudios sobre la Condicion de la Mujer en el Uruguay) in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Beatriz Schmukler and Marta Savigliano are sociologists working in the Women's Studies Program at FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Elizabeth Souza-Lobo is attached to the Department of Sociology, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. INTRODUCTION

This volume brings together a collection of papers presented by participants in two panels at the NGO Forum marking the End-of-the-U.N. Decade for Women which was held in Nairobi, Kenya in July 1985. The two panels, both sponsored by the Research Related to Women Advisory Group of the Social Sciences Division of the International Development Research Centre, were entitled "Women and the Economy" and "Research Methods on Women." While IDRC does not have a specific program focus on issues in gender and development, there has existed a considerable degree of informal support to research looking at the special problems of women and to the participation of women as researchers and as grant recipients. The eight papers reproduced here reflect perspectives of researchers currently engaged in work on gender and development in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.

Eva M. Rathgeber Social Sciences Division Authority Relationships among Women: Lower Class Women and Female Researchers in the Field

Beatriz Schmukler and Marta Savigliano

FOREWORD

In this paper we are dealing with the relationships_ that female researchers establish with women of lower classes through the use of qualitative methodologies and in participatory research. We are trying to underscore the danger of establishing relations of domination where researchers do not take into account the women they are studying as intelligent subjects able to make sense of their own reality. This danger is more evident in those studies where the researcher is interested in observing the modes in which women themselves participate in the reproduction of their own subordination. Women's lack of consciousness of their own subordination is considered an essential factor in its reproduction, together with other socioeconomic and cultural·factors. Feminist researchers often suppose, although not explicitly that their own consciousness of their subordination, as women with a feminist perspective, allows them to see "further" than the other women and to help these women in the diagnosis of their passive or neurotic adjustment to social situations which oppress them.

In qualitative research we define the other women as objects of analysis and try to put ourselves in a "supposedly" objective standpoint from which to analyse the modes of subordination through which they may fall into the trap of the conventional gender morality, thereby unconsciously themselves reproducing their domination. In participatory research methodologies we work with these women trying to analyze with them their subordinate modes of life and trying to discuss those issues that we think are key in the understanding of their subordination and - 2 -

in its automatic reproduction. Feminist researchers in Latin America have seen participatory research as a way to overcome the "objectivation" of other women implicit in most research methodologies, including the qualitative ones. "Objectivation" is seen here as a way of reproducing the subordination of women in research and, moreover, as a way of ensuring the further devaluation of lower class women by feminist researchers. Participatory research proposes a method of modifying the bond between the researcher and the individuals being studied, which moves away from the idea of subordination or devaluation. Both the researchers and the respondents discuss the situation of the women who are interviewed, on the basis of different kinds of expertise which are not considered to be hierarchically ordered. The research subjects can examine their own experience in a more conscious manner when they expose themselves in front of other women. They put names and labels to experiences they had thought were personal and did not happen to other women. The researchers are able to help in the process of labelling and translating the personal into the social and collective. The women who are studied become subjects who actively participate in the description of their own realities.

We think, however, that neither participatory nor qualitative research can be considered per se, methodologies which reproduce or do not reproduce domination. Qualitative research may try to avoid "objectivation" by listening to the other women's voices when they tell the stories of their lives, trying not to project the researcher's realities onto the others. Participatory research, similarly, may fall into the trap of objectivating the other women if researchers unconsciously impose their own labels in their interaction.

In both types of research we think it is necessary to be aware of the ways we are re-constructing our own female identity during the research process. It is often the case that when feminist researchers take the decision to study the position of - 3 - subordination of other women, they are simultaneously trying to deal with their own personal struggle. Feminist theory has particularly focussed on the self-other dilemma and has helped us to view our personal liberation as related to our consciousness of this dilemma and to the possibility of respecting our own desires within the context of relationships with others. In our research we have often defined other women's sense of autonany according to their capacity to discriminate their own desires and to pursue their goals in the middle of oppressive structures. In this sense it has been an important issue in feminist theory to study the capacity of women to verbalize their desires and to study the degree to which women have been able to participate in the construction of language structures or, in other approaches, the degree to which women's voices are taken into account.

As we are trained to be alert to these symptoms of subordination in our own lives, i.e., lack of awareness of our own desires and lack of a distinct and legitimate feminine voice in our societies, we usually use the same parameters to analyze other women's subordination and to imagine the strategies they should develop for achieving personal autonomy. However, it seems necessary to discover more specific dimensions to analyze the modes of subordination of lower class women who participate in a specific subculture with particular rules of connnunication which rely less heavily on direct and verbal expression of personal desires; and also, whose lives are oppressed not only by gender but also by class domination. This double domination helps women to establish strong relations of alliance with their husbands or companeros vis-a-vis their "patrones", alliances which help the family groups to survive or surmount poverty together, as well as relations of subordination where they often feel betrayed by the "machismo" of their companeros.

The analysis of subordination is not separated from the discovery of the personal strategies that women developed within - 4 - the family throughout their life history to overcome their personal dependence. The concept of subordination is for us a dynamic one which not only describes women entrapped in oppressive structures but also women who are conscious or "practically conscious" of their personal subjugation and able to accumulate a historical experience in their daily struggle against domination.* This theoretical position about women's subordination demands the need to discover the meaning of personal and autonomous desire for women in lower classes and what sort of strategies they develop to legitimize their desires and to improve their personal autonomy vis-a-vis their family groups.

* See definition of practical consciousness in the text, part I. - 5 -

INTRODUCTION

The paper addresses the question of the analytical approach used by female researchers who are investigating the gender identity of "lower" class women in the same socio-cultural context. We believe that the struggle against women's subordination in Argentina is part of the more general daily resistance to other forms of authoritarianism. Patriarchal domination is tied to the other forms of authoritarianism (class and ethnic domination) in our society, since all of them are based on a common ideological perspective which tends to "naturalize" the superior position of the oppressor and the inferior position of the oppressed. The "naturalistic" gender ideology explains and incorporates different levels of reality of the patriarchal structure of the society. These include:

(a) the loss of personal legal rights of women when they get married since they are considered weaker than men and needing legal, economic and physical "protection";

(b) the marginalization of women in the labour market and the sexual division of labour within the family with the assignment of domestic labour only to women usually justified on the basis of the role of women in biological reproduction;

(c) the relations of authority between the father and the mother, which defines the biological father as the "natural" superior authority vis a vis the children and the adult male as the "natural" superior authority of the family group;

(d) the morality of motherhood, which represents the maternal function as a conservative one. Social discourse hints at the danger that a mother poses when she defends life, when she gives birth and the disorder and anarchy inherent in the - 6 -

process of the creation and care of life. The biologism of social discourse, the relation that it establishes with the feminine role in the "reproduction/conservation of life", is based upon a particular conception of life as connoting order and security. Despite the examples of women's struggle against authoritarianism and violence during the Military Proceso in Argentina - the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo are the best example of the affirmation of a non­ conservative notion of femalehood and motherhood -- women are still supposed to be politically and personally conformists (Tiempo Argentina, Supplement La Mujer, Nov. 5, 1983, p.8). The image of the conservative role of women must be scrutinized in light of the special associations among "woman"-"mother"-"life", and the sense that a woman's life is only represented as a crystalization of the three. This link between women and the conservation of life extends to women's other social roles, and influences the ideas that people hold about women's political participation, their role in the socialization of children, and their modes of participation in daily life, both inside and outside the family.

Female researchers run the risk of unconsciously reproducing patriarchal relations of domination with the women they investigate. Relations of domination among women are typical in work contexts where social class, prestige and hierarchical positions overlap. We find this mode of domination in the "patrona" and maid relationship -- in paid domestic services in the household -- or in the relations between lower-class women and female "experts" from social service institutions or in psychological and medical professions. A mutual agreement is usually established implying the "natural" superiority of the expert or the patrona and the ignorance of the lower-class women about their own social reality. - 7 -

We, as female researchers, should be aware of the ways we can guard against the reproduction of a social situation which may neutralize the subjectivity--the conditions as subjects--of the women we are investigating. We suggest avoiding the projection of our own experiences of subordination upon popular women's experiences and to avoid analysing their gender identities from the standpoint of our own definitions of autonomy and self-determination. When judging other women's sense of autonomy we must take into consideration the multiple ways the subjects manifest their desires. These desires in themselves never express a straightforward understanding of the women's reality but rather their personal contradictions between those desires which increase their dependence and those which help them to consolidate their self-determination.

In this paper we propose to analyse other women's consciousness of subordination not only taking into account the degree of autonomy and differentiation of their desires but also the practices and negotiations they develop in order to resist the obstacles they find themselves confronted with. In Part I we will refer to the methodological problems we found in defining other women's sense of autonomy during empirical research among mothers in lower-class families in Buenos Aires (Schmukler, 1985). In Part II we will describe a participatory research experience we have just started where we work together with the women in the field on the analysis of the authority relations between lower class mothers and the directives of their children's schools. We also work together in our authority relationship as female researchers and female subjects of the community. - 8 -

SECTION I: THE RANGE OF POTENTIAL GENDER IDENTITIES OF WOMEN WITHIN THE FAMILY - B. Schmukler

In this section, I will analyse the strategies that mothers develop in order to negotiate transitional gender identities, identities of a kind that do not respond to the conventional expectations of their role. They do not, however, imply the manifest construction of a proposed alternative gender identity. I will concentrate on the speech practices of the mothers, focussing specifically on their changes of opinion in the dialogue with the interviewer, and the relations of authority that they generate between themselves and the interviewer.

I observed that, depending on the intimacy of the dialogue, and on the people that were present at the moment of the interview the mothers showed different aspects of their gender identity. I began, accordingly, to observe changes in mothers' presentations of themselves in the consecutive meetings. I studied how their presentations varied when their sons, daughters, companeros, other family members or neighbours were present. The change in the moral values that motivated the mothers in their relation to me was also an object of study per se inasmuch as I began to represent someone that had some kind of connection with the schools of their children, (the local schools had facilitated some of my contacts with the families). In the first meeting mothers tried to show me that their lives could be classified as moral. These first interviews reflected most clearly their sense of the expectations of someone from a "superior" social level who could conceivably judge them, and furthermore, that I could have a certain power over them because of my "connections" with their childrens' schools.

My relations with each of these women followed a different path: with some I achieved a relationship of alliance in which we were able to erase the first impressions; with others, the distance between us was more difficult to surmount. Other relationships ranged from fairly distant ties to relations of - 9 - great confidence, although not necessarily of alliance. Some of the respondents continued to call me after we terminated the formal interviews, in order to tell me about the problems that they were having with their sons and daughters, about processes of separation from their husbands or companeros or reunions with their husbands, conflicts with school, or simply in order to confess to me their feelings of personal failure, as mothers or as persons. All of this material has enormously enriched the understanding that I gained from these women of the family dynamics.

I remember my vicissitudes as an interviewer. My frequent questions were: how to continue being myself without revealing all of my thoughts and values (as these would necessarily carry the value of moral obligation or instil themselves as unconscious expectations in my dialogues with the entire family group), and how to subvert the position of "expert" that the women put me in, whether for my class position, education, or my role as interviewer.

As a result of my interest in establishing an equal relationship with my interviewees that would permit me to penetrate their daily lives with few distortions, I adopted the technique of sharing my personal conflicts, my own doubts and my "non" knowledge. I expressed my disposition to accept the discrepancies and differences between us and, most of all, I tried to make clear the relation that these had with the different conditions in which we lived. My struggle for an equalization (through comparison) of our hierarchical positions was not always successful, as I continued to be someone especially valued for them. Very often they wanted to transform me into a counselor or a psychological therapist who supposedly knew more than they about their personal situations.

Often the members of the families wanted me to take part in family conflicts and to function as an arbitrator. I held interviews with all the members of the family in order to avoid - 10 - rivalries and jealousies that would have obstructed my relationship with each of them. In sum, my methodology made it imperative that I be cautiously aware of my mode of inclusion within the group dynamic. I tried not to obstruct the relations of alliance and complementarity within the group itself, and when possible, I kept myself equally distant from the different sides in the internal conflicts. Nevertheless, during the entire process of interviews, my major relationship was with the mothers, who became the principal focus of attention. I looked for the different facets of their identities and the ways in which they presented themselves in front of the rest of the family group and in front of myself.

The diverse facets of each mother's identity unfolded in the dialogue with me as her relationship with me transformed itself into a relationship of confidence. I, in turn, changed daily in my role as interviewer and both of us engaged in diverse "interior dialogues" at each interview (Singer, 1980). Our interaction brought us to present new facets of ourselves to each

other~ each time more profound or simply different from our existent sense of self.

The gender identity of the mother, like those of the rest of the members of the family group, is a contextual identity, in accordance with the place that each individual occupies in conjunction with the code that identifies the members of the group. These codes are nourished by different dimensions that serve to localize identities within the group: representation of age, sex, occupation, prestige, degree of solidarity of the individual with the group objectives, relations of consanguinity or other aspects of filiality, an intermediary role with the external world and its functions of sustenance (both affectionate and economic) that maintain the group limits. The process of creating the identification code within the family group, implies a previous "agreement" about an authority system, (the same as in - 11 - games of power relationships), in which the group defines authority figures (Robertson and Holzner, 1979).

One's identity is the establishment of the self which results from the integration of the diverse dialogues one has with those with whom one interacts regularly in daily life. I include in this concept the 11 internal dialogues 11 that reconcile the self with another part of the self as well as other selves that motivate one, that make one present to oneself, and that recuperate other aspects of the self that do not appear in a given situation (Singer, 1980). One can try to deal with a part of the self, for example, that realizes a moral discourse that is in contradiction with another part and that surges out in a moment of transition (or criticism) of this dialogue of the self with itself, Singer says:

It is a dialogue between two phases of the ego ••• what he is saying to the other self that is just coming into life in the flow of time." (Singer, 1980, p. 499) •

In view of this characterization of identity, including its dependency on authorized codes, and its dialogical character, we need to keep in mind the variations in the mother's presentations of herself in front of different interviewers, and her processes of negotiation with authority figures when her gender identity is studied. In order to analyze mothers' gender identities, I took into account my direct observations in addition to the self­ conscious history that the family group and particularly the mother formulated. Some of the changes in the mother's presentation of herself in the course of the different interviews are manifestations of internal dialogues of the kind mentioned by Singer. These changes are those that respond to a certain level of consciousness of the contradictions or conflicts that the mother as a feminine subject lives in relation to the family group. - 12 -

Throughout this investigation the concept of the female subject refers to the mother's mode of resolution of the conflict between self· and other (Gilligan, 1977). This dilemma is weighty for all women, but particularly mothers, since they define their positions in terms of a concept of conventional "maturity" (which we see affirmed in the public discourse in Argentina). Within this discourse, the woman-qua mother-is not recognized as a person. Mothers are supposed to live to guarantee the family unity and common well-being, affirming a moral code according to which the neces~ity or desire of the other always prevails. The other can represent abstract notions such as: "the integrity of the family group or the nation," "the wel 1-being of the children," or "the authority of the husband." The other is represented by someone important, whether it be from affection or moral obligation, before whom the mothers must submit. Mothers who affirm themselves as a subject are able to differentiate themselves from this maternal morality. They have to develop a particular reflection about the self-other dilemma in the face of each situation or personal conflict. They do not have a unique answer to the self-other dilemma, but rather, multiple modalities of response, where the self can appear in an egalitarian position, in balance with the "other," whether abstract or concrete. Mothers who see themselves as feminine subjects, do not have rigid stereotyped responses to the moral dilemma but rather changing and multiple contextual responses. The conventional morality of motherhood, on the other hand, responds to a concept of gender that imprisons them in crystallized and automatic conduct and cannot discriminate them as individuals from the family group.

An important objective of this paper is to demonstrate that there is a style of exercising motherhood that confirms the woman-subject for whom the conventional notion of maternity can be partially appropriated and partially negotiated. Mothers who see themselves as subjects negotiate their role within the limits of the family authority system. This system not only defines the possible gender identities (masculine and feminine) but also - 13 - defines the spaces of "no" identity, which is to say vacant or nonexistent identities, or those which it is not possible to develop into the group. At the same times it defines negative or stigmatized gender identities such as those I call transitional gender identities, that cannot be located in any of the polarized and antagonistic categories of the gender system. Transitional identities usually awaken intolerance or anger (intolerance toward the aggressive girl or the maternal and tender boy). The mothers with transitional identities did not define themselves in terms of hegemonic gender codes and authorized codes within the family. These codes determine their invisibility (inexistence for the group) or their negative sanction since they are identities not able to be classified.

In the face of this limited ensemble of gender identity alternatives I asked myself how it happens that some women appear to develop transitional gender identities? Does this necessarily signify for them the rupture of the original nuclear family? Does it imply an open confrontation with the maternal morality? Does it generate an alternative morality that consciously opposes the conventional altruistic morality? How does this transitional identity influence the authority relationships with their children: do they lose or gain authority within the family group, particularly in comparison with their canpanions, spouses or other masculine authorities within the group?

SECTION II. THE TRANSITIONAL FEMININE IDENTITY OF SOME MOTHERS OF THE BARRIO

women who do not fit clearly in the moral, authorized gender code reflect multiple contradictions in their lives. These contradictions can cause depression and disintegration in some women, or they can be the mechanism by which women negotiate their micro-universe. Such contradictions are manifest in two planes: 1) that of verbal discourse, and 2) in the set of verbal and nonverbal practices that simultaneously affirm and contradict - 14 -

the moral discourse. None of the negotiating mothers in my study recognized explicitly their right to satisfy their desire when confronted with a moral dilemma with the "other". Their own desire does not result from a supposedly "mature" judgement with respect to the crisis situation, in which their own selves acquire a position of equality with the other selves (Gilligan, 1977). In order to understand their practices, one must be able to recognize and distinguish the moral discourse that Gilligan emphasizes, and comprehend the ways in which the women achieve respect for their desire, by looking at the diverse speech, acts, and other practices that parallel moral discourse. In reality, these mothers utilize moral discourse to justify practices that we call amoral. From a superficial perspective, this mode of justification can seem a mode of subordination to a language and a morality constructed by others. Nevertheless, in reinterpreting the data, I began to appreciate that this mechanism is a species of appropriation of moral discourse, an act of manipulation of language that permits them to advance in concrete realization of their desires.

The mothers who could affirm a transitional gender identity and who lived with a companero developed their negotiations in different planes within the family dynamic: a) in relation to the companeros' s assignment of "place" to each family member~ b) in relation to the rules of cohabitation (domestic organization, education and work of the children of both sexes and of the mother, participation of the father in the family life, etc.)~ and c) in relation to the rules of child rearing (particularly of boys). This last was a point of negotiation which occurred frequently and which often led to open conflict with the companero.

Mothers who preserved an independent gender identity from the moral code were achieving--as a product of their negotiations--changes in their positions of authority, in the rules of cohabitation, and in the family discourse about gender. Their strategies to maintain an independent identity, though in - 15 -

very contradictory ways, became a message of "unconventional" feminity for the family group and an alternative meaning of gender. A mother who negotiates her place in the family proposes a flexible model of femininity that contrasts with the "naturalization" of gender: the belief in the instinctive character of both maternity and the division of sexual roles.

The mother's negotiating stance also prompts redefinition of the place of the father and the sons, due to the complementary character of the family's sexual roles. When a mother proposes that she begin working away from home, for example, her suggestion implicitly calls for a reorganization of the life of the other members of the family group. The same does not always occur with a change in the quality of life of any other member of the family group. Generally, changes in the life of the other members (integration of the children into the school system, changes in the type of work of the father, etc.) only affect the daily organization of the life of the mother and do not generate the need to readjust the roles of the other members. This is why the mother's intent to modify her place within the group generates resistence and requires an entire range of negotiating strategies on her part.

In order to characterize the mothers' characterization of themselves as feminine subjects, I defined a contextual concept of the feminine subject, that took into account the relations of authority within the family group and its gender ideology. In some very different theories (from the evolutionary scheme of Gilligan, to the "affirmation of femininity as difference" in Kristeva, 1981) there has been a special emphasis on the conscious affirmation of personal desire. The woman transforms herself into a subject, in opposition to the object defined by others, when she is capable of differentiating and defining herself, of discriminating her desire and affirming it (not necessarily always putting it in a privileged position, but at least on an equal footing with the opposing desire). The most elevated evolutionary state of the feminine conscience is, - 16 - according to Gilligan, that in which the woman is able maturely to balance the different personal interests (including her own) that are in play in a crisis situation. The result, or action, does not necessarily have to conform with her own desires but these must have been taken into account in the woman's rational analysis of the situation.

This type of approach generates many questions that cannot be answered since the subject is evaluated only within the moral or rational discourse, or within the internal world of the woman. For example, I asked myself, how do we evaluate the personal desire that coincides with maternal morality, with the woman's abnegation of herself before her children and her husband? Is it a desire in its own right, discriminated against, or is it completely subordinated to the collective morality?

Who can judge the subjectivity of the woman that we are observing in our role as investigator? Is it possible to arrive at a universal formula of women's autonomous conscience that would serve different societies or different social classes; a concept of the mature feminine consciousness? Answering these questions seems to require the formulation of such concepts as false consciousness and evolutionary gender consciousness, concepts that could serve as points of reference. This brings about the danger of judging women's consciousness from the perspective of the researcher or from the perspective of some ideal concept of women's autonomous consciousness.

In order to distance myself from evolutionary and universal models of feminine conscience, I developed a notion of the feminine subject that would take into account the relative differences of class, level of education and degree of flexibility of the family authority system. These criteria take into consideration the description of the group of practices of the woman, situate her in her class and family context and try to understand her consciousness relative to the limits imposed by her contextual situation. In addition, the analysis of the - 17 -

feminine conscience cannot possibly be developed in a transversal cut, in a given moment, and in a specific crisis situation. It is necessary to construct it over time, over a period during which one can be reminded of the change of status of the mother within the web of relationships in which she habitually lives. The woman's role in generating a dynamic of relations that guarantee or permit change in her position within her micro-world can be explained by the temporal development of her feminine conscience. This allows us to examine the barriers that she confronts, and to evaluate her consciousness, beginning with her understanding of those barriers and of strategies with which to confront them.

In this investigation I have taken into account only some of the aspects of the feminine micro-world: I have oberved the changes in the practice of maternity and the mother's place of authority in relation to the male companero or husband. The mother's condition as subject appears defined, in my eyes, in terms of the degree to which she distances herself from the stereotyped practice of maternity that prevails in Argentine society and in the micro-world in which she moves. In particular, I tried to comprehend how the mother can vary her place of authority in front of the children through various means. I asked, what is the degree of participation that the and hierarchy that serve to classify the members of the family group? What are the areas of family life that the group considers under the mother's control--family consumption, education of the children, establishment of criteria for rearing girls and boys? Is she actually in control of these areas? It was not only important to me to detect the real control of the mother in these said areas, but also to observe if there is a recognition of her authority within the group. I also observed

changes in real autonany of the mother within the group~ that is to say, could she develop the projects she set for herself? In particular, I observed the evolution of womens' projects in each family, as they developed over the period of the year and a half in which I carried out ihe interviews. These projects were of - 18 - various types: to begin to work away from the home; to undergo training that would permit the mother to begin work in the barrio or in the house; to the extent that the sexual activity of the companero with other women affected her estimation of herself, to control or impede that activity; to separate herself from her companion; to reorganize a new family life with another companero, etc.

SECTION II: INFORMAL RESISTANCE AND FEMININE IDENTITY

The question that I formulate in this section refers to the impact of the strategies of the Marias of Buenos Aires--Maria, Elsa, Clara, Amerlia, Alicia, and Dora in this investigation--in their efforts to secure their own desires, which have the consequence of de-naturalizing the gender discourse of the family group. From the perspective of some current feminist theoreticians, these women could not participate in this discourse with a feminine voice that would propose alternative gender concepts. Further, unless the woman constructed a language of her own that reflected her historical and subjective experience, there would not be any dissonant feminine voice within patriarchal discourse. From this perspective, the mothers of the barrio could not possibly have the capacity to fight within the family discourse, as they do not possess an autonomous feminine identity from which they could propose alternative gender identities.

According to Kristeva (1981) and Irigaray (1981), there is no language with which woman can define herself to herself. The positive aspects of her identity are repressed in verbal discourse because the very structure of the language does not admit the recuperation of the feminine identity as difference, as presence. Woman appears in the language only as a counterpart of the masculine: as absence, emptiness, a hole, the lack of a penis, a small man. The question that these authors ask is "How do we recuperate a feminine specificity that does not surface as counterpart to the masculine?". The possibility of overcoming - 19 -

this trap of language is located, for these authors, in the creation of a language where the presence of the feminine appears as difference and not as absence. The proposition is to legitimize--to make public--a language that has the capacity to symbolize feminine experience.

In a similar quest, Carol Christ (1980) proposes that women narrate their own history. Otherwise they will live their experience inauthentically, interpreting it by myths and according to a culture that they did not create. In conclusion, for these scholars, the feminine consciousness is tied to the possibility that women begin to legitimize, through language, their own experience.

From the preceding analysis, one can infer the actual impossibility of causing a feminine antipartriarchal voice to penetrate the family discourse--until a new feminine language is created collectively, or until women penetrate into the language. Nevertheless, if we change the focus of attention from language to the gender system, we discover that with this, as with any multivalent symbolic system, there are links on the one side with the tradition, and on the other with social forces (individual actors, institutions or groups) "that create divergent interpretations of the texts and other symbolic forms (Kristeva 1980, Irigaray 1980) ." From this point of view, symbolic systems constitute themselves through the ideological struggles between different social institutions: family, school, political parties, community organizations, etc.

From this perspective, the woman as social actor can introduce and continue introducing fissures, contradictions and ambiguities in relation to the dominant code in the different institutions in which she acts. Women negotiate to gain spaces of authority vis a vis the husband and father of their children, and in order to redefine the personal freedom of men which enables them to cheat their wives or companeras. In addition, women develop strategies in order to start working outside the - 20 -

household despite their husbands' disapproval. The remunerated work of the mother is an action in permanent readjustment within the gorup, for various reasons: a) because the mother is the last pawn to play when there are serious familial economic constraints, and b) because when the mother wants to work outside the home she must resolve the contradition that establishes itself between herself and the group (and particularly between herself and her husband). These contradictions run counter to all the familial organizational rules, and also go against the gender significations accepted by the group. In the negotiations that arise in this situation, the recognition of the mother's desire as a person (which is to say, her desire as differentiated from her role) is questioned--by the group and the mother herself.

One of the important questions in the literature about feminine consciousness, identity, and language rests on the woman's capacity to recognize her own desire. In Argentina, this is a theme of note as the culture only understands femininity as an extension of maternal altruism and has exalted and granted prestige to the woman who is capable of renouncing her own desire (as we saw in Section 1). The "yironas" are, for the most part, the prototype of the "anti-mother" - the woman who succumbs to her own desire. The control of desire is basic to the definition of a good woman. For this reason, the recognition of one's own desire constitutes a central aspect in the negotiation of an alternative femininity--or at least one that is non-conventional. The challenge of the mother of the barrio is to be able to recognize her own desire and to defend it, without falling in to the position of the "yirona" or another "anti-mother" mode. I began, then, to ask myself how this social constraint influences the mother's ability to recognize her desire; and then, how it affects her ability to fulfill that desire. My first group of questions referred, then, to what desire means to the woman of the barrio. - 21 -

Does leaving to work outside the home constitute a personal desire to these mothers? Can they execute this desire when, in accordance with morality, they will be committing a crime against the stability of the nuclear family, against the health of the children, against the desire of the authority figure; when, furthermore, this authority figure is the spouse that they love? Can it be liberating for the mother to work outside the home when her desire carries such a threat and is such a potentially destructive force within the family group? A liberating desire represents the possibility of enjoying the fulfillment of the desire and of creative satisfaction.

The second group of questions have to do with our recognition, as interviewers, of another's desire. Do we only consider as a desire that which appears explicitly fonnulated as such by the mother? In this case, do we overlook the concept of repressed desire? It seems to me dangerous to consider repressed desire in this context because I do not want to slide into diagnoses of false consciousness which may be judgements based on projections of my own personal experience. The interviewee, in this case, would not participate with me in the dialogue as a subject responsible for the recognition of her own desire, unless we worked together in a free association where she actively participated in the search for her repressed desires. As a strategy of investigation, I preferred to utilize methods that would permit me to investigate the evolution of the different projects of mothers relative to their personal lives. I studied how mothers pursued their articulated objectives, in dialogues with other members of the family and in the more concrete practices that they undertook to further their causes. Desire, then, was for me a discovery that I made at the end of a period of investigations: it was the persistence in the search for an objective. The result was always different from that which seemed likely at the start of the process: it was the transaction that arose as the product of a process of negotiation. - 22 -

In order to investigate the process of negotiation around the extra-domestic work of the mothers for example, I asked them directly about their desire to work outside the home. I recorded the mother's history of remunerated work--inside and outside the home--before and after having her first child, and I described the negotiations that developed in the family group at the stage when the mother announced her intention to start work or when there arose a suggestion from a family member in this direction.

Women who negotiate are characterized by a practical consciousness (Giddens, 1979); they secure their desires while paying lip-service to the conventional moral discourse which verbally contradicts them. In other words, although the conventional discourse presumes an altruistic dedication on the part of the mother, these women interpret this dedication in a way that accommodates their interests in personal fulfillment and autonomy. They negotiate the meanings of their acts with other family members and for all practical purposes they frustrate the desires of these others, especially their mates. We may think that they manipulate the discourse in such a way that their desires appear to be interpretations of the needs of their children or their mates. Thus, they do not condemn the concept of maternal altruism nor the superior authority of the husband. To obtain what they want they develop diverse strategies which conceal even to themselves their unconventional desires beneath conventional messages.

Negotiating mothers develop two typical communication strategies:

l} They contrast a non-verbal practice with a contradictory speech act; and 2) they are ambiguous and contradictory when they talk about themselves. In this second case we can find an opposition between the ways they define themselves and the stories they tell about their lives. Their definitions of themselves are closer to the morality of motherhood, responding to social expectatins, while the stories of their lives reflect - 23 -

their resistance, their conflicts and even their opposition to this morality. This is the way they struggle with their husbands in order to impose their personal desires. They introduce ambiguities into the discourse of the family without producing alternative definitions of gender. They do not feel they have the authority to compete with their husbands' ideas or desires. They expect a certain sort of conduct from each sex which they suppose is "unalterable" and "inevitable".

These women have a more fluid connection with the world outside their families than do the women who do not negotiate. There are cross-currents of love and hate shared with their neighbours. They may be sexually competitive with some of their female neighbours and cooperate with others in communal projects. For example, I was surprised one day in the house of one of the women I was interviewing to see a female neighbour arrive with shovels and spades to plant squash in the backyard. These women exchange their working hours and reciprocate caring for the children before or after shool. They tend to spend a greater portion of their lives in productive, paid employment. For them, work outside the home is an activity which confers a greater self-definition than their housework. "I'm a seamstress, or a factory worker or a laundress" , are the first images of themselves which they offered me.

My conclusion is that women as mothers have an essential role in the construction of gender meanings by virtue of their active participation in the negotiations that take place in the everyday discourse of the family. They participate in these negotiations by expressing the contradictions they experience with present gender arrangements in the family and the society. Each woman handles these contradictions differently and some of them manage to make clear that their contradictions do not result from their "natural" weaknesses to confront the adult competitive world but from the incongruities of dominant gender ideology. Women by themselves cannot produce transformations of the partriarchal structure of the family and of family gender - 24 - discourse if the whole group is not flexible enough to accept their proposals for change and accept changes in the functions of members of different sexes and ages. The degree of authoritarianism in the family group defines the potentiality of the group to accept the disruption of the naturalistic discourse on gender and hence, to be able to accept potential redefinitions of meanings and practices. However, the conclusion in this chapter is that it was women who initiated changes in gender practices in the families during the period of my field work, and that some of those families partially modified their sexual division of labour and their authority gender system as a result of those initiations. In addition, the family gender discourse incorporated the mother's resistance strategies as part of its repertoire of meanings. These strategies were signified by the family group as a contradiction or criticism of the dominant authoritative code of family discourse.

PART II. PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH - Marta Savigliano

Some further questions, complementary to those previously stated, have become incrasingly important to us as female researchers concerned with avoiding - or at least, being aware of - the reproduction of authoritarian relationship patterns which are essential canponents of the patriarchal system. Class, race, gender and expertise are concepts known to be used as parameters addressed to classify and fix people into social hierarchical scales. The concept of female (= feminist) consciousness - labeled and defined by middle and upper class professional women of postindustrial occidental countries - seems to be entangled with the above mentioned discriminatory parameters when it is used to measure the degree of liberation and self-respect attained by women. In our discussion we intend to describe the type of contradictions we have found in trying to articulate participatory research and feminist concerns. We started from the assumption that both participatory research and feminism are alternative aproaches to the traditional discriminatory

concepts. But, from the very beginning of our field~rk, we - 25 -

found that these perspectives are themselves alternatelv, contradictory. Hence, to be coherent with a feminist perspective (including the acceptance of "universal subordination of women" and of a "feminine consciousness" as usually defined) implies to think, talk and act from "above" or "beyond" the basic groups with which feminist researchers are working. On the other hand, to be loyal to the participatory research premises, we should remain in the darkness and appear only to facilitate the thoughts, discourse and actions of the basic groups.

Our first steps towards the overcoming of this mutual silencing are addressed to the explicit recovery of the processes of dialogue and interaction. Consequently we are currently developing a participatory research and self-management experience with the teachers and the families of the students who attend a high school located in a low-income area of Buenos Aires province. This project will attempt to analyse and to operate within the interaction patterns and symbolic systems present in the everyday relationships established between the families and the authorities of the high school. Our interest in characterizing this relationship is focussed on the increasingly authoritative role that schools play, especially in low income areas, towards students, families and the comnunity. A highly hierarchical structure seems to operate, shaping family - school relationships - as subordination of the former to the directives of the school. Participation of parents and students in school decision making are reduced to a minimal level, their role in collaborating with the teachers becomes passive and they systematically reject the proposals emanating from school authorities by not participating in meetings and activities organized by the school, and by not fulfilling the required educational standards. Women are the most relevant figures in this context since they undertake, as mothers, a family representative role vis-a-vis school authorities; and as teachers, a state institution's representative role towards - 26 - families. Moreover, in the case of this particular high school, most of the students are girls.

Following this brief description of a setting within which we intend to insert ourselves as female researchers, there are a number of critical methodological issues to be addressed. Our major focus is on the way in which this kind of research and action is to be conceived when, according to our interpretation, all aspects of the research situation articulated and are pivoted to authoritarian relationship systems where women actively reproduce and produce social values and practices within both the private and the public worlds and between them. Our first problem is how to develop a research exercise as a participatory

process~ that is to say, how to develop research which will not become self-contradictory because it prescribes participatory models in a non participatory way. Starting from the point that participatory research basically involves "researcher and grass-root group jointly engaged in a learning and discovery process, endeavouring to develop the project", the question of putting theory to the test by judging its meaning for people, becomes important. In accordance with this approach, the role of grass-root groups in determining research priorities, in evaluating different outcomes and stages of research, and in deciding on the use of resources and distribution of responsibilities among those involved in the project, has widely surpassed the once challenging proposal "to report research outcomes to the people of the communities where studies took place".

The theoretical underpinnings that we have developed as female feminist researchers for the purpse of this project can be described as follows. Our research is based on general questions of the way in which the social role of the family has been envisioned up to now, in particular, concepts of the mother's role in social reproduction. The concepts that interest us are those produced not only by social sciences researchers, but those prevalent in Argentine "public discourse". We do not believe - 27 -

that the similarities between "public discourse" and social theory are coincidental, but rather, that they are deeply rooted in the way in which "public" and "private" worlds are separated in western thought.

In most social theory, the family is considered the sacred institution whose function is to ensure social reproduction at the level not only of the species but of daily life, of the labour force and the most basic social values that permit the culture's endurance. This is so in functionalist, marxist, structuralist and feminist approaches to the family.

Finally, the family has also been conceived as an institution that permits reproduction of social differences through marital and inheritance patterns. Women, due to their fixed social role as mothers, are intimately involved in this reproductive function. It is they who are in charge of ensuring the role assigned to the family. Woman's social role has been historically linked to the family destinations both in social theory and in public discourse. Our project places in question such an interpretation of the family and of women, arguing that it fails to reflect the entire social function of women. Both social theory - including most of the feminist approaches to the family- and "public discourse" have contributed to creating a voluntaristic version that minimized those aspects of the family that promote change, as well as non-conformist initiatives on the part of the mother.

In short, the limitation of concepts of the family and women to the exclusively reproductive perspective, has deprived both women and all activities carried out in the private world of the family of their role as historical subjects and actors. Thus, women are not taken into account in explanations of major social transformation processes. - 28 -

It is the intention of this project to redefine the social reach of the family, using one of its modes of interaction: the daily contact between the family and school-institution that symbolizes the nation and receives the social mandate to regulate norms and values for the family.

It is our belief that an investigation of relations 0£ authority between the two institutions will shed light on abstract problems of social protagonism of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in their capacity as members of households, of the private sphere.

More specifically, such a study will permit a questioning of the permanent and passive bond between mother and family that maintains as its consequence the supposed passive acceptance of both mother and family to social commands emmanating from the public sphere.

The forms of resistance to authoritarianism seen in the private sphere in Argentina during the period 1976-1983, were in fact, what encouraged us to pursue the analysis of the important social manifestations that were a product of the private sphere, acting upon the family unit, and simultaneously entered into and acted upon the public sphere.

To put this critique of the traditional approaches towards families and the role of women to the test of its meaning for the students and teachers of the high school and families living in the surroundings, is quite a difficult task.

To date we have tried the following approaches:

FIRST TRY • We left the first draft of the project proposal at the school so that teachers, parents and students could make comments, ask questions and add thoughts and proposals of their own. After three or four months very few had read the proposal and the general comment was that it wasn't clear what families - 29 -

and the school could undertake jointly. As researchers, we trembled when we left the papers, discussed heatedly whether people were or were not "in the right condition" to read them and, finally, trembled in receiving the resulting comments.

As a matter of fact, no questions or comments arose from our critical approach towards the authoritarian relationships established between the high school directors and poor families, nor to the idea of womens' roles as "brokers". The general feeling was that we, as social reseachers, had the right and sufficient knowledge to be justified in making this interpretation. On the other hand, the proposal of actions that families and the school could undertake jointly, was left as an open question in our project. We explained that this was the point to be developed through self-management. As researchers we would adopt a "neutral" position, seeking to share our understanding of research and action on a popular level. The few readers of the proposal thought that since we were researchers we knew what to think about the whole activity. They didn't care very much about our theoretical framework of authoritarian relationship patterns, families as social institutions with capabilities to produce change and not only to reproduce society, or women as human beings with specific gender identities. They were concerned with the issues not answered in the paper, such as what to do to affect change; and they demanded our answers, since we were the ones who knew: we were the "experts". What about all those who didn't read the first draft of the proposal? Did they have no empathy with the subject? Or was it the just the wrong way to reach this population?

SECOND TRY. We decided to try an oral presentation of the project's aims. In order to avoid causing too much disruption, we tried to schedule this in the existing networks and activities developed jointly by the school staff and families. We went to the parents' meetings that take place at the beginning of the school year, where school authorities briefly explain how the year will progress and what kind of contribution the school - 30 - expects from the parents. At the end of each meeting the high school headmistress introduced our research team to the parents and we said, more or less, that we were interested in creating an environment for parents to meet each other and to talk about issues of mutual concern. Parents (most of them mothers) received this proposal enthusiastically and immediately started to pose subjects of interest. None of them related - at least in a direct way - to authoritarian relationship patterns, to the potential social changes that could be generated from the everyday life of the families, or to criticism of the role of women in a patriarchal system which confined them to motherhood.

Parallel with these activities, we kept in touch with the school authorities. We held meetings twice weekly at the high school and discovered together, that quite a lot could be expected from the students' parents, even if they were "poor and ignorant", in terms of supporting and following-up the studies that their children were carrying out. School authorities recognized that parents could make useful contributions and proposals if they were encouraged to do so, if they met together and if they were guided by some "specialist" Needless to say, authoritarian relationship patterns were conceived of as evils that we {both school personnel and social researchers) had left behind a long time ago; however, traditional concepts of families and women remained safe in mind.

Since then, we have continued to work with groups of parents, of school authorities and, more recently, students. The project proposal has been progressively modified, taking into account the needs and interests of the participants. Now we have in hand a project on family-school relationships which has been jointly discussed, written and submitted for a funding request. But now, the question is what to do with our own interests, thoughts and opinions as feminists and as researchers. - 31 -

In reconstructing the whole participatory process we find that we have shifted from: 1) a first stage which was essentially a researchers' monologue, incorporating our interpretations of the interests, attitudes and opinions of the school authorities and of the families, as if these were the basic data for our proposal; to 2) a second stage in which a grass-root group monologue was established, using our technical abilities but not incorporating our biases as feminists and researchers. The question then becomes one of how to elaborate a proposal for a participatory experience that includes research and action activities, as part of a dialogue, i.e. a proposal which reflects the interests and concerns of the community members and those of the researchers.

Usually, the debates on participatory or action research methodology make the following points: "researchers should try to come into contact with already existing basic groups in order to work with them on a mutally responsible basis, helping them in their efforts to solve problems". It is not recommended for the researchers "to try to initiate projects him/herself and to build up basic groups ••• (suited to the researchers' interests)". If we accept these guidelines we must conclude that we, as feminist researchers, have not found the "right" basic group to work with. Our next question then becomes: Is it possible to find a basic group sharing our own dilemmas, interpretations and goals in regard to authoritarian structures, family systems and the roles of women in our society? We agree that the answer is yes, if a group of feminist researchers could be accepted as a "basic group".

Following this analysis, feminist researchers intending to develop participatory experiences have two alternatives: 1) to confine ourselve to work with other feminist researchers (at least until the critique of the existant gender system is felt and recognized by the rest of the people, and when the techniques and methodologies of social research will be so well-known that anyone interested in the subject will be able to conduct - 32 - research); or 2) to put aside our interests and opinions as feminists and researchers, at least for the moment (until the "basic groups" override the "false consciousness" state ••• ) and devote ourselves to collaboration (and perhaps, assistance) with the tasks of basic groups.

A third alternative, the one we have chosen, has to do with the recovery of human inter-subjectivity, i.e. taking into account the fact that negotiations and exchanges of meanings are present in the interactions and diaglogues that we establish with other human beings, no matter how alike or different we may be.

Returning to our participatory experience, we rejected the notion of operating exclusively within a ghetto of feminist researchers - because to do so, would be to resign the possibility of confronting our own ideas with those of others, and, hence, to lose the chance to redefine our own approache~ because we would be running the risk of falling out of "reality", and because we just didn't want to be prisoners. We also rejected the idea of forgetting our own thoughts - because it wouldn't be honest, since this is an impractical strategy and would, sooner or later bias the whole process by failing to allow an explicit recognition of our own ideology and because we would be fighting for the aims of others, without passion.

Working within the third alternative, the question becomes one of establishing a dialogical path or a mode of discourse and action focussed in way that allows communal understandings among us as feminist researchers, and the "basic group" - non feminist and non researcher school authorities, low income families and women. In other words, we are seeking to develop a participatory experience that takes place in a meeting ground of two worlds. Is this a question of methodology? If research methods and techniques are "theory (and ideology) put into action" we may give an affirmative answer. But methods on their own will not be able to solve the fact that moments of coincidence, of confrontation and of silence take place in a process of - 33 -

dialogue. Methods will not erase the feelings of encounter, confrontation and of absence that occur in an interaction process. These ups and downs in discourse and action seem to be central to the process of dialogue that we intend to set forth. Efforts made to synthetize them into a single even line usually led to the construction of a monologue. For us, dialogue means to exchange interpretations and to undertake mutual testing of their meaning to the other party. This is not meant solely as an attempt to give complementary perspectives on a particular fact, or to elaborate complementary outcomes about a process. We believe this might be a way to reconstruct how things have happened and to understand the interpretations and misinterpretations that have been passed through as stages in a process of joint development within space and time.

Returning once more to the field, as feminist researchers we feel disappointed because, after some tries (including the use of some tricks like pretending not to understand with the clever ones of the basic groups and playing smart with the shy ones, etc.), we admit that most of our interpretations tested for their meaning to the basic group have been rejected or shown to be incorrect. The pieces remaining are certain words, such as participation, collaboration, initiatives, consciousness, discrimination, poor families, strategies. Nevertheless, these words/concepts are loaded with different meanings for us and for the members of the basic group. It seems as if these words and concepts, which are central to the aim of this particular participatory experience, will remain in a permanent tension of meaning, pulled by two hurricanes facing each other. In addition, some of the words/concepts/images introduced by us, as feminist researchers, seem to make no sense to the other women (school authorities, mothers of low income families and female students); as if there was no place for them in their symbolic system. For example - and this is not a casual example - gender systems or men/women relationships are subjects of no interest, or not powerful enough to evoke associations for them as they do - 34 -

for us. To illustrate this point, a few glimpses of our fieldwork are offered.

PICTURE ONE. Meeting with the school authorities. We mention the fact that most of the teachers and headmistresses of education centres are women, but the ones who decide politics of education are men.

School authorities: - Yes •• (silence and displacement of the armchair backwards).

PICTURE TVD. Same context.

Feminist Researchers: - Do you believe that parents (at the meeting) will distinguish between the problems that their daughters and sons are undergoing as teenagers? School Authorities: Oh, yes ••• We don't even need to mention girls because, regrettably, most of the students are girls; so their problems will be present.

Our questions were uncomfortable or nonsense flashes to the basic group. Their responses were disgusting machismo flashes to us.

PICTURE THREE. Meeting with the parents (mothers) at school. Feminist Researchers: - So, we can start talking about your needs in regard to the studies that your children are carrying out •• Mothers: They started, alternately, to speak about the different ways in which they are trying to help their children as teenages and to compare old ways and new ways of being a mother, including attempts to redistribute household responsibilities. Studies or school, were not even mentioned.

We were surprised by the fact that these women spoke of and recognized alternative models to motherhood at a meeting of parents held at school. They didn't care, this time, about the - 35 - studies of their children (a subject we proposed in order to create a climate of confidence).

Picture Three is an example of how, contrary to our expectations, the specificity of women was a subject of great interest. Some other moments of harmony and encounter took place when we, denuded of professional roles, spoke about the most frequent age at which girls start to menstruate. All of us (researchers and school authorities) remembered our own experiences with plenty of details and joking. This was a nice sisterhood flash for us and an intimate (but not worthy of being recorded) flash for them.

Some final questions: What is the place for our interpretation as feminist researchers? Is it a question of taking time to explore and get to know different consciousnesses and awarenesses of feminine subjects? Does this mean that we are becoming less feminist or does it imply that we, as feminists, are becoming enriched through the dialogue with these women? - 36 -

FINAL COMMENTS

In the two main parts of this paper we have addressed the question of authority relationships among women, particularly between researchers and the women of lower classes we are studying, using both qualitative and participatory research methodologies. Our main concern is to underscore the idea that certain methodologies can in themselves carry authoritarian patterns of interaction. We are aware of the multiple ways in which we may fall into the trap of reproducing relations of subordination among women. We are referring both to the subordination of lower class women in qualitative and participatory research projects, where they may be stigmatized by the researchers as holding what may be described as a false consciousness and to the subordination of the researchers themselves in participatory projects. They should adopt a "neutral" position, remaining practically submitted to the goals of the basic groups.

"Traditional" qualitative methodologies can avoid the "objectivation" of lower class women when researchers recognize the contextualization of their identities within the cultural and economic conditions of the family groups and social class. Further, we must especially take into consideration the adjustment of women's discourse to the authority patterns of family interactions. To describe womens' sense of autonomy implies a dynamic process of research during a protracted period of time which can describe the transformations of women's presentations of themselves in different contexts of interaction. This type of research facilitates the discovery of women's strategies for the negotiation of gender meanings. Their altruistic discourse may not reflect an essential belief or an expression of false consciousness but a manipulation which women use to achieve autonomous goals. When we take into account women's identities as ambivalent and changing during the course - 37 -

of the research process, we can discover their role in initiating changes in the family patriarchal arrangements.

In order to get away from relations of subordination among women in participatory research methodologies we propose an alternative technique which recovers human intersubjectivity. Our technique takes into account differences in the interpretations of researchers and lower class women of their social position in contrasting family and community contexts. We try to avoid the imprisonment of either lower class women or the female researchers into pre-structured middle class conceptions of self liberation. We propose that the interpretation of each other's realities should be the outcome of a dialogical process in which negotiations and exchanges of meanings are made explicit and help to evaluate the ongoing process of research and action. - 38 -

BIOGRAPHY

Beatriz Schmukler, Ph.D., Yale University, is a sociologist who has worked extensively on the life histories of Argentine men and women in the working class families since 1973. Her doctoral dissertation describes the authority dynamics of gender relations in lower class families in Buenos Aires and focusses on the relations of power within the discourse of the family group. She currently coordinates a Women's Research and Teaching Area at FLACSO (Latin American Social Sciences Faculty) in Buenos Aires. - 39 -

REFERENCES

Christ, Carol P. 1980. Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest. Boston: Beacon Press.

Gardiner, Judith Kegan. 1981. "On Female Identity and Writing by Women." Critical Inquiry. Writing and Difference, VIII, No. 2.

Giddens, Anthony. 1979. Central Problems in Social Theory. London: Macmillan.

Gilligan, Carol. 1977. "In a Different Voice: Women's Conceptions of Self and Morality." Harvard Educational Review (47).

Irigaray, Luce. 1981. "And the One Doesn't Stir without the Other. Signs. 7, no. 1.

Jardine, Alice. 1981. "Introduction to Julia Kristeva's Women's Time." Signs. 7, no. 1.

Kristeva, Julia. 1981. "Women's Time." Signs 7, no. 1.

Robertson, Roland and B. Holzner. 1979. Identity and Authority. Explorations in the Theory of Society. New York: St. Martin's Press.

Schmukler, Beatriz. 1985. Gender and Authority in LOwer Class Working Families in Buenos Aires. Ph.D. dissertation. Yale University.

Singer, Milton. 1980. "Signs of the Self: An Exploration in Semiotic Anthropology." American Anthropologist. 82, no. 3.

Wenzel, Helene Vivienne. 1981. "Introduction to Luce Irigaray's 'And the one Doesn' t Stir without the Other' • " Signs. 7, no. 1. - 40 -

The Sexual Division of Labour in Brazilian Industry

Elizabeth Souza-Lobo

Sexual Division of Labour in Brazilian Industry*

Since the implantation of the industrial sector in Brazil, women have worked in factories. They were textile workers and they also worked in food, clothing and tobacco industries. It was only between 1970-1980 that there was an accentuated increase in female industrial employment. During this period, the number of female workers increased from 18.8% {1970) of the total industrial worker force to 24.5% {1980), (Gitahyet al.1982). Moreover, this increase in the number of women employed in the industrial sector accompanied the increase in the number of women considered to be economically active from 18.2% in 1970 to 36% by 1983 (Bruschini 1985).

Thus, while on the one hand, important quantitative changes occurred in female employment, on the other hand, there were also qualitative changes in the nature of this employment. While female industrial employment decreased in the textile sector, although it continued to employ the largest number of women, it increased rapidly in the new industrial sectors: elec­ trical, mechanical and metalw::>rking industries (Humphrey 1984).

The extent of these transformations is particularly visible in the Greater Sao Paulo area, the industrial centre of the country. In 1976 30% of female employment in the transformation industries was concentrated in four metallurgical sectors which in 1950 "more than half of women's employment in the transformation industries was concentrated in only one area, the textile industry." (Humphrey 1984).

* The author thanks the International Development Research Centre for supporting her participation in the End of the Women's Decade NGO Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, from July 10 to July 19, 1985. - 41 -

An analysis of these figures raises certain questions about the relationship between industrialisation and the sexual division of labour. Firstly, I shall examine the factors which determined the increase in the level of female industrial employment and led to modifications in the sexual division of labour in industry. Secondly, I shall study the repercussion of these changes on women's social practices.

Without doubt, these changes in the seventies question those hypotheses about women's employment which insist that industrial development would exclude women from the workforce, or that they would be concentrated in the occupational ghetto of the terciary sector and in remunerated domestic work, (Saffiotti 1981). Such hypotheses, as Humphrey observes (1984), are supported by data from the decade between 1960 and 1970 when \\Omen's industrial employment increased extremely slowly. However, in the decade of the seventies new factors inverted this tendency.

On the one hand, the model of industrial development stimulated the expansion of sectors which traditionally employed female workers, such as the auto part industry, the plastics industry, the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and chemical industries and especially the electro-electronic industry. On the other hand, industrial expansion was made at the expense of the working classes through a forced reduction in the level of real wages, the loss of employment stability and other benefits that had been conquered by the workers up to this period. These factors provoked perceivable changes in the survival strategies of family groups, requiring a large number of women to enter the labour market. The search for employment by these women coincided with an increase in demand for industrial labour and thus the female industrial labour force increased. In this period Sao Paulo, as the most important industrial centre in the country, was the - 42 -

geographical pole which attracted an intense migratory movement of men and women, even entire families, principally from the Northeastern region of Brazil. The occupational trajectory and the lives of women leaving rural regions to become assembly workers or machine operators in the multinational industries that produced electro-electronic material for the automobile and auto part industries have yet to be studied. Only they will be able to evaluate the extent of the changes which have occurred in their family practices and its symbolic representations.

The data concerning the level of women's economic activity in the seventies indicate that unmarried mothers as well as married, separated, and divorced women increased their participation in the labour market but the most perceptible increase occurred amongst married women in this period (Bruschini 1985). Moreover, previously the highest rate of economic activity was amongst very young women (18 - 19 years), but during the seventies the increase accounted for women of all age groups with a significant change occurring in the intermediary age group "which indicates that the necessity to enter the labour market obliges women to try and reconcile domestic work at home with paid work (outside of it)." (Bruschini 1985).

The change in traditional family practices was a significant one for women, who had to reformulate their life strategies because there were few changes at the level of social policies in the period or, any preoccupation with increasing the range of social services, such as creches, schools or transport that would allow women to reduce the scope of their work in the area of social reproduction. In Brazilian society the social reproduction of the labour force continues to be the responsibility of women. - 43 -

At this point it is important to examine the ways in which women are incorporated into the industrial sector, the forms of the sexual division of labour and the characteristics of female work in industry.

In relation to the sexual division of labour in the industrial sectors, the expansion of female employment in this period was related to the entry of women into new areas of industrial production: metallurgy, auto parts and electro-electronic. The sexual division of labour was altered nationally, within Brazil, but this did not represent a break from the classical models of the sexual division of labour at international level where work in the automobile industry is also predominantly masculine, and, conversely, work in the electro-electronic industry is essentially feminine.

However, if on the one hand, the analysis of general data reinforces a hypothesis of the reproduction of a traditional sexual division of labour, in this case internationally instituted and corresponding to the structure of industry, on the other hand case studies allow us to identify those periods in which there is a break away from the classical forms of the sexual division of labour. If along general lines masculine and feminine work are identifiable and asymmetrical at the level of

~rk functions exercised by either sex, alterations, substitutions and even symmetrical work functions also exist in the Brazilian case. Thus, in the auto part industry in Sao Paulo during this period of expansion and increase in production (1974)

~men were employed in the press shops as press operators while in the 1980s this function is exercised exclusively by men. Evidence seems to indicate, therefore, that the rapid expansion of women's employment in this period is related to a relative scarcity of male workers. Certainly, there existed an - 44 -

interchange of masculine and feminine tasks which contributed to the fact that at the level of the work process a strong tradition of the sexualization of work functions did not exist, while the workforce that was being contracted had no tradition of industrial employment. At the same time, in the multinational automobile industry some of the traditional female sectors, such as upholstery, were totally masculinesed because employers argued that increased demand necessitated the implementation of night work and that women, who are not allowed by Brazilian law to undertake night work, were no longer able to do this work.

These examples seem to indicate that when demand is high, greater flexibility in the sexual division of labour is likely to occur, especially if there is little resistance from men and women to defend their individual work functions. However, in this period of Brazilian history, the military dictatorship controlled the trade unions and violent repression was used in the workplace. It is not difficult, therefore, to see how such changes were so easily made and this apparently contributed to the general instability of employment and a high turnover of labour in industry during this period. There were no traditional forms of sexual division of labour in the new sectors of industrial expansion nor conditions in which men and women could struggle to preserve their jobs. Gradually, the sexualisation of work functions tended to crystalise and this process of naturalisation in the allocation of one sex to a specific type of work in the labour process is visible today, in the level of discussion of the workers as well as that of the managers.

In terms of the criteria which are used to determine the sex - typing of work functions, the Brazilian managers are hardly innovative. Jobs undertaken by women are described as requiring "aptitude, dexterity, speed and detail". They require, - 45 -

in general, little body movement and a lot of attention and patience. The presses, if they are not heavy, are dangerous and work in the auto part industry is in many cases "dirty work". In contrast on the assembly lines, women workers with "great patience and attention" construct fragile parts which they mount on electronic plates, rather like arranging pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or they "weave" electric wires, during which they stand in front of large tables as if they were weaving endless carpets.

The common element in all these work functions is that they lack any need for "qualification". They are frequently fragmentary tasks that do not require any professional training and this justifies their classification as "unskilled" work as well as low pay. As Kergoat (1984) has pointed out the concept of qualification needs to be questioned. The low classification of women's work appears not to be based on technical criteria but on ones related to the subordination and devalorization of the "woman who is working in the factory". Moreover, it is based on the presupposition that she is part of a traditional male-headed family unit and as such is different from the male worker who is potential, or actual, "head of household." Poorly-paid, unqualified work is the notorious feature of female industrial participation. One study undertaken in Sao Paulo showed that 25% of all industrial jobs were occupied by women, but only 4% of technical workers and approximately 8% of qualified workers were women (Humphrey 1984). In 1982 a study undertaken in the Metalworkers Union of Sao Bernardo do Campo - Greater Sao Paulo - showed that 74% of female workers who were union members worked in production and of that number 70.3% did unqualified or semi-qualified work (Souza Lobo et al. 1982). Brazilian census data indicate that in 1980 only 0.6% of the economically active female population employed in industry were managers, forewomen - 46 -

or technicans and in Sao Paulo women represented only 0.8% of this group (Bruschini 1985).

In 1979, the average salary of women working in the metallurgical industries (metallurgy, mechanical, electrical, material and transport) constituted approximately 50% of men's salaries (Humphrey 1984). In the chemical and pharmaceutical industry the average women's salary varied between 55-65% of the average males earning (Moises 1985).

When the low cost female workforce is not mechanically determined by the substitution of male for female labour and the sexual division of labour remains relatively stable, this asymmetry clearly favours the employers as opposed to the male and female workforce, because it weakens the labour force through divisiveness. Furthermore, this reinforces the categorization of \'Omen workers as "unskilled" as well as the apparent simplicity and dispensability of their work that in the words of one manager "isn't very demanding; and after all women only need to know how to sew and cook." Aside from confronting such contempt in the "YOrkplace they also have to face domestic work in the home which is, at base, what reinforces an important hypothesis: that the dexterity and discipline necessary for this kind of female work is closely connected with the low valorization of domestic tasks.

On the other hand, the relation between unskilled work and the feminization of work functions is consistently repeated and has a direct correlation with the devaluation of the female labour force (Milkman 1983). On the assembly lines of the electro-electronic sector, all female tasks are fragmented and mechanical but they require women to have practical experience. The only male task on these assembly lines is qualified and requires an elementary electrical course of not more than three months duration. Thus formal knowledge is measured in terms of - 47 -

"time served" and diplomas earned. However, the skills of an assembler who installs 20 miniscule components and needs to remember the order of coloured pins in a perforated plate that is no bigger than a cigarette packet, using alternating hand movements are considered to be the fruit of women's social experience and privatised domestic role. As such, the skills she brings with her into the workplace have no intrinsic value, as the basis of rational discourse or in the "scientific" organization of work.

The mechanisms which crystalise the sexual division of labour and the inequalities in the work relations between women and men have been the subject of very few studies in Brazil. However, it is clear that the sexual division of labour implies, in Brazil as in other countries, not only a distinction between male and female work but also the subordination of female tasks. Women's classification as unskilled and the low pay attributed to them in the work sphere, therefore, recreates the gender hierarchy inherent in all social practices.

The entry of women into the industrial labour market was a response to new survival strategies and this represented a positive element of these changes, but in the factories themselves the situation of women was once again one of subordination, and inequalities based on gender were reproduced in their work relations. Hence, industrial development does not lead to the marginalisation of women from the labour market nor lead to their equality or "liberation" as the first generation of feminists had once imagined. - 48 -

The Crisis and the Sexual Division of Labour

At the end of the seventies there was a retraction in the rhythm of Brazilian industrial productions: production dropped in the transformation industry and by 1980 the reduction of the industrial labour force had commenced.

What effects did this have for women's employment in industry? Research indicates that between December 1980 and December 1981 there was a workforce reduction of 13% in the electrical industry in Brazil, in which the male labour force was reduced by 10% while the female labour force suffered a reduction of 20% (Hirata & Humphrey 1984). Nevertheless, these data do not allow us to analyse the effects of the crisis as a whole. They are based on case studies which can only indicate tendencies and provide hypotheses. One factory in Sao Paulo that employed 1,100 workers in 1980 reduced its workforce by 628 in 1981 after which they re-employed workers but without attaining previous workforce levels. Another industry, in the same sphere of production, reduced its workforce from approximately 13,000 workers in 1979 to 3,000 by 1984. In the electro-electronic industry, this reduction of personnel was part of a strategy to shut down factory operations in Sao Paulo and transfer them to Manaus. In Amazonia, the creation of a free zone offered financial incentives, as well as low labour costs, facilities for the establishment of industrial complexes and the importation of machinery. Thus the crisis not only led to technical restructuring but was also part of the reformulation of industrial politics.

At the level of the sexual division of labour, if on the one hand the "unskilled" nature of female work led to their dismissal, on the other hand, the division of male and female tasks gave relative protection to women's employment. In some - 49 -

case studies we have observed (Hirata & Humphrey 1984, Lobo & Soares 1985), that proportionality between male and female functions was maintained. In the meantime, the deceleration of production and the transfer of factory operations to other regions, in the two factories studied, reduced incentives for the training of the female workforce and reinforced existing inequalities in the sexual division of labour and the asymmetry in the formal qualifications of male and female workers; whose effects on women's salaries and their position in the work hierarchy has already been discussed. On the other hand, in the event of redundancies or "layoffs", the last to be dismissed were workers who were considered to be heads of household with children, a criterion which penalised single and married women. Hence, the gender hierarchy of the family is clearly implanted into work relations in this instance.

The sexual division of labour in industry is an important obstacle to any hypothesis that identifies the female contingent in industry as an industrial reserve army, as in classical Marxist theory and as has been reiterated by many researchers (Saffiotti 1981), which is attracted into the labour market in periods of capitalist expansion only to be expelled from it in periods of recession. In Brazil the reverse is the case, whereby in the period of recession there was no exclusion of women on a large scale. The capitalist economy functioned through the gender stratification of the labour force, though this did not exclude the reformulation of its strategies with relation to those sectors of the workforce which have certain distinct characteristics.

One of the new strategies, and one that has affected the workforce, is that of technological change. In those sectors in which automation and the modernisation of technology was introduced, both male and female workers were seriously affected. - 50 -

In the textile industry, however, the modernisation of machinery was responsible for the reduction of women workers in this sector and by the masculinisation of some tasks. Research by Acero ( 1984) shows that "a traditional female section would be losing more "WOmen' s than men's labour in relative ter.ms, in the course of equipment modernization."

While we still don't have disaggregated data by sex or sector of production, research that was recently undertaken in Sao Paulo (SEADE/DIEESE 1985} indicates that the level of unemployment (1} is significantly higher for women (10.1} than for men (5.6), while the level of hidden unemployment (2) is almost identical for both men and women, (5.4% & 4.8% respectively}. From this information it is possible to conclude that there are more "WOmen looking for employment for the first time and this would imply that the economic crisis is provoking new alterations in family survival strategies. The same research indicates that levels of unemployment are highest amongst those who are not heads of households (in the opinion of the researchers) which implies that it is women in general who are unemployed.

(1 ) Considered to be those who were looking for employment in the last 30 days.

(2) Those people who were not working, hadn't looked for work in the last 30 days but had done so in the last year. - 51 -

Conclusions

In conclusion I would like to emphasise two main points:

Firstly, it is necessary to think about the problematic of women in the labour market produced by the sexual division of labour. This includes an examination not only the crystalization of traditions which separate male and female tasks in the workplace, but also its concrete history as an employment strategy used by employers or as a strategy of resistance by male and female workers in what they see as a means by which they can try and preserve 'their functions' in the workplace.

The industrialisation of Brazil has not excluded woman nor reinforced their occupational segregation to the service sector. On the contrary, in some sectors of industrial expansion, the fragmentation of work processes has created 'female work'. To work in industry was not necessarily an option which women of the lower classes wanted but rather it represented an alternative occupational strategy to the traditional one of remunerated domestic work, which is still considered to be degrading.

Secondly, it is always pertinent to remember that industrial development in Brazil incorporated women into industrial employment which reproduced their gender subordination in Brazilian society. The question isn't one of whether or not industrial work 'enslaved' or exploited Brazilian women workers but more importantly that the sexual division of labour was recreated in the workplace producing a further dimension in which inequality and the domination of women fed the enormous profits of both national and multinational industries and reproduced the misery of the large majority of Brazilian women, men and children. - 52 -

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ACERO, Liliana (1984) - Technical change in a new industrializing country. A case study of the impacts on employment and skills in the Brazilian textiles industry. University of Sussex. Science Policy Research Unit.

BRUSCHINI, Christina (1985) - Mulher e Trabalho: uma avaliaQaO da decada da mulher: 1975-1985. (mimeo)

GITAHY, Leda et alii (1982) - "Luttes ouvrieres et luttes des ouvr1eres a Sao Bernardo do Campo". in Cahiers des Amerigues Latines, n° 26.

HIRATA, Helena & Humphrey, John (1984) - Hidden inequalities: women and men in the labour process. (mimeo)

HUMPHREY, John (1984) - Trabalho feminino na grande industria paulista. Sao Paulo, Caderno CEDEC.

KERGOAT, Daniele (1984) - Playdoyer pour une sociologie des rapports sociaux. in Le sex de Travail. Grenoble. Presses Universitaires de Grenoble.

MILKMAN, Ruth (1983) - Female factory labor and industrial structure: control and conflict over woman's place in auto and electrical manufacturing. Politics and Society, 12(2).

MOISES, Rosa (1985) - Trabalho e condi9ao operaria feminina - um estudo sobre trabalhadoras nas industrias guimico-farmaceuticas de Sao Paulo. Relatorio de pesquisa (mimeo).

SAFFIOTTI, H. (1981) - Do artesanal ao industrial - a explora9ao da mulher. Sao Paulo. ed. Hucitec.

SOUZA LOBO, Elisabeth & SOARES, Vera (1985): Masculino e Feminino na linha de montagem. (mimeo)

SEADE I DIEESE (1985) - Pesguisa de Emprego e Desemprego na Regiao da grande Sao Paulo. - 53 -

Integration of Zambian Women in National Development: Analysis of Constraints and Prospects

Raj Bardouille

INTRODUCTION

This paper argues that Zambian women are only marginally integrated into the national development process compared to their male counterparts. Despite the Government's avowed equality of opportunity, Zambian women's access to education, training, wage employment, factors of production, e.g. land labour, capital, efficient technologies, etc., lags behind that of men. Although a few women have managed to attain socially prestigious and financially rewarding occupations, the status of the majority of women, particularly those with little formal education and training, has not significantly improved since independence. The efforts of governmental and non-governmental agencies in Zambia in integrating women into national development have not brought about the desired improvement in the general socio-economic status of women as a group. Cultural, structural and technical constraints tend to militate against the interests of Zambian women. As a result, Zambian women are not fully integrated in the prevailing national opportunity structure.

This paper is organized in three sections. Section 1 discusses a number of aspects of inequality of women in Zambia which directly or indirectly deprives them of equal opportunities in the home and in the 'world of work'. In section 2, the efforts of governmental and non-governmental agencies in Zambia are examined in relation to promoting equality of opportunities for Za~bian women. Section 3 presents analysis of constraints to and the prospects for full - 54 -

integration of Zambian women into the national development process. Finally, the paper sums up the major findings and conclusions of the study.

ASPECTS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

Although the Zambian Constitution prohibits discrimination (i.e. affording differential treatment to different persons) on grounds of race, tribe, place of origin, political opinion, colour or creed, sex is not included in the non-discriminatory clause of the Constitution. The failure to include sex in the non-discriminatory clause of the Constitution has led the leadership, policy makers and the general public to the compelling inferrence that there is no gender inequality in Zambia. In other words, Zambian women enjoy equal opportunities and status with men. For example, at the Mexico City conference for International Women's Year in 1975, the Zambian delegation reported that Zambian women were equal in status to men and that all was well in the country. The purpose of this section is to highlight the areas of inequality or discrimination against women in Zambia and the ways these distinctions make themselves felt. The following aspects of inequality against women seem to deserve particular attention:

a) Access to wage employment and socially prestigious occupations;

b) Remuneration: unequal pay for equal work, impact of job segregation;

c) Conditions of work, including e.g. night work, working hours, maternity benefits and their impact on women's employability; - 55 -

d) Access to factors of production;

e) Access to education, including vocational and technical training;

f) Discriminatory taxation systems;

g) Discrimination pertaining to marriage, divorce and inheritance rights;

h) Women workers' participation in national trade unions; and

i) Sharing of family responsibilities between men and women. a) Access to wage employment and socially prestigious occupations

Data relating to women's share in wage/salary employment shows that they constitute only a small proportion of total wage employment. For example, Zambian women accounted for 26,310 (or only 7.2%) of the total wage work force of 365,330 in 1980 (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1984). This figure represents a striking improvement in women's relative share of wage employment from a mere 2 percent in 1966 to 5.6 percent in 1975. A significant improvement in women's relative share in formal employment occurred during the period 1964 to 1969. This can be substantiated by reference to educational statistics for this period, for example there was a 281 percent increase in the number of girls who entered secondary schools. Given the fact that the drop-out rate among girls is higher than that of boys, it is fair to assume that more women than men enter economic life with partial secondary education. - 56 -

Out of the total number of women in wage employment in 1980, just over three-quarters (76.8%) were in the younger age group (15-34 years) compared to 50.7 percent of employed men in this category. This suggests that women in wage employment are recent arrivals, i.e. the post-independence phenomenon. It may be remarked here that although wage labour was introduced into Zambia in the early 20th century, it was only able-bodied men who were employed as wage workers in the mines and commercial farming. Colonial economic policies barred women from wage employment and relegated them to subsistence agriculture and petty trading activities in the rural areas (Chauncey, 1981 ). Thus Zambian women's opportunities in wage employment opened up since independence.

Zambian women not only feature marginally in the total wage work force, but they are also disproportionately concentrated in three industries: community, social and personal services; finance, insurance and real estate; and distribution, restaurants and hotels, i.e. women are concentrated in the tertiary sector and are only marginally represented in modern production sectors, e.g. manufacturing, mining, etc.

Data on the employed work force by sex for 1980 shows that of the total employed males, some 47.2 percent were in the parastatal sector compared to 28.6 percent of total employed females; 27.3 percent of men were in the government sector compared to 55.2 percent of women; and 25.2 percent of men compared to 16.2 percent of women were in the private sector (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1985}. The above figures show that a higher proportion of men compared to women were in the parastatal and private sectors, while a higher proportion of women out of their total respective share in wage employment were in the government sector. Wages and salaries in the parastatal and private sectors are higher than those in the government sector. This suggests that on average female - 57 -

employees are concentrated in the low-paying sector. This point will be substantiated later when data on average earnings by sex are compared (see point (b) below).

The occupational distribution, by sex, of the employed shows that women are concentrated in a few areas. For example, out of the total employed women, some 40.0 percent were in professional and technical occupations mainly as school teachers and nurses; 36.5 percent in clerical occupations; 12.0 percent service workers; 7.2 percent production and related workers; 2.7 percent agricultural workers; and 1.6 percent in high status occupations such as administrative, managerial or supervisory positions (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1985). Men, on the other hand, were mainly concentrated in production-related jobs such as equipment and transport operators and factory labourers (46.7%); service workers in the hotels, restaurants, distribution and trade (23%) and other service activities such as mechanical and electrical repairs, carpentry, tinsmithing, technical and related occupations (14.6%) and the remainder (15.7%) in professional, technical, administrative and related occupations. In absolute terms men accounted for three times as many as women in professional, technical, administrative, managerial etc. occupations. Thus men not only outnumbered women in wage employment by approximately thirteen times but also in high to middle level occupations by approximately three times.

The occupational distribution of the employed work force by sex and the level of educational attainment shows that women are employed in occupations which require a certain level of formal education and some form of vocational training. Moreover, the overall educational attainment level of employed women is higher than that of men (Bardouille, 1985a). The majority of employed men are in production and related occupations and their level of educational attainment is only modest. This trend suggests that the lack of formal education - 58 -

and training does not appear to be a constraining factor in the employment opportunity of men. However, for women, education seems to be an important consideration for their employability. The labour market in Zambia, as in most other countries, is structured along gender lines. Thus the marginalisation of women in wage employment and their concentration in a few occupations is due to discriminatory hiring practices of employers and sex segregation of occupations. These will be discussed later.

The above analysis shows that only a few Zambian women are found in socially prestigious and financially rewarding positions such as top executive, managerial, supervisory, medical, legal, etc. This finding is also supported by another study on the employment of Zambian university graduates which shows that a few women hold top level positions. For example, university level educated women held 47 out of a total of 540 top executive positions; 31 out of a total 309 legal positions; 11 out of a total of 124 medical doctors; only 39 women scientists out of a total of 670 scientists and engineers; and 16 university lecturers out of a total of 174 Zambian lecturers (Bardouille, 1985a).

Not only are few women represented in socially prestigious positions, but they are also employed at lower levels of the occupational hierarchy. Unfortunately, we do not have detailed information on the level or rank at which women in a given cluster of occupation are employed. However, data on Zambian university lecturers at the national university show that 10 out of the 16 female lecturers in 1983 held lecturer grade III position, the lowest in the academic hierarchy (Bardouille, 1984). Moreover, they were concentrated in non-science and non-engineering faculties, e.g. education, social sciences and law. - 59 -

The above analysis shows that women comprise only a small proportion of total wage work force in Zambia. Three inter-related factors condition and structure the position of women in the labour market:

1. the supply factor: whether women are available for wage labour outside the household;

2. the specific structure of the economy which conditions the demand for female workers in the labour market; and

3. the implicit and explicit policies regarding the inclusion or exclusion of women in the labour market as reflected in hiring practices, segregation of jobs and the wage structure.

The major constraint on women's employment is the low demand for female labour. This is due to the combined effects of the inability of the modern sector to generate sufficient employment for the growing labour force, the discriminatory recruitment policies which explicitly favour men and assume women to be a transient and non-committed part of the work force and sexual dualism in the labour market where occupations are structured along gender lines. While it is true that fewer women than men have the marketable skills required in the wage sector, the prevailing gender linked socialisation practices continue to reinforce the traditional values in the educational system which prepares men and women differently for the 'world of work'.

The Employment Act of Zambia prohibits women's employment in industrial undertakings such as mines - open pit and underground, construction, electrical undertakings, certain manufacturing industries, etc. (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1976, Vol. IX, Cap 505, part IV: 7). Such protective - 60 -

legislation has the inadvertant effect of restricting the demand for female labour by: a) widening the opportunity gap between men and women workers; b) making certain jobs inaccessible to women, thereby reducing job availability for women and contributing to a sex-segregated occupational structure; and c) creating reluctance and resistance among employers towards hiring women workers. Legal restrictions on women to participate in heavy, dangerous and health risking occupations effectively reduce women's employment possibilities to a narrow range of jobs and relegate them to lower paying positions. Protective legislations such as those barring women from certain industrial undertakings are more protectionist than protective in character, based on sexual stereotypes and aimed at safeguarding women's morality. The structural consequences of these legal measures are to establish constraints on the demand for female labour. In essence, such measures protect the interest of male workers. b) Remuneration: Unequal pay for equal work

Data on the monthly average gross earnings by occupation and sex shows evidence of discrimination against women, i.e. women on average earn less than their male counterparts in the same occupations. For example, in professional and technical occupations, women's average earnings amounted to 72 percent of those of men; 86.5 percent in administrative and managerial; 64.6 percent in sales; 67.0 percent in production and related; 94.7 percent in agricultural; and 94.3 percent in service occupations (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1985). Only in clerical occupations did women on average earn slightly more (only 3%) than their male counterparts in the same occupation. The reason for the slightly higher earnings for women in the clerical occupation is that women have a higher level of education than men in this occupation. Since the salary structure in Zambia is related to the level of education, a - 61 -

worker is rewarded on the basis of educational attainment rather than job performance. Normally, a clerical job requires a Form III to Form V level of education. A recent study (Clarke, 1985) shows evidence of qualification escalation in clerical, administrative and even technical occupations in Zambia.

That women in clerical occupations have higher formal qualifications than are required in the job suggests that in order to qualify for wage employment, women must be in possession of not only a certain level of formal education, but this also seems to be increasing. Not only is there evidence of qualification escalation for women to be considered eligible for jobs, on average they also earn less than men in the same occupation.

A comparison of the average earnings of first degree level graduates by occupation and sex shows that women's average earnings range between two thirds and four-fifths of those of men. For example, the respective average monthly earnings of a university level trained woman and a man as recorded in the 1983 Pilot Manpower Survey (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1985) by occupation were: ZK 462 and ZK 562.00 (or 68%) in professional and technicali ZK 836.00 and ZK 1025.00 (or 82%) in administrative and manageriali ZK 421.00 and ZK 612.00 (or 67%) in salesi and ZK 423.00 and ZK 499.00 (or 84%) in production and related occupations.

The above figures show that there is clear evidence of wage discrimination against women in Zambia. The magnitude of wage differential between men and women is dependent on the nature of the occupation and the sector of employment. Of the total employed women, the majority are in sex-segregated occupations and in the public sector where salaries are lower than those obtained in the parastatal and private sectors. For example, in the civil service, the highest entry point for an - 62 -

inexperienced graduate economist is ZK 5,004 (minimum) to ZK 7,560 (maximum) per annum, (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 'Civil Service salary scales 1980'), while the ZIMCO (parastatal sector) scales for the same profession are ZK 6,900 (minimum) to ZK 10,400 (maximum) per annum (ZIMCO 'Conditions of Service and Corporate Salary Structure, 1980'). It may be mentioned here that 42.3 percent of the total male graduates compared to only 18.2 percent of female graduates are employed in the parastatal sector. Thus, part of wage differentials between men and women employed in the same occupation may be attributable to the fact that a higher proportion of total males compared to total females are employed in the higher paying sector.

It may be noted that not only is there evidence of wage discrimination against women, but there is also evidence of qualification escalation for women employed in certain occupations, e.g. clerical. The latter is a disturbing finding and has negative implications for women both in terms of their employability as well as their further marginalisation in the production process. If the above finding is correct (as the evidence shows) , women will be expected to have not only a certain level of formal qualifications, but employers are also likely to demand a higher level of credentials in order to consider women for wage employment. The escalation of credentials or the 'explosion' in formal qualifications for a job is likely to adversely affect women's employability, unless Zambian women's opportunities for formal education increase substantially in the future.

Unfortunately, we do not have earnings data by types of jobs performed by men and women within a given occupation. Therefore, it is difficult to attribute women's unequal wages for work of equal value to their gender. In the public sector (Government and parastatal), where the majority of the Zambian work force is employed, there is no evidence of a differential - 63 - salary scale on grounds of sex. However, we do not know whether this is the case in the private sector in Zambia. We suspect that the differential earnings between men and women in the same occupation (as the figures above show) are due to the lower levels of jobs assigned to women within an occupation. The case in point is the University of Zambia, where Zambian female academics hold lower grade positions compared to their male counterparts. In terms of their occupational classification, male and female academics are recorded as university lecturers, but the average salary of males is higher than that of females. This is due to the lower ranks held by women compared to men who are also in senior academic positions. c) Conditions of Work

Night work: According to the Laws of Zambia, women are prohibited from employment during the night in any public or private industrial undertaking or in any branch thereof, other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed (Laws of the Republic of Zambia, Vol. IX, Cap. 505, Part IX:7). However, this regulation does not apply to women employed in health and welfare services.

Working hours: The average working week (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1985) for the majority (64%) of women is between 35 and 47 hours, although the normal working week in Zambia's public sector (Government and Parastatal) is 40 hours. A significant proportion (29%) of women work between 48 and 57+ hours per week. In the health sector, women on average work longer than the normal working week. Similarly, in the private sector, women also work longer than the normal 40 hour/work week. In the production sector (i.e. industrial), more than half (51%) the total employed women work on average between 48 and 57+ hours per week. Women also have longer working hours in the agricultural sector. For example, of the - 64 -

total women in wage employment in the agricultural sector, just under 50 percent work between 48 and 57+ hours.

Maternity leave: The maternity leave regulations in the civil service in Zambia are generous. Female officers regardless of their marital status may be granted maternity leave for a maximum of three months (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 'General Orders 1976', Section F:5). However, the period of maternity leave for female workers in other sectors varies. Employers particularly in the parastatal and private sectors are aware of additional costs as a result of frequent pregnancies among Zambian women. The generous maternity leave regulations in Zambia in practice operate against the interests of women workers because employers are reluctant to offer jobs to women where male labour is available except in 'western female' occupations. d) Access to factors of production

Although Zambian women are fulfilling major responsibilities both in production and reproduction of their families, the majority are silent participants in the economic life of the country and constitute a very under-privileged group. Since the vast majority of the female labour force is marginalised in formal employment, poor women (rural and urban) are increasingly resorting to self-employment activities. It is argued that one of the major constraints resulting in women's low level of production in self-initiated activities is their limited and unequal access to factors of production, i.e., land, labour, capital, skills and efficient technologies.

Land: Ordinary Zambian women do not own land in their own right but can acquire the use of land through marriage, relatives or village headmen. Married women generally work on family plots which have been allocated to male heads of households. If they wish to have an independent plot, women - 65 -

must obtain use-rights by virtue of a relationship with a man - most typically the husband but occasionally a male relative. Widows and divorcees typically have no further claim on land obtained through a husband and must rely on claims to land under the control of their own relatives. Unmarried women are especially disadvantaged because they can only be given the use of land by their relatives. Non-Zambian women, from neighbouring countries married to Zambian men, do not have access to land independently.

Since women can not acquire land in their own right except through marriage, male relatives or occasionally headmen, they can be given only a small area of land for independent cultivation. Moreover, the problem is not only the amount of land available but also the quality of land which constrains women's agricultural productivity (Mutemba, 1982). In view of the fact that female-headed households in the rural areas are on the increase, for example some 30-40% of all rural households are headed by women (Adaptive Research Planning Team, 1984; Allen, 1984; Jiggins, 1980; Safilios-Rothschild, 1984), the limited access of women to land is likely to further affect their participation in agricultural production.

Labour: In subsistence or small-scale farming, family labour forms the main source of labour input. In such farming organizations women contribute higher labour input than their husbands or children (Mudenda, 1983; FAO, 1984; IRDP, 1985). Since men control women's labour through marriage, the high incidence of polygamy among small-scale farmers attests to the high female labour input in family enterprises (Mbulo, 1890). Women are perceived as a cheaper, more reliable and more permanent labour force than hired labour or kin.

While female labour input in family enterprises is high, female-headed rural households face severe labour problems. They largely depend on their own labour and that of - 66 -

their children. Such households experience severe constraints regarding their ability to mobilise labour. As a result, they are often unable to grow labour-intensive crops, including cash crops.

Capital/credit facilities: Women compared to men lack access to credit facilities. Although anyone should be able to apply for credit through the Agricultural Finance Company (AFC), a major source of credit for small-scale farmers, or commercial banks, statistics show that women are unable to take advantage of credit facilities. One of the main problems constraining their access to credit is women's inability to satisfy the guarantee part of the lending regulations. For example, most rural women do not own land. Land is controlled by men. Women also do not own any tangible assets such as farm implements, buildings, etc. Consequently, lending agencies are reluctant to grant loans to women in the absence of tangible assets.

In addition, socio-cultural attitudes, to some extent, are also a barrier to women's participation in credit schemes. Men are considered household heads and women are restricted within the confines of the house. It is still not easy for a woman to contravene tradition and develop interest in business activities and negotiate loans with 'strangers'. Should a married woman be actually judged eligible for a loan, administrative practice as influenced by tradition dictates that she must produce her husband's consent.

Women are the most disadvantaged and discriminated against group in terms of their access to credit facilities. The combined effects of attitudes of women themselves internalised as a result of patriarchal values, their low economic power, stringent lending policies of financial institutions and the cumbersome procedures involved in loan applications tend to marginalise women's participation in and access to credit facilities. - 67 -

Skills and technologies: The majority of rural women in Zambia are illiterate. While women are the major food producers {some 60-80% of subsistence farming is done by women), the existing training facilities are directed primarily at men. The agricultural extension services provided through the Department of Agriculture are inadequate and do not reach the majority of women. Moreover, the attitudes of extension officers, who are mostly males towards women farmers are negative. They bypass women and disseminate agricultural advice to male heads of households {FAO, 1984; Serpell, 1980). Custom still dictates that a male 'stranger' (extension officer) should not speak freely to another man's wife.

Women's access to and knowledge about improved agricultural inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, hybrid seeds, etc. is therefore limited {Brooks, 1983). Differential access to farm implements contributes to the differentiation in resources available to households. For example, subsistence farming households, among whom a high proportion are female-headed, own only traditional agricultural tools {Marter and Honeybone, 1977). As a result of the lack of access to complimentary factors of production, female-headed households realise low agricultural productivity.

Similarly, urban women in self-employment also face the problems of their rural counterparts. Women marketeers {particularly in township markets) continue to sell their food products, etc. in the open air because of the lack of financial resources to build permanent structures. Their businesses are petty and they are unable to move out of the small-scale operation because of discriminatory lending policies of financial institutions.and other constraints. Even in informal sector activities, there is clear division of

labour along gender lines {Bardouille, 1981a, 1981b, 1982~ Tranberg Hansen, 1980). While most men, particularly the younger ones, manage to move out of the low-level of their - 68 -

businesses in the informal sector, the majority of female operators in this sector remain static or are downwardly mobile and thus lead marginal lives (Schuster, 1983). Even in their self-initiated activities, such as retailing, women lack the support of national institutions which continue to militate against women's interests.

e) Access to education including vocational and technical training

Education: Although the educational opportunities of women since independence have increased, they are still far behind compared to their male counterparts. For example, girls comprise less than 50% of total enrolment in primary schools. The proportionate share of girls in secondary school enrolments is even lower i.e. 35% as recorded in 1980. The approximate ratio of girls to boys at the secondary school level is 1:2. However, women's share at the post-secondary school level is even worse. For example, women comprise approximately 20% of total enrolment in any given year at the University of Zambia (Planning Office, 1983). Not only do women constitute a small proportion of total enrolment, they are also concentrated in a few subjects such as arts, home economics, etc. The school system provides different curricula for boys and girls. For example, in secondary schools practical subjects for boys include metal work, woodwork, technical drawing, etc.; while for girls these include homecrafts, eg. cooking, sewing, etc.; commercial subjects such as typing, office practice, etc. (Shifferraw, 1982).

Although it is not official policy to provide different curricula for boys and girls, the gender linked socialisation practices in the home are reinforced by the school system which legitimises sex-stereotyping of subject specialisations and career counselling. As a result of the interplay of socialisation practices in the home and sex-stereotyping of - 69 -

subject specialisations in the school system, boys and girls internalise their capabilities and potentials which have a distinct gender-related connotation. That is, boys are good in technical subjects and girls in 'soft' subjects which require less intelligence and hard work. Thus certain subjects are considered more appropriate for girls and other subjects more appropriate for boys.

That girls are subjected to a narrow set of subject specialisations in the school system also reduces their opportunities for fields of training of the higher education level. For example, more than three quarters of female students at the national university specialise in social sciences, arts and education fields because they do not have the entry qualifications for science-based subjects. A narrow base of subject-specialisation restricts women's employability to only a few occupations in which the majority of the educated women tend to be concentrated. As a consequence of the concentration of women in a few occupations, not only is their future employability affected, but such occupations also tend to be labelled as 'women's occupations'. The concentration of women in such women's occupations has further implications in terms of the 'saturation' of jobs, upward mobility, i.e. promotion, etc., job segregation, dual labour markets and the status of women.

f) Access to vocational and technical training:

The school system socialises boys and girls in different subject specialisations. As a result, technical and vocational training affords different careers for boys and girls. Women feature only marginally in technical training. For example, in Trades Training Institutes, out of a total enrolment of 1,103 in 1973 in technical fields, only one female was enrolled, and this increased to only 15 in 1982: in Northern Technical College only 2 women out of a total - 70 -

enrolment of 377 in 1979 were enrolled in the electrical engineering field1 in 1982, only 12 women out of a total enrolment of 396 were in the mechanical engineering field (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1980). While women are virtually unrepresented in technical training, they monopolise the secretarial training enrolment. For example, out of a total enrolment of 522 in secretarial courses in 1975, some 488 (or 93.5%) were women. By 1979, the enrolment of women in this field not only increased by more than 100% (1027), but they were also single sex in this field. In other words, not a single male enrolled for this course between 1975 and 1979.

Data on the output of graduates in technical and vocational institutions in Zambia shows that women not only comprised a small proportion of the total output between 1975 and 1982, but they were mainly concentrated in one vocation, i.e. secretarial. For example, out of the total output of 1,374 graduates in 1975, women comprised 17.6% (or 242) and of these 79% (or 192) graduated in secretarial training1 some 7% in science and paramedical and the remaining is applied arts, business studies and English (Government of the Republic of Zambia, 1982). While the total female output of graduates in such vocational and technical institutions increased between 1975 and 1982, so did the proportion of female secretarial output, e.g. 85.0% of the total female graduates in 1979 were in secretarial field and this slightly decreased to 83% in 1982. This was due to the slight increase in their share in the technical teacher training output.

The socialisation patterns in Zambia today are clearly based on gender lines. Boys and girls are brought up to assume separate gender roles. The traditional attitudes of parents towards the education of girls still persist. Although education in Zambia is free, i.e. no tuition is paid, parents do incur some expenses, for example, on school uniform, lunch - 71 -

money, bus fare, etc. Most parents are reluctant to encourage their daughters to further their education beyond Grade V and this is where the initial attrition rate for girls starts, and is carried through to Grade VII and the subsequent grades at the secondary school level.

Parents tend to discourage their daughters' education mainly because they perceive their employment prospects to be lower than those of boys. Investment in girls' education is seen as less productive because after marriage they leave the parents' home and thus the parents are unlikely to benefit from the investment in girls' education. Moreover, girls are expected to provide help in the household chores as well as in agricultural tasks in the case of rural households. Keeping girls at home also ensures some form of control over their mobility and interaction with the opposite sex. An increasing trend in pregnancies among school girls in Zambia is another reason why some parents do not encourage their daughters to continue schooling beyond the age of puberty. If a school girl gets pregnant, she is expelled from school, while a school boy who is responsible for making a girl pregnant does not suffer the same consequences. Expulsion of pregnant girls from school is another factor for their high attrition rate revealed in the imbalanced sex ratio at the secondary school level.

Initiation ceremonies and kitchen parties emphasise female subservience and reinforce gender roles. Girls at an early age become conscious of their main role as mothers and wives. No research on female socialisation in Zambia has been done and therefore it is difficult at this stage to identify the key socialisation processes which effectively reinforce sex-stereotyping. The school system through its different subjects specialisation for girls and boys and sex-biased counselling services serves to perpetuate the traditional attitudes towards women. By providing home economics, secretarial, etc. specialisations for girls, the school system - 72 -

legitimises career choices for girls in line with what the society expects them to do in their adulthood, i.e. providing services whether they be in the home or the 'world of work'. g) Discriminatory taxation systems

A married working couple in Zambia is taxed jointly, with the married and child allowance attached to the husband's income. This means that a married woman does not get any of the above allowances. Consequently, she is heavily taxed, while the husband is lightly taxed because he receives the allowances. Recently the interpretation of the tax law has been modified to allow married couples to share tax benefits. Women argue that this is equally discriminatory since it requires the husband's permission. Some married working women feel that they should be individually taxed and child benefit should entirely go to them, since the day-to-day financial burden and food expenses are met from their incomes. h) Discrimination pertaining to marriage, divorce and inheritance rights

Zambia has a dual system of marriage laws, namely customary and statutory law. The two legal systems affect women's rights and obligations in marriage, with the termination of marriage by divorce or the husband's death. Customary law, which is widely followed, is not uniform in Zambia, but varies from locality to locality. There are two basic requirements for a valid marriage under customary law:

1) consent of the girl's parents; and 2) payment of lobola (or bride price).

Marriages under customary law by nature are polygamous while such unions do not permit a woman to contract a polyandrous marriage. Customary law treats a woman as a perpetual - 73 -

dependent. Her relatives must consent to her marriage. In the case of domestic disputes, she is expected to remain with the husband against her will. In the event of divorce, she must be represented before the court by a male relative, though the possibility exists that a working woman could petition the court without her kin's support, if she undertook to repay her lobola herself.

Under customary law, there is no communal property. The woman and what she produces belong to the husband. Customary law does not provide a woman any right over the property. There are two main systems of inheritance­ matrilineal and patrilineal-under customary law, and in both modes of succession, the widow is invariably not classified as a beneficiary in her husband's estate. The major part of his estate is grabbed by his relatives, while the widow is left to raise children with no material resources. In contemporary Zambia, most widows refuse to be inherited by their in-laws. The practice of property grabbing by the deceased man's relatives invariably leaves a widow destitute. In this and other aspects, customary law discriminates against women. Divorce under customary law is easy to obtain because a woman can put forward various reasons as evidence that the marriage has broken down. The courts, however, often insist that a woman reconcile with her husband. These are areas where reform to equalise women's status is needed. For example, payment of lobola or bride price merely reduces a woman to a chattel; polygamy legitimises a man's right to own a woman and her labour; inheritance rights exclude a widow as a beneficiary in her husband's estate.

Statutory law, on the other hand, confers some advantages on women. For example, a woman above the age of 21 years can marry without the consent of her relatives. Such a marriage is by definition monogomous, and a husband or wife's adultery is among the accepted grounds for divorce. However, - 74 -

divorce under statutory law is more difficult to obtain than under customary law. A woman under statutory law would have to have the means to pay a lawyer to represent her case before the High Court.

The majority of Zambian couples do not marry under statutory law. It is only a few educated and middle class Zambians who marry under statutory law. In reality, the practices of customary law are applied to most Zambian women, even those married under statutory law. Property under statutory law can be jointly owned by a husband and a wife, if widowed and left with a will by a husband, a woman does not in reality inherit the deceased husband's estate. Property may be grabbed by the husband's relatives. These and other issues have been debated during hearings on the proposed Reform Law of Inheritance and Succession (September, 1982). However, recommendations of the proposed law have not so far been presented to Parliament.

i) Women workers' participation in Trade Unions

The Trade Union Ordinance entitles women workers to join unions. There are nine trade unions in the country which are affiliated to the Zambia Trade Union Congress. The unions at present do not have membership records by sex, therefore it is difficult to ascertain the number of unionised female members. Since the number of women in wage employment is much smaller than that of men, their membership in the unions (if most female members are unionised) will be a reflection of their representation in the total wage work force. It was however possible to obtain membership data by sex from one trade union-Zambia Financial Institutions, where out of the total membership of 9,243 in 1983, some 2,570 were female (or 27.8%) members. - 75 -

Women are encouraged to join unions and recently a women's wing has been attached to the Zambia Trade Union Congress. The main responsibilities of this wing are to look into the special problems of women, e.g. educational disabilities, child care problems, housing allowances, etc.

Women trade union members argue that women's problems can be best understood by women themselves and therefore the women's wing is the right official organ through which the special problems of women can be researched into and put forward by respective trade unions to employers.

We have no data regarding the positions held by women in various unions. However, interviews with trade unionists show that women are not represented in top official positions, such as union chairman, secretary, etc., at provincial, district, etc., levels. Women are not involved at the decision making level, basically because they are not available to attend meetings regularly and to travel if meetings are held outside their place of residence. It was also pointed out that married women members have to seek their husband's permission to attend union meetings. Such constraints discourage women's active participation. Some trade unionists also feel that women themselves are not so keen to hold positions of responsibility because of their domestic and familial commitments. However, it is through continuous political education that workers' consciousness can be raised and trade unions do organise courses for men and women workers. No details on the nature of courses and frequency of attendance by sex are available.

A few women are active in the women's wing of the National Trade Union Congress. These are educated and single women. On the whole, women's participation of the decision making level within the unions is virtually insignificant. - 76 -

j) Sharing of family responsibilities between men and women

It was discussed earlier that socialisation patterns in today's Za~bia continue to be gender-based. Boys and girls are socialised to assume their respective roles at an early age. For example, girls help their mothers in household chores as well as child care, while boys are socialised to assume 'masculine' roles. Family responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning, washing, child care, etc., are mainly borne by women, female children and female relatives in the case of extended families.

A survey on the sexual division of labour in selected urban areas (Bardouille, 1985b) shows that regardless of the socio-economic position of working women, the majority bear the household responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, washing, shopping, fetching water, collection of firewood, child care including socialisation of children. They are helped by female children and female relatives in domestic chores and child care. The men, including male children, do not share such household responsibilities. While some working women in middle to high-income areas are relieved from some of the daily household chores by hired labour, the vast majority of women in the low-income group can not afford hired labour and thus they mainly carry such responsibilities.

Men, in general, do not share household responsibilities with women, except occasional help in shopping and helping children with their school work. Even in middle to high-income residential areas, child socialisation is left to women and older children.

In Zambia, as in other societies, housework is the domain of women and it is demeaning for men. Occasionally, a husband may help in cooking or other household chores, if the - 77 -

wife gets ill. Otherwise, household responsibilities are not shared between men and women in Zambia. In view of the economic pressures, women are expected to bring in an income, but at the same time they are also expected to be responsible for housekeeping, including child care. Working women in Zambia face the double burden - wage work and housework. As a result of their double responsibilities, women rarely have leisure time at their disposal. The long work day for working women affects their health and they often become a prey to illnesses which could otherwise be prevented.

EFFORTS OF GOVERNMENTAL AND NON-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES IN PROMOTING EQUALITY OF WOMEN

The foregoing analysis shows that Zambian women are not equal in status to men. There are a number of aspects in which women are unequally treated both in the home as well as in the wider society. Much attention to the situation of women in Zambia is given in reports, seminars, workshops, etc. and many Government Ministries have shown an interest in this subject. In general attitudes are positive and sympathetic towards the situation of women, but in practice efforts are not very committed and coordinated.

There is no centralised ministry or department in Zambia dealing exclusively with women's affairs except for the Women's League which is part of the ruling party - United National Independence Party (UNIP). It is only recently (1983) that the post of National Co-ordinator of Women's Projects, a civil service post within the National Commission for Development Planning (NCDP), was filled by a Zambian woman. The National Co-ordinator is responsible for three FAO funded projects on women, in addition to the NCDP-initiated activities relating to women. - 78 -

There are five main areas of Government activities, which are important for women and almost all of which are biased against women:

1. Agricultural Extension Services 2. Community Development Programmes 3. Integrated Rural Development Programmes (IRDP) 4. Multi-purpose Co-operative Movement 5. Radio Farm Programmes.

1. Agricultural Extension Services: The main objectives of agricultural extension are to assist the farming community to increase production and to improve living conditions. Agricultural extension services are most concerned with cash crops and farmers who are already familiar with modern production techniques. These services rarely reach the subsistence farmers, among whom women predominate, the majority of them heads of households. Those extension services that are especially for women, i.e. clubs and Farmers Training Centres and Institutes, are mainly geared towards home economics and health care, and thus such establishments do not meet the needs of women, particularly female headed households. The existing agricultural extension services neglect the needs of women and are unable to improve their conditions and to assist them to move out of the bare subsistence level of production.

2. Community Development Programmes: The Department of Community Development's extension services include literacy training and home economics. Both men and women participate in the former, although women's participation is higher than that of men. Since maize growing is used as a teaching tool, those women who attend functional literacy classes have increased yields from their land. In addition, women have also learned simple arithmetic which helps them to handle their own financial matters. This is the only programme which has helped women in increasing production from land. Unfortunately, only - 79 -

a small proportion of illiterate adult women have been able to take these courses.

The home economics courses are carried out through women's clubs established by the Community Development Assistants. The clubs' emphasis is on training in cooking and sewing. Such skills can assist women in preparing items for sale and thus enable them to earn a small income. Unfortunately, the intermittant supply of inputs such as flour, oil, sugar (the main ingredients used for baking), and the small scale production does not uplift women engaged in such activities beyond the subsistence level.

3. Integrated Rural Development Programmes: The IRDP also organise women's clubs which provide courses in cooking and sewing, although with an emphasis on production. The IRDPs have been criticised for their inability to integrate women in improving production techniques. Such programmes are biased against female farmers. The club organisers are inexperienced and underqualified. The clubs are run without properly planned programmes to meet women's needs. In view of the fact that between 60 and 80 percent of agricultural work in Zambia is done by women, efforts to improve production have not isolated women as the main target group and the beneficiary of rural development programmes.

4. Multi-purpose Co-operative Movement: The main objective of the cooperative movement is to enable women to earn income through poultry, home industry, e.g. cottage type, relating to production of soap, oil, etc. Admittedly, women can own land and become members of cooperatives, however, they face practical constraints such as the lack of credit facilities, skills and inputs. The lending policies of financial institutions discriminate against women. The success of cooperatives is dependent on ameliorating the constraints that women face in order for them to raise their conditions of living. - 80 -

5. Radio Farm Programmes: These are organised in the form of radio broadcasts on special agricultural topics with local discussion groups. Surprisingly, these programmes have been fairly effective for men and women participants.

In summary, very few government programmes have particularly benefitted women. Most programmes do not reach women because women's needs and problems are not considered to be unique. Female-headed households need special attention in any developmental programme aimed at improving the condition of women. Therefore, it is vital that their problems be re-identified in relation to their particular circumstances.

Existing Women's Organisations

There are four main types of women's organisations in Zambia - women's clubs, Women's League, church groups and YWCA groups. Women's groups, as discussed earlier, focus on home economics programmes. The number of such clubs is not known because they emerge and fade out dependent on financial support, which mainly comes from the Government. It may be added that the present economic problems that the country is experiencing are likely to adversely affect government - financed programmes aimed at improving the conditions of women. The rural community, particularly in remote areas, is at present neglected and this neglect is likely to increase due to financial constraints, lack of transport and freeze on recruitment of extension officers. Therefore, government services will become increasingly centred on provincial and district towns.

The Women's League is not much involved in Government-sponsored clubs for women. However, the League is committed to a programme of action for women in areas such as education, health, political participation, economic activities, etc. In the field of education, the primary goal - 81 -

is literacy for women. In terms of economic activity, the League is committed to the Party's policy on agrarian revolution, i.e. involving women in income-generating activities through agriculture because of the abundance of land in Zambia.

A variety of church women's groups are involved in cooperative projects, for example in agriculture, nutrition, homecrafts, small-scale industries, etc. Similarly, YWCA groups are also involved in women's cooperative projects aimed at income-generating activities, but such groups are mainly in urban areas.

In addition to the above organisations, there are a few local non-governmental organisations (NGOs). For example, the Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD), although involved in development work, has no explicit policy on women. A few local NGOs sponsor a range of development activities for women. Village Industry Services has supported and initiated a number of activities for women's development. Human Settlements of Zambia organises women's skills training programmes in Lusaka's townships. The Zambia Cooperative Federation encourages female participation in the cooperative movement.

There are also a number of international agencies such as UNICEF, FAO, UNDP, etc., and bilateral donor agencies involved in women's projects. A recent study (Keller, 1984) evaluates the role of national, international and bilateral donor agencies in the integration of Zambian women in development. The study concludes that although during the last ten years a national perspective on the problems of women has emerged in Zambia, neither government nor international agencies and donors have taken the inj.tiative to stimulate development policies aimed at improving women's status. - 82 -

In summary, efforts of government and non-governmental agencies aimed at women have not actually succeeded in integrating women into development. The main problem lies in the lack of clear development policies and programmes for women. women are not a homogenous group. For example, the problems of female-headed households and in particular rural female-headed households deserve special attention. So far the focus on women's projects has been in the area of income-generating activities, within the confines of a narrow range, and those which are akin to women's general domestic tasks. The material condition of poor women is unlikely to improve through petty income-generating activities unless women also gain access to complementary factors of production, e.g. credit, efficient technologies, etc. So long as access to factors of production remains unequal, women even through self-initiated activities are unlikely to move out of the subsistence level of production, and their status in general is unlikely to improve.

CONSTRAINTS ON AND PROSPECTS FOR THE FULL INTEGRATION OF ZAMBIAN WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT

The analysis on the situation of Zambian women covered so far in this paper suggests that women are only marginally involved in the national development process. In other words, only a small proportion of total women compared to their male counterparts have access to wage employment, education and training and only a few women hold socially prestigious positions. However, the majority of women are not integrated in the development process. women who resort to self-initiated economic activities in the informal sector-farm and non-farm - are unable to move out of the low-level of their operation because of their limited access to complementary factors of production. In this section, an attempt is made to analyse the various constraints that hinder women's greater participation - 83 -

in the development process and the prospects and possibilities for women's full integration in national development.

Constraints

A number of inter-related factors constrain Zambian women's wider participation in the development process. These may be broadly categorised as cultural, structural, technical and attitudinal. Each of these factors is briefly discussed.

Cultural factors: Tradition dictates and emphasizes women's primary role as mothers and housewives. Within the family, girls are socialised into learning domestic skills and child care at an early age and they often perform substantial work in their homes. Boys, on the other hand, enjoy much more freedom in terms of their movement outside their homes. At school, different skills and aptitudes are emphasised for boys and girls. For example, girls are encouraged to take specialisations such as domestic science, office practice, typing, etc., and mathematics and science training may be underemphasised.

Due to these and other processes of socialisation, boys and girls become aware of gender-role differences and begin to accept them as normal and natural. When a girl reaches the age of puberty, many Zambians continue the traditional custom of formally acknowledging a girl's mature status. Girls are typically instructed by older women about their primary role as mothers and housewives and told to respect the husband. Girls learn that husbands are heads of households and that wives must play subservient roles in the family.

As an adult woman before marriage, she is taught once again her primary duties as a wife. Whether in more traditional circumstances or in modern kitchen parties, the quality of women's subservient role in the family is - 84 -

emphasised. Through such ceremonies, a woman is advised about how to handle marital problems, her role in the family, etc. Little research on gender role socialisation processes in Zambia seems to have been done except for a single study on gender in secondary schools (Shifferraw, 1982). Thus our knowledge about this field is limited.

Traditional cultural values still prevail in Zambia despite the social change. For example, most Zambian parents do not value the importance of education and training for their daughters. They consider investment in the education of their sons to be more worthwhile than that of daughters. Such differential parental attitudes towards boys and girls are reflected in the socialisation patterns. Similarly, waged employment (particularly work outside the home) for women is not particularly encouraged. Married women (if they can find wage work) must consult their husbands. Custom dictates that a woman must not be seen in the company of 'strange' men. As a result, women's opportunities in fields such as politics, business, and other walks of life, where contact with men can not be avoided, are limited. Since most women are economically and emotionally dependent on men, they tend not to contravene traditions for fear of losing their husbands.

Structural factors: To some extent, socio-economic changes in Zambia have affected women's status in the opportunity structure in the post-colonial period. For example, colonial economic and social policies which structured the provision of waged work for men and relegated women to subsistence farming, petty trading, illicit brewing, etc., have not substantially changed after independence. Despite the major changes in the Zambian economy, the socio-economic status of women has not improved. The development path followed by Zambia is industrialisation through import-substitution. Such capital-intensive industries in the modern sector have only limited employment generation capacity. With the growing - 85 -

labour force and a high rate of unemployment, women are rarely considered for unskilled jobs since the labour market explicitly or implicitly favours the employment of men. Women are considered as a less committed and only a transient part of the labour force. As a consequence of the structural problems in the economy, i.e. economic dualism, limited wage employment capacity in the modern sector, rapid growth in the labour force, unemployment, etc., women's participation is only limited.

Technical factors: The most common explanation given regarding the limited participation of women in various socio-economic spheres is that they lack the required education, training and experience. To some extent, the above explanation is acceptable because most women (particularly the pre-independence generation) do not have the skills required in waged work or in certain occupations. Their limited access to formal education and training is a consequence of the interplay of cultural factors and gender-biased socialisation patterns in the family which militate against women.

Women's attitudes: As a result of the combined influence of cultural, structural and technical factors, most women internalise their limitations, capacities and aptitudes and perceive themselves as subordinate to men. Consequently, most women's attitudes towards waged work, education and training, political participation, etc. is negative. Despite their eligibility for office and the encouragement by national leaders, contemporary Zambian women are only marginally integrated to politics. A major contributing factor to this limited participation is the attitude of most women who consider politics as the monopoly of men (Schuster, 1983b). - 86 -

Prospects

The constraints affecting women's full participation in national development have briefly been discussed. In the pages that follow, we briefly examine the prospects for women's full integration in development. The areas considered to be pertinent for women's greater involvement are: employment, access to factors of production, education and skills, political participation and the decision making position in the family and wider society. These are discussed in light of the overall economic performance of the Zambian economy.

Employment: In view of the poor performance of the copper industry (the mainstay of the Zambian economy) over the past few years (in terms of its contribution to GDP, foreign exchange earnings and employment), the Government is consciously trying to diversify the economy. The agriculture sector has been singled out as central in the diversification plan. The overall wage employment between 1978 and 1983 has remained virtually static and in certain years has actually recorded a decline. Against the background of the limited employment generation capacity of the economy, the growing labour force and a high unemployment rate, it is unlikely that women's share in waged employment would substantially increase in the near future.

The types of waged employment occupations dominated by women (i.e. mainly primary school teaching, nursing, clerical, secretarial, etc.) are near saturation. If government expenditure on social services in the future is not substantially increased, the number of women employed in nursing and teaching occupations is unlikely to increase in the future. This means that the total share of women in waged employment is likely to remain static or it may even decrease if new jobs are created in areas where women lack the skills to compete with men. - 87 -

Access to factors of production: It was discussed previously that women have limited access to land, credit, efficient technologies, etc. With respect to ownership of land, women have a long way to go before customs and traditions could be revolutionised to provide women the right to own land. The national lending institutions discriminate against women and are biased towards males. Since this bias is as a result of the cultural factors, such attitudes are difficult to change. This means that women's opportunities in raising capital for businesses-farm and non-farm - are unlikely to improve in the future if they continue to depend on the established credit institutions. There is an urgent need to set up cooperatives, lending institutions, etc. to specifically serve the interests of women, and in particular female subsistence farmers as well as petty retailers. Similarly, women's access to efficient production technologies, e.g. agricultural extension services, and non-agricultural skills, is unlikely to improve in the future, if they continue to depend on the established institutions which explicitly favour men and preclude women farmers, despite the fact that the latter are the major food producers.

Education and skills: Although women's access to education and training has incresed in the post-independence period, they are not only numerically behind their male counterparts but also concentrated in a few subject specialisations which restrict women's employment opportunities in a narrow range of occupations. So long as gender role socialisation patterns persist in the home, females (particularly in the rural areas) are unlikely to take greater advantage of the educational and training opportunities as well as subject specialisations which would enhance their employment prospects. If the present educational services are not improved, there is a strong possibility that the provision of additional government supported secondary schools may be only limited. Private secondary schools are mushrooming in Zambia - 88 -

and since parents are reluctant to invest in the education of girls, cuts in government spending on education are likely to affect females more severely than their male counterparts.

Political participation: Women consider politics as the monopoly of men. Although a few women are involved in politics, i.e. in the political party (UNIP}, not a single woman is a Cabinet member. Women's attitude towards politics is influenced by their gender role socialisation. As women become more conscious of their abilities, they are likely to take an interest in politics. However, the overall participation of women in politics is unlikely to radically change, so long as their subordinate status in the home is maintained. Women are unequal partners in the household economy in terms of power relations, and similarly their status in the wider economy is also subordinate to that of men.

CONCLUSION

Although notable improvements in women's participation in socio-economic spheres in post-independence Zambia have been realised, women are only marginally integrated into development. The opportunity structure in Zambia is closely linked not only to class but also to gender. Consequently, women's involvement in the development process is limited. Disadvantaged in their access to waged employment, education and training, Zambian women are also disadvantaged legally. Customary law bestows women virtually no legal rights pertaining to inheritance, etc. Through these and other aspects of customary law, women receive the message of their inferior status. Since women have little economic power, they have little political and decision making power both in the home and wider society.

The marginalisation of women in the development process is the consequence of the combined effects of cultural, - 89 -

structural and technical constraints and also most women's negative attitudes towards themselves as a potential force in development. Given the constraints and the inability of the national economy to move out of the low level of performance, it is unlikely that women's interests would be consciously enhanced through special progrrunmes.

Any analysis that limits women's subordinate and unequal status in production without taking into account their role in reproduction, i.e. biological reproduction, maintenance of family and social reproduction (i.e. perpetuation of social systems) is incomplete. Since the roots of women's subordinate status lie both in production and reproduction, tackling one aspect of inequality (i.e. economic production) will not radically change the position of women, unless the other aspect (i.e. reproduction) is also simultaneously revolutionised. Unfortunately little research has been done on Zambian women's role in reproduction and the sort of power relations this role brings about between men and women. In order for women to be fully integrated into the national development process, fundamental changes are called for both in the economic base and the relations of production at the national level as well as changes in the socialisation practices (reproduction) and sharing of responsibilities at the household level. - 90 -

References

Adaptive Research Team. 1984. Causes and characteristics of female farming in Mansa and Nchelenge Districts, Luapula Province. Lusaka: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development. 24pp.

Allen, J.M.S. 1984. Baseline survey report, 1980-1982: Chief Mubanga's area. IRDP/Chinsali District Council (Phase I development area). 100pp. ill.

Bardouille, R. 1981a. "The sexual division of labour in the urban informal sector: the case of some townships in Lusaka." African Social Research, 32, 29-54 •

• 1981b. Women's economic participation in the ~~~~~~~- urban informal sector: the case of market women in the township of Chawama, Lusaka. Manpower Research Report No. 7. 37pp •

• 1982. Men and women's work opportunities in ~~~~~~~~ the urban informal sector: the case of some urban areas in Lusaka. Manpower Research Report No. 10. 38pp.

1984. Academic staff development programme at University of Zambia: an appraisal. 25pp. (mimeo).

1985. Women's employment patterns, discrimination and promotion of equality in Zambia. Draft report prepared for ILO/JASPA. 160pp.

Brooks, E. 1983. "Appropriate technology and social problems: the case of the Zambian women." Paper presented to the First Regional and National Appropriate Technology workshop and Seminar, Lusaka, 20-25 June. 9pp. - 91 -

References

Adaptive Research Team. 1984. Causes and characteristics of female farming in Mansa and Nchelenge Districts, Luapula Province. Lusaka: Ministry of Agriculture and Water Development. 24pp.

Allen, J.M.S. 1984. Baseline surve re ort 1980-1982: Chief Mubanga's area. IRDP Ch1nsa 1 District Counc1 (P ase I development area). lOOpp. ill.

Bardouille, R. 198la. "The sexual division of labour in the urban informal sector: the case of some townships in Lusaka." African Social Research, 32, 29-54 •

------.,.--..,..---"'"' • 198lb. Women's economic participation in the urban informal sector: the case of market women in the township of Chawama, Lusaka. Manpower Research Report No. 7. 37pp. ______.1982. Men and women's work opportunities in the urban informal sector: the case of some urban areas in Lusaka. Manpower Research Report No. 1 0. 3 8pp.

1984. Academic staff development programme at University of Zambia: an appraisal. 25pp. (mimeo).

1985. Women's employment patterns, discrimination and promotion of equality in Zambia. Draft report prepared for ILO/JASPA. 160pp.

Brooks, E. 1983. "Appropriate technology and social problems: the case of the Zambian women." Paper presented to the First Regional and National Appropriate Technology Workshop and Seminar, Lusaka, 20-25 June. 9pp.

Chauncey, G. 1981. "The locus of reproduction: women's labour in the Zambian Copperbelt, 1927-1953." Journal of southern African Studies, 7 (2), April, 135-164.

Clarke, R. 1985. "The mismatch between educational qualifications: perspectives on a discrepancy." Paper presented at a conference on Technology, Education and Development, Nairobi, 10-14, January, 16pp. FAO. 1984. Women in the food system in Africa {Consultant report by Florence Chenoweth). Rome: FAO. 25pp. app.

Government of the Republic of Zambia. 1976. General Orders. Lusaka: Government Printer •

• 1976. Laws of Zambia. Lusaka: Government ------Printer •

• 1980. Salary scales in the Civil Service. _____L_u_s_a~k-a-:-Government Printer. - 92 -

1984. Monthly Digest of Statistics •. Lusaka: Government Printer.

1985. Pilot Manpower Survey, Central Statistical Office (Unpublished data).

IRDP. 1984. Farming systems and family economy in Chibele, Serenje District - Mpika: IRDP.

Jiggins, J. 1980. Female-headed households: Mpika Sample, Northern Province. Lusaka: Rural Development Studies Bureau (Occasional paper No. 5). 15pp. (mimeo).

Marter, A. & Honeybone, D. 1977. "The economic resources of rural households and the distribution of agricultural development." Lusaka: UNZA, RDSB (Occasional Paper). 112pp. (mimeo).

Mbulo, M. P. 1980. "The effects of cash crop production on men's and women's and children's participation in agricultural production: a case study of the Magoye Settlements in Mazabuka District. Report of a research project." Lusaka: University of Zambia, Institute for African Studies. 30pp.

Mudenda, T. & Due, J. 1983. "Women's contribution to farming systems and household income in Zambia." Paper presented at the African Studies Association Meeting, New York. 27pp.

Mutemba, M.S. 1982. "Women as food producers and suppliers in the twentieth century: the case of Zambia." Development Dialogue, 1-2, 29-48.

Rado, E.R. 1973. "The explosive model." Manpower and Unemployment Research in Africa, 6 (2). Safilios-Rothschild, c. 1984. "The policy implications of the roles of women in agriculture in Zambia." Lusaka: National Commission for Development Planning. 4lpp. (mimeo).

Schuster. 1983a. "Marginal lives: conflict and contradiction in the position of female traders in Lusaka, Zambia." In Edna Bay (ed.), Women and Work in Africa. Boulder: Westview Press, pp. 105~126.

1983b. "Constraints and opportunities in political participation: the case of Zambian women." Geneva-A frique, XXI (2) , 7-3 7.

Serpe 11 , N. 19 8 O. Women in Zambia: an analysis of services in rural areas. Lusaka: UNICEF. 98pp. (mimeo).

Tranberg Hansen, Karen. 1980. "When sex becomes a critical variable: married women and work in Lusaka." African Social Research, No. 30.

ZIMCO. 1980. Conditions of service and corporate salary structure. Lusaka (mimeo). - 93 -

Female Participation and Industrial Development in Thailand

Amara Pongsapich

I. INTRODUCTION: POTENTIAL OF WOMEN IN RURAL INDUSTRY

In the discussion of male and female participation in rural industry that follows, one should bear in mind that it is based on available literature which provides very limited coverage of the subject. Given the lack of sex-specific data, all that can be provided at present are general trends and some illustrations of their manifestations. A study of other enterprises in different locations and situations would undoubtedly reveal other significant data on male/female participation in Thai industry.

Before discussing the role of women as entrepreneurs/ managers in Thailand, one needs to be aware of the fact that in small-scale industry which tends to predominate in rural areas, there tends to be much less role specialization than in larger firms.

There are of course many types of small-scale industrial enterprises but the most common are small non-farm firms, say, a small noodle factory. Typically, such enterprises are family ventures involving all family members of either sex except the very young and very old, and roles are often interchangeable, all being to some extent managers, account keepers, runners of errands and production workers according to the needs of the moment. All are usually classified as 11 unpaid family workers" but they could be just as well described as 11 self-employed as this is a common enterprise to which all contribute and from which all profit. The firm is usually registered in the name of the male head of the family but in - 94 - fact, managerial responsibilities and decisions are usually fully shared by his wife and, perhaps also, by an older daughter. In this context then, the statement that "the economic/productive needs (of rural women) have to be differentiated from 'household needs'" (Zeidenstein, 1981} is hardly applicable, however valid it might be in other settings.

In Thailand it is not uncommon for wives and daughters to start small enterprises of their own, distinct from the employment of husbands or fathers to supplement the family income. In this case, there is often participation in varying degrees by other members of the family who might be available, regardless of sex. The main point is that the involvement and the role played in a small scale enterprise is not determined only, and often principally, by the gender of a person but by other considerations such as closeness and trust, as among family members. Secondly, it does not follow that when a f irrn is officially in the name of a male, females are not involved in any important way.

It becomes more meaningful to discuss participation in the enterprise by sex as the firm expands beyond this nucleus and exceeds the capacity of the family labour force to operate. Outsiders have to be brought in because of the need for extra workers or because special skills are required with the increased sophistication of the operation. In this case, the workers or managers are not imposed on the head of the firm as were his wife and children but are selected by deliberate choice on the basis of their perceived usefulness to the enterprise. This choice may or may not discriminate against females. - 95 -

II. PRODUCTION LABOUR

2.1 The Involvement of Men and Women as Labourers in Different Types of Small-Scale Enterprises.

(1) Small-Scale Rural Industries Dominated by Women.

On the basis of the literature reviewed and from general observation, there is a difference between men and women in the types of work they engage in in rural industry. At the primary level, this is determined partly by cultural patterns, some tasks being traditionally associated with women and some with men, and partly by physical characteristics, heavy work being done by men because they are stronger, and lighter work being done by women because they are physically weaker. Thus in the paddy fields, the women do the planting and harvesting while the men do the plowing and hauling. Economic necessity can and does disrupt this pattern. Poor women from the countryside engage in back-breaking heavy road building and construction work in Bangkok, not by choice but because

it is the only emplo~nent they can get.

In home industries women engage in their traditional crafts such as weaving, mat making, basketry, and so on. At present, clothing-related industries follow the traditional pattern and women predominate.

Another type of rural ind us try which tends to be dominated by women is home food processing enterprises such as the preparation of pickled fruits and vegetables, dried and salted fish, squid or other marine products. All such food processing is traditionally Thai. There is less female involvement in the production of foods of foreign origin such as noodles and pastries.

In the pottery industry, Maithakul Kiatkrajai and Doosanee Songyang (1981) reported that in Khon Kaen, 32 percent of the workers are males and 68 percent arc females. In contrast, in the - 96 -

Chiang Mai area, 55 percent of the workers are males and 45 percent are females.

The brick industry also employs a large number of both male and female workers. Saroj Aungsumalin indicated that in Chiang Mai, there is no sex dominance. On the other hand, Suriya Veeravongse (1982) suggested that in Ayuthaya, the brick industry is female dominated.

(2) Small-Scale Rural Industries Dominated by Men.

Rural industries operated outside the home tend to be male dominated. Construction work, mechanical repair, welding, engaged in mostly by semi-skilled men are examples of some of the rural industries which are town-based. These are also enterprises which young people join as apprentices to learn their trade. In construction work, some unskilled labour may try to learn the construction trade to become semi-skilled workers and subsequently construction subcontractors. But a survey of the literature suggests that female unskilled construction workers do not move up the skill ladder. Women do not get promoted to higher skill categories of employment and the reason is unclear. Some claim that men have better opportunities to learn skills from each other while women are discriminated against.

2.2 Large Scale Rural Industry and Male and Female Labour Force.

Modern canning factories and some agro-processing plants are examples of large scale rural industries which are labour intensive. Usually, women are preferred over men on the assembly line and in labour intensive activities. Managers comment that women are easier to control and tend not to cause trouble. They are less knowledgeable about the labour law and are not aware of their rights. However, since labour in large scale industry requires full-time work, most workers are unmarried women. Married women - 97 - with young children cannot easily work in factories as wage earners because of family responsibilities.

2.3 Self-Employed Enterprises: the Case of Food Vendors.

Christina Szanton and Napat Sirisarnbhand (1984) recorded in their preliminary report on food vendors in Chon Buri that most of the vendors are women. Their classification based on food categories is as follows:

Table 1 Sex Differentiation of Food Vendors in Chon Buri TOwn. (Census)

Type of food Male Female Total

1. Meal constituents -- bought mostly for home meals to eat with rice 11 30 (73. 2%) 41

2. Light meals eaten on the street 83 224 (73.0%) 307

3. Salty snacks 22 76 (77.6%) 98

4. Sweets and desserts 38 219 (85.2%) 257

5. Drinks 16 60 (78.9%) 76 6. Bakery i terns, packaged goods 31 95 (75.4%) 126

7. Northeastern food 7 36 (83.7%) 43

Total 208 740 (78.1%) 948

Source: Christina Szan ton and Napat Sirisambhand. "Street Food Enterprise in Chon Bury Town", 1984. Draft Report. Chulalongkorn University. - 98 -

Self-employed male dominated occupations usually include store owners, repair shop owners, welding, and mechanical work printers, etc. There are no figures available to show specific sex differentiation. However, these self-employed enterprises require larger investment funds than vending. Shops and machinery are required.

2.4 Town-Based Enterprise and Labour Force

Enterprises in Chon Buri Town and Chon Buri Region were studied in 1971-73. Though the data are dated, the categories of enterprises may still provide useful guidelines for the classification of traditional and modern enterprises. Only the labour force of town based enterprises was examined in detail and no data on management were recorded. Chon Buri is known for enterprises related to fisheries, agro-processing and the repair-service industry. Chon Buri is considered the centre for repair services serving the needs of its hinterland.

Table 2: Town-Based Enterprises in Chon Buri Traditional Mix traditional/ Modern modern CHON BURI TOWN 1. Small scale fishing trawler fishing

2. Individual peddlers fish middlemen wholesalers

3. Dried squid, salted fish steamed fish

4. small fish ball large fish ball factory factory

5. Small fish sauce medium fish sauce large fish factories factories sauce factories

6. Small noodle large noodle factories factory

7. ice factories 8. match factory

9. Small craft shops medium craft shops

10. Small repair shops medium repair shops

11. Dress-making/tailoring shops

12. local hotels - 99 -

CHON BURI REGION

1. Individual farmers

2. Small rice mills medium rice mills

3. Individual fruit/ contracted fruit canning vegetable growers vegetable growers factories and their fruit/ vegetable fields

4. 1 umber mills 1 arge 1 umber mills

5. oil refineries

6. Small tapioca mills medium tapioca mills large tapioca mills

7. Small sugar presses medium sugar presses large sugar presses and refineries

8. Local money lenders banks

9. Small local hotels large luxury hotels

Source: Amara Pongsapich et al. Chon Buri Project: Institutional and Human Resources Development in Chon Buri Region. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute, 1979. - 100 -

Town-based enterprises in Chon Buri were examined in 1971 and the labour force classified by industry and gender. The male/female ratio was found to be more or less equal. One sex was seen to predominate in certain occupations such as fishing (males) and vendors (females) which is not surprising, given the nature of the occupations. Women at higher skill levels had no difficulty in obtaining employment.

Table 3 Sex differentiation in employment in Chon Buri Town in 1971.

Occupation Male Female Total

Agriculture

Fishing 31 (73.8%) 11 (26.2%) 42 (100%)

Day-labour 87 (52.4%) 79 (47.6%) 166 ( 100 %)

Vendors/traders 31 (28.2%) 79 (71.8%) 110 (100%)

Crafts (semi-skilled) 238 (49.8%) 240 (50. 2%) 478 (100%)

White collar 73 (30.2%) 169 (69.8%) 242 (100%)

Student 45 (42.9%) 60 (57.1%) 105 (100%)

Source: Amara Pongsapich et al. Chon Buri Project: Institutional and Human Resources Development in Chon Buri Region. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute, 197 9. - 101 -

2.5 Discussion

It appears that at the production level, women participate in the labour force quite fully. Home industries and subcontracted work appeal to women with small children. They can readily combine income generating activities with home responsibility. But for women with no small children and less responsibility in the household, wage earning away from home as in factories is welcome. It is preferred to agricultural labour because they work indoors and exert less physical effort. Generally speaking, except for family responsibilities there are no constraints barring women from working in rural industry at the unskilled production level.

III. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND MANAGERS

Information on women entrepreneurs and managers is available from several sources.

The National Statistics Office Labour Force Survey, Round 2, July - September 1982 provides data on the euployed labour force disaggregated by gender and occupation. The categories of occupation include those of "administrative, executive and managerial workers" and cover the work status sub-categories of employers, government employees, private employees, own account workers, and unpaid family workers. These data are summarized in the following table:

Table 4 Administrative, Executive, and Managerial Workers in Thailand (in thousands and percentage of total category)

Whole Bangkok Up-country Kingdom Metropolis MuniciEal Areas Total 251. 4 162. l 8 9. 3 Males 191.0 (75.9%) 118.6 (73. 2%) 72.4 (81.1%) Females 60.4 (24.1%) 43. 5 (26.8%) 16. 9 (18.9%) - 102 -

Non-Munici:eal Areas Total 155.1 13.5 141. 6 Males 135.1 (87.1%) 1o.9 (80.7%) 124.2 (87.7%) Females 20. 0 (12.9%) 2. 5 (18.5%) 17.5 (12. 3%)

All Areas Total 406.5 175.5 231.0 Males 326.1 (80.2%) 12 9. 5 (73.8%) 196.6 (85.1%) Females 80. 4 (19. 8%) 46.0 (26. 2%) 34.4 (14.9%)

Source: National Statistics Off ice Labour Force Survey, Round 2. July-September 1982, Thailand.

These data show that although the proportion of women executives is smaller than that of the men, they are really holding their own quite well with an overall share of almost 20 percent of all executive positions. In Bangkok Metropolis the proportion is almost 27 percent. Predictably perhaps, the proportion of women executives is higher in municipal areas than in rural areas and likewise higher in Bangkok than up country. This could be due to a higher concentration of enterprises, especially non-farm enterprises, and a higher level of education. Figures showing lower proportions of women managers in up-country locations could be somewhat misleading in the light of what was said of the characteristics of small-scale enterprises which would be more common in such areas. Although male heads of families are the official managers of small family enterprises, these responsibilities are exercised jointly with wives.

Unfortunately, the Labour Force Survey report does not provide a breakdown by gender, occupation and industry of occupation so that it is not possible to know what types of enterprises these - 103 - women are managers of without further data refinement. This might be possible however on the basis of the data provided.

More detailed if less comprehensive and systematic information on women executives is provided by the directories of two industrial associations, the Association of Thai Industries, and the Association of Small-Scale Industries. The directories consulted were both for 1980.

Membership in the Association of Thai Industries is by firm and not by individuals. In 1980 there were 543 member firms. About 10' percent of the member firms were small-scale enterprises and the remainder either medium or large scale.

The Directory has individual entries for all 543 member firms listing name, addresses, date of establishment, number of employees, nationality of shareholders with percentage of shares held by nationality, total assets, annual sales products and brand name. Most but not all list their top executives (chairmen, managing directors) by name. Of the latter, most but not all list lower level executives (department managers) also by name. About 10 percent of the member firms are small scale enterprises with the remainder either medium or large scale. All firms are Bangkok based in the sense that their main office is in Bangkok but for roughly one half, their industrial operation or factory is outside Bangkok. Not all industrial firms of Thailand are members of the Association and listed in the directory but it is fair to assume that most important ones are.

As the Directory lists executives by name it is possible to identify females among them. A compilation of these names yielded interesting statistics. Of the 543 member firms, 468 provided management data. In these 468 firms there were 177 female executives of which 55 were top executives and 122 were at the deparb~ent management level. The latter were certainly under-enumerated as not all firms provided names of managers at this - 104 -

level. Of those provided, the largest category is that of finance manager. Many of the firms with female top executives are large including such as Bangkok Bank, Admiral, Green Spot, National (Thai), Thai Toshiba, Thon Buri Automotive (assemblers of Mercedes-Benz), Siam Motors (assemblers of Nissan). There is no obvious pattern in the type of industries managed by women. They include such "unfeminine" enterprises as the production of cement, automobiles and trucks, high tensile bolts and nuts, batteries, refrigerators, air conditioners, electrical appliances, wood veneer, gypsum board, aluminium sheets and tubes, radios, televisions, etc.

If such illusions exist, these data should dispel! the notion that Thai women are unwilling or incapable of assuming leadership roles in industry or that the Thai context bars them from access to such positions. An ironical footnote is that except for subsidiaries in which Thais own a majority of shares, none of the foreign IAT member firms operating in Thailand include any female among their executives.

The Association of Small-Scale Industries had a total of 331 members in 1980, 187 of which were located in Bangkok and 144 up-country. The largest concentration of members outside of Bangkok were in Chiang Mai (25), Nakhon Ratchasima (21), Rayong (11), and Songkhla (10). Of the 331 members, 71 were female, 48 in Bangkok and 23 up-country. Of the latter, 10 were in Chiang Mai with the rest scattered thinly throughout the country. Although the membership of the Association appears to be a fairly representative cross-section of small-scale industry in Thailand it is far from including all such enterprises.

The enterprises of female operators in Bangkok deal in a wide variety of products. Up-country and particularly in Chiang Mai, predictably, the products are more of the handicraft variety. It is useful to list them here: - 105 -

Bangkok: dolls, building materials, batteries, furniture, mother-of-pearl inlay, teak wood carving, household textiles, bicycles, ready-to-wear clothes, prepared food, rugs, leather goods, plastic goods, foundries (small), artificial flowers, fruit preserves, kitchen utensils, music cassettes, electrical appliances, sandals.

Up-country: wood carving, bamboo products, paper umbrellas, furniture, weaving, ready- to-wear clothes, purified drinking water, chili sauce, fish sauce, pineapple preserves/canning, foundries (small) , rock crushing.

Beyond what has been said, information on women managers and entrepreneurs in the sources reviewed is scant indeed. Preeyanuth Apibunyopus (1980) reported that 37 percent of all entrepreneurs in the ready-made garment and silk industries she studied were women. According to Donald Mead ( 1981), there are many women sub-contractors in these as well as in the knitting and fish net industries. In the 1971 study of markets in Chon Buri, it was found that there were nine middlemen monopolizing the fish market and all nine were women.

It is very apparent that not enough information is available on the topic of women entrepreneurs and managers to draw a convincing profile of them or to draw firm conclusions on their characteristics. While there is some indication of specialization in the types of work female labourers engage in, no such pattern is obvious for the types of enterprises female entrepreneurs or managers get involved in. The reasons are not clear and will not be clarified until more in-depth studies are made of the situation. One suspects that in the case of large enterprises, many women executives came into their positions as a result of combination of family wealth and connections and personal sophistication derived from education, usually abroad. While this is obvious in some well­ known cases, how true it is of the class as a whole and what other routes of mobility have been taken are not known. In the case of - 106 - women who start their own enterprises or who achieve management positions on their own, the few case studies available suggest that this is due to economic opportunities on the one hand~ and the ability to take advantage of them on the other. In other words, success (or failure) in business is not gender specific and the problems faced by a businesswoman are substantially the same as those of a businessman. The data do not exist that would make it possible to formulate generalizations on women as managers except in very superficial ways. One would assume that women in high executive positions could not function if they were not good managers.

Management skills may be acquired by experience or by training. Between 1980 and 1984, the Department of Industrial Promotion organized seven training workshops of approximately one month duration to equip entrepreneurs with management knowledge and to give suggestions for the improvement of enterprises. The sex distribution of the participants who were town based managers is given in Table 5. The proportion of women participants was 19 percent. Whatever this means, the M/F ratio is roughly consistent with the Labour Force Survey figures cited above (Table 4). This is not the only management training activity of the Department. Its Management Development and Productivity Centre offers short term courses (5 half days Monday through Friday) for industrial personnel on marketing, personnel relations, accounting, operations, organization and methods, production, including maintenance and safety. Four to five thousand persons a year undergo the training. There is a tuition fee of 200 baht a person. Participants in these activities are not preselected. The courses are publicized in the media and by brochures describing the courses to be offered in the next quarter, specifying the qualifications needed to register for the courses and the dates when they will be given. In practice the clientele of the Productivity Centre tends to be special for reasons having nothing to do with gender. There are few participants from small scale industry because its operators do not perceive the need for these courses: they do not have Table 5: Participants in the Departnent of Industrial Prorrotion Industrial Entrepreneur Training.

Total Sex Type of Enterprise of Female Participants ... tJ'I ... U1 ~ Q) s:: u ro ·r-1 H rn 8 Group Year Location participants male female rn "ffi Q) B rn ·r-1 +J ·r-1 Q) ~ H tJ ~ ro H -g ~ u H H 8B Q) § ~ u ... Q) ~ ~ 2 ~ 8 ..!.

1 1980 Songkhla 24 18 6 1 2 1 2

2 1981 Khon Kaen 28 22 6 3 2 1

~ 3 1982 Chon Buri 27 26 1 1 0 ...... 4 1982 Nakhon Ratchaslina 24 22 2 1 1

l* l* 5 1983 Phitsa- 23 17 6 1 2 2 2 2 nulok 6 1983 Udon Thani 18 12 6 1 2 2 1

7 1984 Chiang Mai 29 23 6 2 2 1 1

Totals 173 140 33 8 2 3 2 2 5 2 5 2.5 1.5 71 q~ \ * same person Source: Departnent of Industrial Prorrotion, Ministry of Industry, Thailand. - 108 -

management, personnel or accounting problems because they are so small. Participants tend to be middle level management, top level management considering it below their dignity to join them. To cater to the latter, some of the same course taught by the same instructors are organized in luxury hotels, and the registration fee is ten times higher.

IV. Credit

Rural credit was and is being studied but little sex-specific data is being generated and no special attempt is made to see if women are being discriminated against in this area. Working under the assumption that women have difficulty in obtaining credit, SVITA, a Thai non-government organization, established in collaboration with Women World Banking (WWB), New York City, a project called Friends of Women world Banking in Thailand ( FWWB-T) • In this project FWWB-T raised US$250,000 in loan guarantee money and convinced the Bangkok Bank to provide the $1 million needed to develop a pilot dairy project.

Two project sites were chosen for the FWWB-T Dairy Agro-business Project. Site 1 is in Saraburi Province and Site 2 is in Ratchaburi Province. Both areas are located in land reform areas. The villagers are encouraged to raise dairy cows to supply milk to the Government Enterprise Dairy Farming and Promotion Organization at guaranteed prices. Families with an appropriate size of land and labour force qualify to become clients of the Bangkok Bank on joining the organization. SVITA specifically laid down the condition that although the enterprise is a family enterprise, it was necessary for the cow loan signature to be that of the wife. SVITA as part of FWWB-T has so far improved the economic status and security of 140 Thai women and their families. - 109 -

In cases such as this where the product of the mini-agrobusiness has an assured market, credit can be given with less risk, regardless of whether the person signing the loan document is a man or a woman. But since SVITA wants to promote female entrepreneurs the arrangement is considered a good gesture and sets a precedent for future credit arrangements.

V. Synthesis

In rural industrial production, there is indeed a measure of specialization in work done by men and women. Women tend to predominate in textile production, clothing related enterprise, food processing and handicrafts. Men on the other hand tend to predominate in enterprises using more traditionally male crafts such as carpentry, metal working, mechanical repair. Some enterprises use men and women workers more or less interchangeably such as brick making. This is an oversimplification however which calls for qualification, for most products in all categories involve participation by the other sex, which can be illustrated by some examples. Hand loom weaving is done by women but the looms are made by the men. The basic carpentry work involved in furniture production is a man's task but the finishing, wood-polishing, painting, etc. - is more usually done by women. Clay for earthenware including brick production is dug up, transported, kneaded by men. Large earthenware jars are made by men on potter's wheels. Women make smaller pots and jars. Finer ceramic items are molded by men but decorated by women. Black-smithing for the making of knives in Ayutthaya province, for example, is done by the men but the finishing work is done by women. In artistic lacquerware production, the men tap the Sumac tree for the sap used for lacquer and make the base on which lacquer is applied by the women who also usually do the engraving and gold gilding. In more traditional clothing related enterprises, the basic division remains between tailors who are men and make men's clothes, and women dressmakers who make women's clothes. - 110 -

Although the national census and the labour force survey provide gender specific information on work status, industry, and occupation of the labour force, given this situation and the fact that many enterprises are family enterprises, it is not possible to draw conclusions from the data that are meaningful at the individual enterprise level which is the context of employment. The census category of industry which they relate to is too general to identify specific situations that can be acted upon.

There is evidence to show that men in modern industry are replacing women in traditional industry although there is no hard data to project. Cloth traditionally woven by women at home is being replaced more and more by cloth produced in modern textile mills, but their loom operators are women. In many cases, women may shift into formerly male dominated types of work without difficulty if the necessary skills can be acquired. Welding, for example, is usually thought of as man's work but light welding as done, say, in an electronics factory is executed by women. Women engage in brick­ laying, cementing, carpentry, etc. and there is no reason why they should not if they have the skills and want to. Of relevance here however is whether or not some such jobs are physically or otherwise suitable for women, those for example requiring considerable strength such as mixing and pouring cement, or those requiring a woman to neglect her small children because of work schedules away from home. No comfort is gathered from the fact that women have a right or access to such jobs if unscrupulous employers take advantage of them and hire them simply because they are willing to work at lower pay than men. Although little systematic information is available, there is evidence to show that in spite of the labour law, women are often discriminated against in pay scales.

There are many vocational training institutions in Thailand providing training for employment in modern industry in non-traditional women's fields such as mechanical repair, metal work, welding, electrical installation, carpentry, painting and so on. Outstanding among these is the Department of Labour Institute - 111 - for Skil 1 Development system with branches in Bangkok, Ra tchabur i, Chon Buri, Lampang, Khon Kaen, Songkhla and Nakhon Sawan. The only division of these institutes in which women apply for training is the non-technical division for the training of secretaries, receptionists, waitresses, janitors, and the like. There are no women trainees in the technical divisions although they are not excluded. Reasons, perhaps, are that such training for women is still too revolutionary for Thailand or the work that women do in industry in such fields is unskilled and repetitive or does not require skills beyond those that can be acquired on the job.

Although relatively fewer than men, there is plenty of evidence to show that Thai women are holding their own as entrepreneurs and managers, probably even by international standards. A comparison would be interesting. The enterprises they are involved in gives no indication of being gender specific. In the absence of detailed case studies, it is unfortunately not possible at this stage to describe how they achieve their position and in which way, if any, their style and problems of management differ from those of their male counterparts.

In the absence of more detailed study, it is not possible to state more than generalities on the role of women in decision-making on economic matters in the family context. In legal terms, until recently a wife could not dispose of family property even when registered in her name without her husband's permission. The law has now been changed. The original provision was retained but a new one added. Now the husband can no longer dispose of conjugal property unilaterally as in the past but must obtain his wife's permission. By law then, the decision must be a joint one. This however does not extend to day by day decisions on lesser matters and inevitably, there is a great deal of variation in the respective role of husband and wife in this sphere, depending on the personality of each. Traditionally and even in the modern context, the husband is recognized as the head and final dee ision maker on all important matters in the family but the wife keeps close watch - 112 - on finances and strongly influences all economic decisions. This has been observed time and again in farming communities and appears to apply also in small family industrial enterprises. However, the details of its operation in the running of the enterprises must await further study.

There are many constraints to improving women's success in rural industry. They relate to problems of industry in rural areas in general and are women - specific only in the case of enterprises predominantly engaged in by women such as those dealing in handicraft and related production. Data generated in Thailand show that silk weaving is a relatively important source of income in villages studied in Khon Kaen but one is not impressed by figures of actual income earned if estimated on a time basis. The same is generally true of the industry in most rural areas. A discouragingly small proportion of the considerable training provided by the DIP Cottage Industry Division leads to actual production. Looking at prices that such items command in Bangkok and overseas markets, the potential of such industry for rural income generation would appear to be considerable. It would seem that the main constraints relate, on the one hand, to quality and design of the products which do not conform to the demand and requirements of external markets. Items sold at huge prices in Bangkok department stores, boutiques and shopping arcades of luxury hotels often are based on as cloth produced by village women and purchased at low prices. They are then fashioned in Bangkok into high quality goods resulting in immense value-added. The other major area of constraints is in the marketing process i.e. the lack of procedures by which village producers can relate effectively with a minimum of intermediaries with external purchasers. Because of their background and inexperience, village women do not have the business acumen to address and solve these problems. A more sophisticated business management intervention is needed. - 113 -

The role of women and men in the procurement of credit for rural industry is not clear. Women have been and are known to occupy executive positions in formal credit institutions. For example, a past governor and the present assistant to the governor of the Bank of Thailand were women. At least two branches of the Bangkok Bank are staffed entirely by women. The proportion of men obtaining loans from formal credit institutions is clearly higher than that of women but this is consistent with the fact that there are more male than female entrepreneurs and does not necessarily reflect discriminatory policies on the part of the management. Since most rural small scale industries are family enterprises, who actually gets the loan may be irrelevant. Although no statistics are available, informal credit institutions involve both men and women as providers and receivers of credit. Women receive loans as easily as men as long as collateral can be provided or "trust" established. No information is available on the respective performance of men and women in debt repayment. Once again, if it is a family enterprise this becomes irrelevant.

Fairly comprehensive rural industry extension/promotion programs are operated by the Department of Industrial Promotion in conjunction with government line agencies and volunteer organizations working in rural areas. Participation of women as extension agents is generally high depending on types of production being promoted. We are not aware of any comparative evaluations which have been made of the respective performance as extension agents of males and females but generally speaking, effectiveness comes from knowledge, skill and motivation of the person so engaged rather than from gender. per se. Whether males or females would be socially more acceptable to an extension clientele in specific situations is another issue. - 114 -

Bibliography

Akrasanee, Narongchai et. al. 198 3. "Rural Off-farm Employment in Thai land." Rural Off- farm Employment Assessment Project (ROFEAP).

Apibunyopus, Preeyanuth. 1980. "Entrepreneurship: Survey Results." ROFEAP Working Paper no. 18.

Association of Small-Scale Industries. 1980. Association of Small-Scale Industries. General Meeting Souvenir Publication.

Association of Thai Industries. 1980. The Association of Thai Industries Directory. Bangkok.

Kiatkrajai, Maithakul and Doosanee Songrang. 1981. "Village Industry Studies: Pottery Products Industry." ROFEAP Conference Paper no. 21.

Mead, Donald c. 1981. "Subcontracting in Rural Areas in Thai land." ROEFAP Conference Paper no. 3.

National Statistics Office, Thailand. Labour Force Survey, Round 2. July-September. Bangkok.

Palmer, Ingrid. et. al. 1983. "The Northeast Rainfed Agricultural Development Project in Thailand: A Baseline Survey of Women's Roles and Household Resource Allocation for a Farming Systems Approach." Bangkok.

Pongsapich, Amara et. al. 1979. Chon Buri Project: Institutional and Human Resources Development in Chon Buri Region. Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute. Bangkok. Second edition.

Pongsapich, Amara and Jacques Amyot. 1984. women in Rural Industry in Thailand. A report submitted to USAID, Thailand.

Priebprom, Somsak. 1980. "Preliminary Results of a Rainfed Agriculture Model in Khon Kaen Province." ROFEAP Working Paper no. 15.

Sanguarnruang, Saeng et. al. 1978. Development of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises in Thailand. Bangkok.

Srisilpavongse, Kanitha. 1983. "Executive World: world Executives." Business in Thailand, February.

Surarerks, Vanpen. 1981. Rural Non-farm Production and Employment in Lower North Thailand. Bangkok.

Szanton, Christina, and Sirisambhand, Napat. 198 2. "Street Food Enterprise in Chon Buri Town." Draft report. Bangkok. - 115 -

Veeravongse, Suriya. 1982. "Brick Industry in Ayutthaya. Rural Dynamics in Ayutthaya Project." Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute. Zeidenstein, Sondra. 1981. Employment and Income Generation for Rural Women: A Report to USAID Thailand. - 116 -

Reproduction, Production and Women's Labour Activities in the Home

Suzana Prates

I. INTRODUCTION

In earlier papers I have dealt with some aspects of manufacturing activities in the home. On the one hand, I sought to identify recent trends in this way of organizing the work process both in industrialized, capitalistic societies and in peripheral societies, based on available bibliographic references. On the other hand, I presented and discussed the preliminary results of a study on women working at home in the footwear industry in Uruguay from 1982 to 1983.

In this paper I propose to discuss two main aspects.

In the first place, the problems of engaging in manufacturing activities in the home will be examined from the theoretical viewpoint, over the historical long-term. An argLUl\ent is advanced which views manufacturing activities in the home not as a precapitalistic activity appropriate for developing economies, but on the contrary, as an activity that has persisted throughout history, and which is recreated and even expanded in given circumstances under today's capitalistic framework. An attempt is made not only to identify but also to seek the reasons for the predominant presence of women in the past and in the present in manufacturing activities in the home.

In second place, I have sought to discuss in greater detail certain aspects underlying women's decisions or options to work in the home, which I touched on in earlier studies. This analysis is based on interviews conducted with women working in the home as footwear stitchers during the study mentioned above. - 117 -

Stress is placed on their verbal comments on social practises and relations, attitudes and expectations, norms and values that are identifiable in a partriarchal form of social organization, structured according to ideas about gender roles. I am not attempting to analyze perceptions of behaviour; I have limited myself to comments on values, norms, expectations and practices, which I interpret in the light of the assumption that they express perceptions of the world and interpretations of it which spring from the material and social realities of working women, around which their daily behaviour is organized.

II. MANUFACTURING AT HOME: CREATION, TRANSFORMATION OR RECREATION?

1) Scattered production of manufactured goods in the home predates the industrial revolution, and took place during the "dead months" of farm labour, so that surpluses could be placed on the market.

Between the decentralized production of manufactured goods, whose main characteristic was their use value, and the organization of production in a decentralized form, whose main characteristic is its exchange value, there mediates a transformation process in which on the one hand, the capacity for buying objective working conditions is acquired and on the other, that of permitting free workers to exchange their work for money is achieved (Marx, V, p. 469, 1971).

The dissolution of earlier forms of production with the emergence of the market and free labour, brought to light the social dimension of unemployment for the first time in history. Public policies were created to deal with unemployment, taking the concrete form of workhouses (Garraty, 1978).

Around 1590, the Comptroller General of Trade in France proposed to set up special towns on the outskirts of cities so - 118 - that the available labour force could be used to work on simple manufacturing processes, explaining that in this way "the poor will become accustomed to work, because if we don't give them something from time to time, they will never do anything" (in Garraty, £E• cit. p. 43).

This type of decentralized labour was adopted by governments in various countries. The "putting-out" system with the participation of the unemployed was developed in France, and workhouses evolved from institutions which comprised a relatively heterogeneous group - good-for nothings, beggars, incompetents, etc., - into a relatively well-structured manufacturing system. "Most of the work was done by women, children and the elderly, some of whom did not reside in the workhouses, but who came each day to work in what were known as weaving shops. Some even worked in their own homes, spinning and weaving with materials provided by the workshop" (Garraty, ..2E.• cit., p. 53).

The ideological dimension, meshed with daily practises resulting from the patriarchal organization of intrafamiliar social relations and the perception of the prevalence of these in the extradomestic world, became a coherent whole (even though experienced as a conflict) which we will call the "domestic syndrome". It is from this viewpoint that we seek to interpret the fact that women have historically predominated in labour in the home. The "domestic syndrome" does not expend itself in specialized roles, but rather appears as an interrelationship of "symptoms" that acquire reality in the performance of specific activities, which integrate, rather than separate, roles which can be differentiated only analytically in the daily praxis of working women.

Putting-out organized by the State tended to fail because, among other reasons the "goods produced, by increasing the supply, tended to deflate the prices at which all other goods of the same kind could be sold" (I bid. p. 4 7) • - 119 -

Financial resources accumulated during commercial expansion required a more effective and competitive type of organization, that of a market economy, and the process of purchasing handicrafts produced sporadically became an organized system of decentralized production in which the businessman when purchasing from the direct producers " ••• first takes away the ownership of their product, and then that of the instrument, or they are allowed to retain the instrument as apparently belonging to them to reduce production costs ••• " (Marx, 1971, p. 473).

This original form of capital acclDl\ulation is the simplest and the one which is most independent of the division of labour "but, this form continues to subsist alongside large industry" (Marx, V, p. 88, 1972).

The coexistence of this type of division of labour with large industry begins to change and to be recreated in different stages of the acclDl\ulation process, passing from the stage of the decentralized organization of production to a specific and new organization of the labour process, seen by Marx as the modern system of labour in the home (Capital, Volume I). This new organization of the labour process is stimulated precisely by the manufacturing system, machinery and technological changes that speed up the rhythm of certain stages in the production process, but still requires for other stages which are resistant to technological innovation, the use of work in the home, which is carried out by fractions of the reserve labour force, now also in the urban environment. "In the prolongation of the factory ••• in the orbit of 'work in the home' an ever-available industrial reserve army is systematically being formed and disciplined" (Marx, 1966, p. 400 ) •

This is a crucially important aspect: industrialism and technological advances do not necessarily and inevitably displace or do away with "outworkers". On the contrary, technological changes have historically boosted and increased the reserve army - 120 - in the sphere of working at home. In this regard, Thompson notes " ••• the number of persons employed in outwork grew enormously from 1780 to 1830, and very frequently steam and factories were the multipliers (original emphasis)" (Thompson, 1966, p. 260).

Similarly, and with stress on partially mechanized processes, Landes notes that industrialization on the European continent supposed " ••• a great expansion in rural work in the home, a continuation of the 18th century trend, paradoxically accelerated by the mechanization of some, but not all, manufacturing stages. Thus, the availability of cheaper semi-processed materials ••• increased the demand for finished products and stimulated the businesses that manufactured them" (Landes, p. 188, 1981).

In short, manufacturing work in the home, without having been a "creation" of capitalism, was articulated, transformed and finally recreated and extended by it beyond its original limits and meaning. The concentration of manufacturing, and technological and mechanical advances in certain industries and certain stages of the production process permitted, then as now, not only the organization of decentralized production, but also the decentralized organization of the labour process, using factories for operations and stages in which it is possible to increase relative productivity, and decentralizing those whose production volumes can be enhanced by increasing labour intensity, either by lengthening the work shift or by multiplying simultaneous work shifts.

In stages and products "resistant to mechanization", in the orbit of work in the home, women predominate today as in earlier times. Marx said that of the 150,000 persons engaged in lace production, 140,000 worked at home and specified that "approximately 10, 000 come under the Manufacturing Act of 1861. The immense majority of the remaining 140,000 are women, young - 121 -

people and children of both sexes, although males are represented here in very low numbers" (Marx, 1966, p. 389).

2) The points discussed in the foregoing section emphasize the historical persistence of putting-out and its recreation and expansion, precisely because of changes in the heart of large industry. The predominance of women in this type of labour reappears today in the advanced stages of capitalism.

The phenomena of redeployment, which has merited increasing attention since the 1970s and of "working at home" which appears to have sprung up again more recently with renewed vigour, respond to similar logics and predominantly involve women.

On the one hand, the international division of labour, based on technological concentration in the "centre" and the relocation of labour-intensive operations to the "periphery", has been made viable precisely because of technological development which assumes the possibility of fragmenting the labour process into multiple operations and at the same time, of simplifying certain stages which are transferred (Frobel et al., 1980, Nash, 1981 ) •

The "resistance to mechanization" factor for some products or stages in the production process, identified as central in the international subcontracting strategy (Sharpston, 1976) is also a determining factor in putting-out. The logic behind both types of decentralization (international and work in the home) is based on the desire not to over-scale, in labour or machinery, certain stages in the process of producing goods whose demand is variable, subject for example to cycles of fashion or the absence of monopolies that control the market while at the same time achieving compressed labour, capital and administrative costs, and increasing profits (Frey, 1973 in Paiva Abreu, 1980). - 122 -

This is particularly suitable when competition is based on price and not on other factors (Argenti, 1984}.

Recent trends in putting-out in countries where it appeared headed for extinction, as corroborated in recent studies (Beneria, 1983, 1984; Goddard, 1981; Allen, 1981; Sassen-Koob, 1983} show that women continue to be the predominant labour force in this type of organization of production.

All of these observations have been found to hold in the manufacture of footwear in Uruguay in the late 1970s. The economic policy of the military regime in Uruguay in the second half of the 1970s tried to reinsert Uruguay into the inter­ national division of labour as an exporter of manufactured goods.

To do this, a series of benefits and facilities were provided for the business sector, and in particular, manufacture of leather goods was promoted, in view of the "comparative advantage" of the country with regard to raw material. Among leather goods, footwear was considered to be particularly important. Consequently, tariffs were reduced and imports of machinery were financed so as to create conditions of better efficiency and productivity in the export industry. Parallel to these policy instruments, there was a constant pull-back in wages, and a sustained fall in real salaries was observed. This had the effect of increasing the supply of new workers so that family incomes could be maintained (Prates, 1981). Growth in the supply of labour in this period is explained, basically, by the entry of women into the labour market, which shows a turning point between 1974-1975 and 1976, but which has been maintained up to the present [sic] (Prates, 1983; Melgar and Teja, 1984) .*

* Between 1968 and 1983 the gross female labour rate grows from 18.9% to 28.0%, while the rate for males remains practically unchanged (Melgar and Tejal, 1984). - 123 -

Two aspects in this dynamic are particularly relevant here.

a) On the one hand, the conversion of the economy and the search for a different social model in the 1970s supposes a mass of labour joining the market, released, at least formally, from its condition as "unfree labour"; in other words, women in the domestic sphere.

b) In spite of the facilities for importing capital goods, this does not mean that in the footwear industry all stages were mechanized to the same extent. In fact, mechanization was partial and selective. Greater mechanization was applied to those activities which were less "feminine": the cutting and assembling of footwear (Macadar, 1981). This partial mechanization lead to an increase in speed and an intensification of production rhythms. As a result not only was the tradition maintained of using the putting out system for the stitching of uppers, it was also extended and recreated through the incorporation, in a subordinate vertical articulation, of formerly independent small producers who become "disguised salary workers". The main effect of this restructuring of the sector was to increase the number of female stitchers, since independent small units ceased to carry out other operations in the footwear production process (cutting, assembling, finishing, etc.) and devoted themselves exclusively to stitching, traditionally a woman's activity in the footwear industry in Uruguay (Rodriguez Villamil and Sapriza, 1984).

Although we do not have hard data, interviews with stitchers and with female factory workers in Uruguay suggest that this process took place. The following statement from a stitcher, who was formerly an independent producer, is a classic example: - 124 -

" ••• then exports finished off the workshops ••• a lot of people got carried away with exports and began to work only for export ••• these were people who, for example, were like us and made the entire shoe. When they had their workshops, their production was pretty continuous and secure, but then when exports became all the rage they began to stitch and do nothing else, and stopped doing the assembly, and then the assemblers from the workshops went to the factories, and everyone who knew how to operate a machine began to stitch for the large factories ••• The workshops went under because the tanners, for example, worked only for export and if a small shop was going to buy leather, two or three pieces of leather for example, they told you no. Total indifference to small-scale producers ••• "

The decline in footwear production establishments between 1968 and 1978 could be partially explained by this process, which is accompanied at the other extreme by a concentration of larger sized businesses, as mentioned by Davriex (1983).

The recreation of putting-out and its expansion, both in Uruguay and in other countries, contradicts observations such as Braverman's:

" ••• the first cottage and subcontracting systems represent a transitional form ••• incompatible with the general development of capitalistic production, and survive only in specialized cases" (Braverman, p. 63, 1974) •

The interpretation of Landes (op. cit.} seems more correct: - 125 -

"The tendency to see the manufacturing system as the last stage in an ascending sequence in industrial organization, beginning with crafts and passing through the putting-out stage, implied disregard of the fact these forms coexist, and obscured the special competitive advantages of each which has made it possible for them to coexist up to the present. It is only in this century that scholars have reworked this interpretation, stressing their continuity rather than change" (pp. 117-118).

Frey's theory (op. cit.) also fits into this viewpoint. In addition to considering factors related to business rationale and objectives, he points to two factors that influence the labour supply which are absolutely central to our analysis: the concentration of income and institutional and sociocultural factors that hamper or stand in the way of women participating in the labour market in jobs outside the home.

With regard to the first aspect, concentration of income, precisely for the period under consideration, a process of intense concentration occured in Uruguay such as had never been seen before. From 1973 to 1979, the upper-income level grew from 27.7% to 40.8% of total income, a trend which was even sharper in the 5% of the population with highest incomes - whose share of the total grew from 17.1% to 31.1%.

Under Frey's concept of sociocultural factors, we can consider one particular manifestation: the "domestic syndrome" present in the socialization and life experience of stitchers working at home. These result form the interrelationship of patriarchal practices organized on basis of gender ideology and are present in their training for work, in their life trajectories, and in their day-to-day practices. - 126 -

III. THE "DOMESTIC SYNDROME" AND ITS MANIFESTATIONS

In its verbal manifestations, the domestic syndrome is not limited to the existence of a patriarchal order which organizes social relations hierarchically between the sexes in strict correspondence with the power dimension. Nor is it exhausted in the ideological sphere, in gender contents, prescribing legitimate and suitable spheres for participation; duties and aptitudes differentiated by sex; norms that regulate and prescribe what is appropriate for each gender, either in behaviour, attitudes, expectations or values (sic). Nor is it possible to reduce it to playing differentiated "roles", which would be defined according to their normative, hierarichal contents. On the contrary, in the social practises of women, all these aspects have a mutual interrelationship, with some prevailing over others at different stages of women's lives.

The social practices to which women are subject during their lives, are transformed into successive "choices and options", conditioned by their identity and reinforced by daily living. These "options" do not arise only from the gender dimension, but also recognize boundaries determined by the specifics of the social space, both the more global (space) and that of their class which defines the possible limits of their practices and the horizons of their expectations.

The domestic syndrome, as manifested in the domestic stitchers interviewed in this investigation, also must be analyzed from the viewpoint of the context of their social class - the working class - and the historical moment in which this class is living, a moment of institutional crisis in Uruguayan society and of social crisis within the class.

The material limitations implied by their class, sharpened by the general context, obliges these working women, in addition to their generic responsibilities, to maintain and - 127 - reproduce the labour force. Their role as housewives is not limited to "management" (Prates, 1981 ). On the contrary, they must combine their direct jobs with routine, day-to-day activities, with social reproduction activities, and must also act as the support for the "affective space" of the home.

Their activities, then, as housewives suppose an effective and daily interrelationship of roles, which can only be distinguished analytically. As direct producers of goods and services consumed by the family, they simultaneously expend their energies on all their activities without "distinguishing" the functions of each, even though it is possible to rank their different aspects.

The highest-ranking factor, motherhood, is not only a result of gender identity, but of the lifecycle of these working \\Omen. Maternity, the basic justification of all the other activities, practices and options, "naturalizes" domestic labour, which because of their class, must necessarily be done by them to guarantee the reproduction and maintenance of the family nucleus. This condition converts them into "persons who are obliged to exercise an activity that goes beyond their own subsistence" (Kirkwood, 1983).

In the words of the stitchers, which are analyzed below, the recurrence of words such as "slave", "slavery", "enslavement" is particularly noteworthy. This does not mean that these labourers recognize their situation to negate it, but that, on the contrary they assume it as a given, as something that cannot be questionned and which they do not control.

However they do not accept their condition with resignation. On the contrary, their situation causes them anxiety and tension which they "resolve" using different mechanisms. Some of the statements are almost "type responses", and are given here as references to alternative mechanisms. - 128 -

a) In some cases, "liberation" appears as a long-range prospect, in the form of expectations for enjoying life in the future which will begin when the aspect that justifies their existence - being mothers - loses its central place when their children become independent.

Until this moment arrives, employment in the home is their only legitimate labour option, which, aside from the professional satisfaction it can offer them (and it does so in almost all cases) is experienced as a type of "slavery".

"Working in the factory is better, but I had to take care of my baby ••• because the baby came ••• ! worked at home, it was easier for me to take care of him, but working at home is like slavery.

The structure of the lives of working women, after maternity, ceases to be their own, just as their decisions to work or enjoy their spare time are not their own either. Working in the market outside the domestic sphere is attractive, but it is forbidden to the woman-mother-wife.

Another stitcher said that it would be better to work in a factory, but:

"of course for my own benefit, but I can't think only about myself because I have a f arnily, a husband and children, because once you take on a responsibility you can't just up and refuse to shoulder it. Once they are

bigger~ yes, yes you can go and make your own life, or when they get married, but as long as they are depending on you, you have to be there because if not you have even more problems ••• I'll be a few years older, but at least I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm 32 now ••• " - 129 -

b) The "motherhood question" appears in other versions of how the problem of domesticity is resolved, and some of the implications are loneliness, anguish, tension. TO face these problems without breaking up the family circle, without questionning the reasons for the oppression which is seen as "loneliness", as "feeling terrible", etc., is resolved by initiating or reassuming reproduction, either by deciding to have children of one's one, by adopting, or by prolonging reproduction activities by taking care of grandchildren.

The option for motherhood, perversely, is transformed in the real living conditions of these women into a prolongation of "slavery", thereby reinforcing the "rationality" of staying at home and working:

"that's why I decided to have the baby, because I felt very alone, and if you have to work so much in at the end ••• I am completely alone ••• yes, I expect to work, but let's see, it's impossible now ••• he's still very small and he cries a lot."

The decision to "renew" the reproduction cycle, in other cases does not mean that the woman can stop working, because the family needs the income she earns. This therefore supposes more costs and demands more time and energy from women, and a much more definitive reclusion in the home:

"the truth is that now with my baby daughter I should stop working and devote myself only to the house ••• because I have to pay a lot of attention to her since she's still small ••• but I decided to have another because ••• ! felt terrible, because I lost my father, and because I had three boys whose characters are very strong ••• " - 130 -

This approach suggests the search for a compensatory mechanism: on losing her status as daughter she needs to protect herself in her role as mother, and because she was surrounded by men, her sons and her husband, with "strong characters". The advantages of having a daughter, however, do not translate into a solution to her problems but rather make them more acute, since they make it necessary for her to bury herself even more in the home, and she must still continue to earn an income because the family needs it.

Motherhood and the need to work impose conditions that become more complicated because of the existence of a dual pattern, which defines different ways of using time and spending free time. It is dual pattern guaranteed by a patriarchal structure in which, however, the person who controls and defines the other's social relationships, possibilities and rights lacks one of the cornerstones - economic power:

" ••• he can't say that I don't work, because it is necessary ••• (he prefers) that I work at home, because he's jealous. I'm jealous too but it doesn't mean you can't do anything, because he has good-bye parties and other things ••• he went to a camp ••• and he went on a Friday and he returned on Tuesday and my daughter was very small, I never felt so bad in my life, because it was a horrible thing, I felt like a slave, really like a slave because I couldn't go out ••• "

Jealousy is something more than a feeling, it is power as manifested in the "preferences" of the husband who limits her horizon of labour options by doing everything to reinforce and guarantee a hierarchy, revealed not only in unequal enjoyment of freedom, but also in its appropriation and privation.

c) A third expression which appears to challenge subordination but which does not reach the level of thoughtful - 131 -

and aware negation of what is "given" is apparent in statements in which the stitchers speak of their potential for doing a "man's" work, defining themselves as the real supporters of the household. This self-ranking implies a downgrading of their mates. The oppression they feel, which is not resolved through the "motherhood option", is not however viewed as a collective problem, but instead as a type of "vengence" against the mate:

" ••• but at home, the person who organizes and struggles to get something is me, because he has no initiative. You say let's do somehting and he is afraid ••• he was always a mother's boy and when he had to leave her and fight for his family it was hard for him ••• "

This appears to contradict the "natural order" of the world, in which "the man should earn more", "the man has more obligations", a natural order determined by the reproductive condition of women:

"You see, it's absurd for women to earn more than men ••• then it will be the men who have the babies and the women who will go out to work."

However, the norms contained in this opinion should be viewed within the framework of this woman's reality, and until her second pregnancy, she really earned more than her mate. Her statement could be reread as an expression that simultaneously indicates self-affirmation but also perplexity and deception because the "head of the house" does not or cannot live up to the expectations that his role assigns to him under the patriarchal system. The resulting contrast between the myth and the reality, might lead the "incapable" head of the house to lose his basic attribute - his condition as a male, since he should have children to conform with the social order. - 132 -

IV. FINAL THOUGHTS

The analysis sought to integrate different planes of reality, while considering that the specific and daily, the verbalized and the acted, the expected and the valued can only be interpreted by establishing a connection of meaning which transcends the particular and the circumstantial.

From this viewpoint, and returning to the title of this document, we must keep in mind that in the framework of the process of the development of capitalism, certain ways in which production is organized and which were apparently destined to disappear are permanently recreated, and this recreation is partially possible because in capitalism the problem of full employment is a condition that is very unlikely to be achieved (Bienefeld, 1981). There will always be fractions of the reserve that can be mobilized for special activities under given circumstances. The recreated forms historically recognize women, within this reserve army, as ideal candidates to make up the "adjustment factor" in cycles of economic expansion and recession, especially women with "domestic obligations". The simultaneous functioning of two domination structures - class and gender - guarantee that in specific circumstances and over the long-term this fraction of the reserve army will be maintained, disciplined and ever-available.

Also, the domestic syndrome, reformulated in accordance with different historical-structural circumstances, continues to be maintained, reproduction in women's social practices their condition of sustained subordination based on the ultimate fact that justifies their condition as human beings, that of being female.

To end, and to return to the specifics of the group studied from the viewpoint of class and gender analysis, it is - 133 - worthwhile to repeat the words of a stitcher which clearly show a process of "deciding" to do manufacturing work at home:

"I left (the factory) when I had my first baby. After I was married I continued working, but when I had the first baby who is 9 years old now I only worked for 6 months more, because afterwards mother couldn't take care of her any more for me and I stopped working and that was when I bought the machine and set up at home."

The absence of a family rearguard made up of the women in the family is a central aspect in the stitcher's decision to work at home, because her class condition makes it impossible for her to pay a babysitter or to take the child t~ a nursery. These facilities are almost non-existent in this capitalistic and peripheral society. This keeps women at home to produce new workers and new citizens, conditioned in a double system of domination: capitalism and patriarchism. - 134 -

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, s. 1981. "The invisible threads" in "Women and the Informal Sector". IDS Bulletin, University of Sussex, 12 (3).

Argenti, G. 1984. "Model exporters and technological options for businessmen in the footwear industry in Uruguay". CIESU, Montevideo.

Beneria, L. 1983. "The labour process, subcontracting and gender relations." Document presented to the Social Science Research Council Workshop on Social Equality and Gender Hierarchy, Mexico City.

Bienefeld, M. 198 1. "The informal sector and women's oppression." IDS Bulletin, Volume 12 (3), University of Sussex. Braverman, H. 1974. "Labour and monopoly capital. The degradation of work in the 20th century". Monthly Review, New York.

Davrieux, H. 1983. The leather industry: peak and decline, 1968-1981. CINVE, Banda Oriental Publishers, Montevideo.

Frey, L. 1973. "From work in the home to the decentralization of production activities". Rassegna Sindicale (44-45), 34-56. Frobel, F., Heinrichs, Y. and Krey, O, 980. The new inter~ational division of labour, Mexico, Siglo XX! Publishers.

Garraty, J.A. 1978. Unemployment in History. Harper, Colophon Books, New York. Goddard, v. 1981. "The leather trade in the Basin of Naples". IDS Bulletin, University of Sussex, 12 (3).

Kirkwood, J. 19 83. "Women and the spheres of power" • Revi sta Internacional de Ciencias Sociales, UNESCO, Volume XXXV, No. 9. Landes, D.S. 1981. The unbound Prometheus. Technological change and industrial development in Western Europe from 1750 to the present. Cambridge University Press. Macadar, L. 1981. "The leather industry: an analysis of economic policy and technological change", in The technological problem in Uruguay. CINVE-CIESU;-B'anda Oriental Publishers, Montevideo. - 135 -

Marx, K. 1966. El Capital. Volwne 1. Fondo de Cultura Economica Publishers, Mexico.

Marx, K. 1971. Basic elements for a critique of political economy (Draft) 1857-1858. Volume 1, Siglo XX! Publishers, Argentina.

Marx, K. 1972. Basic elements for a critique of economic policy (draft) 1957-1958. Volwne 2, Siglo XX! Publishers, Argentina.

Nash, J. 1983. "The impact of the changing international division of labour on different sectors of the labour force "in Women, men and the international division of Labour, Nash, Y. and Fernandez-Kelly, M.P. eds. State University of New York Press, Albany.

Peiva Abreu, A. 1980. "Industrial labour in the home in the garment industry" (Doctoral Thesis, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy Letters and Human Sciences of the University of San .Paolo) (unpublished).

Prates, S. 1981. "Women's labour and family survival strategies under the stabilization models in the Latin American Southern Cone. Document prepared for the Expert Group Meeting on Policies for Social Integration, Center for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations, Vienna. Prates, s. 1983. "Woman's work in a period of crisis (or when you lose by earning) ."

Rodriguez Villamil, S. and Sapriza, G. 1984. "Women's participation in the footwear industry in Uruguay: a historical perspective." (CIESU, mimeograph).

Sassen, Koob, S. 1983. "Labour migrations and the international division of labour", Nash, J. and Fernandez-Kelly, M.P., eds., State University of New York Press, Albany.

Sharpston, M. 1976. "International sub-contracting", in Oxford Economic Papers, March.

Thompson, E.P. 1966. The making of the English Working Class, Vintage Books, New York. - 136 -

Methodologies for Doing Research on Women and Development

Pat Ellis

women and Development

Over the last decade it has become clear that theories and models of development that focussed only on economic growth have not improved the quality of life for the mass of people in developing countries. Women, the poor and the powerless have either hardly been touched or have been adversely affected by the growth-centred models of the 1970s. During this period, development planners failed to put people at the centre of development thrusts or to include and address women's needs as they contribute to and experience the development process, and this to a large extent, has been responsible for the failure, negative outcomes and adverse effects of many of the macro development plans and micro development projects that were implemented.

There is now a realisation that definitions and models which fail to take into account women's contribution to development and the consequences of development on women, are inadequate and incomplete. Also, it is now more widely accepted that development must be seen as a holistic integrated process. Consequently, in addition to a concern for economic growth, alternative development theories and models are attempting to address such critical issues as the unequal distribution of resources, power and authority; class, race and gender inequalities; and the more effective use of human resource potential. In the light of these alternative theories, women as a dominant resource represent considerable potential which needs to be tapped in relevant and appropriate ways. - 137 -

It is against this background and within this context that the lack of any appreciable data on women has become a major issue in development planning. This has given rise to a critical need for more and better information on women's lives and on their role in development.

Initial efforts to find out women's views, seek their opinions, and elicit their ideas about development have revealed that women encounter and experience the development process in ways that are significantly different from men. Specific research on women is therefore necessary to fill the gap and build a body of knowledge about their multiple roles and their contribution to the socio-economic development of their societies, to determine their skills a'nd capabilities, and to provide a sound base on which development planners can draw. It can help planners to understand too, how this valuable resource can be effectively brought in the mainstream of national development planning.

At the same time, research by and about women can, and is, providing women with tools which they can use to analyse, critically assess and better understand their life experiences and social situations. It is serving, too, as a vehicle through which they can articulate their needs, problems and concerns; and their views on national development as perceived from a female rather than from a male perspective. Moreover, women, have begun to use the increased knowledge and skills gained through research as a strategy for change at the personal, community and societal levels.

Research on women and development is also challenging the traditional male - oriented models and their underlying assumptions. By so doing it is creating alternative approaches and models, and is redefining and transforming the purpose, processes and goals of research and of development. - 138 -

Changing Perspectives on Social Science Research

The primary purpose of social science research has always been the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of data in order to better explain social phenomena. Traditional approaches to scientific social research are characterised by the objectivity of the expert researcher; the development and use of highly specialised skills and instruments to collect, analyse and interpret reliable quantifiable data; and the belief that this type of research is the key to an objective understanding of social reality. Social reality consists not only of facts and things, but of the perceptions and feelings of people as they interact in their social setting. The traditional approach to social research is incapable of providing a complete understanding of human behaviour in a complex and changing social reality. Quantitative data collected by traditional methods, e.g. survey-questionnaires, because they cannot capture social change, and because they do not normally lead to social action, can only give an over-simplified and static picture of social situations.

Dissatisfaction and disillusionment with the limitations of this approach has led to an increase in the use of more interactive methods to collect qualitative data that complement and supplement quantitative data and provide a multi-dimensional view of social situations. The qualitative approach helps us to understand people as they interact in various social contexts and to define social reality from their own experience, perspective and meaning, rather than from that of the researcher alone. Qualitative data offers different ways of knowing, thinking, and experiencing reality. It raises hitherto unasked questions, the answers to which afford deeper and sharper insights into how and why people participate as they do in a variety of social processes. - 139 -

A transformation of perspective in social science research has introduced a view of human behaviour that sees people as active social agents rather than as objects to be researched. This has raised serious questions about previously held assumptions, methods of enquiry, ways of reporting and using research findings, and about the very nature and purpose of social research. Previously, the view was held that research should be more concerned with theory than practice, that theory is superior to practice, and that the researcher/social scientist has a monopoly on the generation/production of 'scientific' knowledge. These views are now being challenged by researchers, development workers and social scientists in developing countries. There is growing belief among these persons that any research done simply for its own sake and/or only for the benefit of the researcher is oppressive and exploitative of those who are being researched.

At the same time changes in thinking about the nature of rapidly changing societies and about people as they participate in the process of change over time, has led to a desire for social research which can be of more practical use. Such research, it is argued, would generate information which could be used as the basis for developing relevant and meaningful social policies, plans and programmes geared to meet the needs af many rather than benefit the few (professional researchers).

These shifts in thinking about research and about development have led to a call for more action research linked to social change. They have necessitated a gradual demystification of research methods and processes, and the removal of the hierarchical relationship between the researcher and the researched. This emerging paradigm requires a redefinition of the meaning of knowledge, and a radical restructuring of the ways in which it is produced. It is - 140 -

forcing social scientists to recognise that experiential, practical and socially useful knowledge generated by ordinary people is accurate, reliable and valid. Likewise it requires collaboration between researchers and ordinary people in collecting, analysing, interpreting and reflecting on data in relation to the socio-economic context of which they are a part.

The alternative approach - Participatory Action Research - is based on philosophical and theoretical assumptions that are significantly different from those that underlie and inform traditional scientific social research. Researchers who are committed to this approach involve ordinary people - oppressed and marginal groups, rural women, etc. - in the entire research process from problem indentif ication to the use of research data for collective social action. This fundamental principle which lies at the heart of participatory research helps to ensure that social reality is described by people themselves as they seek solutions to social problems. Research then becomes a dialectical process that stimulates a dialogue and inreases critical awareness among all those who are involved. It acts as a catalyst to unlock the latent potential of ordinary people and gives them the self-confidence to challenge and change rather than to blindly accept social situations.

Policy Related Research

Research can and does play an important role in determining and giving direction to national development policies and plans. It can be used by those in power, i.e. elites and men, to justify and maintain undesirable situations and exploitative conditions. Similarly, it can be used by exploited groups, e.g. the poor and women, as a tool to question and to understand better their unfavourable position - 141 -

in relation to the wider society. It can also be used as a strategy to challenge and change existing societal structures.

Historically, academic imperialism and partriarchism have prevented recognition and merit of women's ideas and contributions to the processes of research and national planning. This situation has not been conducive either to creative research and/or national plans or policies. Neither does it address the problems that women and other marginal groups in developing countries experience and perceive.

Moreover, the use of traditional (objective) research methods and irrelevant growth-oriented development models has produced data that have been used to analyse ·and interpret situations within frameworks identified either by 'expert' researchers or male planners. Since they do not normally generate, analyse and interpret information about the specific social context and life experiences and perspectives of the majority, the outcome of such research and policies, divorced as they are from social reality, are of little practical use to planners and policy makers.

Much social policy is still based on ideologies that emphasize, support and reinforce women's reproductive and domestic rather than their productive, economic roles. In many countries specific legislation has been introduced against sex discrimination, but many state apparatuses still uphold discrimination on the basis of gender in the workplace, family and other institutions.

In the decades prior to the 1980s, policy-related research virtually ignored women. Research done on women focussed mainly on fertility and reproduction, was descriptive rather than analytical and was perceived to be of much significance to development planning. However, in the last decade as more emphasis is being placed on the important role - 142 -

that women play and on their contributions to national development, serious issues are being raised and critical questions are now being asked about their lack of participation in and their exclusion from the highest levels of decision-making and policy formation.

These concerns are now becoming central to much policy-oriented research. As growing numbers of women and a few male researchers and planners struggle to eliminate women's oppression and exploitation, they are not content just to ask questions and analyse problems in the traditional research modes, but are committed to and are actively using their knowledge and skill to act and to bring about change in national policies and programmes. Thus the women and development question is bringing about significant change in the purpose, conduct and outcomes of current policy-oriented research.

Research on women and Development in the English-Speaking Caribbean

The foregoing events, trends and activities have influenced and are being influenced by research activities by and about Caribbean women. The situation and problems of women in the English Speaking Caribbean (approx. 2.5 million; 51% of the total population) , and their participation in the development of their societies are a direct result of historical legacy, the cultural heritage and the existing socio-economic conditions in these small and scattered territories. The bulk of the population live in small rural villages and about 40% of all households are headed by women, the majority of whom are engaged in agriculture, in low-paid, low skilled jobs, and/or in the informal sectors of the economy. Unemployment in the region is high and generally higher among women. - 143 -

Concerned about the role and status of women in the society, Caribbean women in 1978 established the Women in Development Unit (WAND) within the Extra Mural Department of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus, Barbados. WAND was given the responsibility of encouraging , supporting and developing programmes and projects that would facilitate greater participation of women in the development of the region. To this end, the Unit successfully facilitates, initiates and conducts a large number of research activities. Basically these have two objectives:

1. to fill the gap, expand the database and build up a general body of knowledge about the position of Caribbean women,

2. to influence policy makers and planners in such a way that national development plans would reflect and address women's issues, needs and concerns.

Recognising the key role that planners and policy makers play in deciding on and influencing national policies, Caribbean women have been using research as a key strategy to highlight and sensitize them to the important link between \t.K)men's issues and the success of development policies and plans. Much of the research has been exploratory and experimental and is illustrative of innovative; unconventional approaches to development research. The use of a variety of methodologies has provided both researchers and planners with modes which can be used to integrate women's issues into the planning process at regional and national levels.

The four examples presented in this paper give an idea of the range and scope of research being carried out on Women and Development in the Caribbean. - 144 -

1. Participatory Research and Women in Rural Development

Rationale and Objectives

Rural development plans and programmes are often informed by perspectives and based on decisions of male planners who lack the knowledge, perceptions and insights of women in rural committees. Many of these programmes have been unsuccessful precisely because they have not addressed the concerns, needs and interests of rural women nor involved them in the planning process.

In 1980, WAND implemented a pilot project for the Integration of Women in Rural Development in Rose Hall, St. Vincent, the objectives of which were to:

1. develop and test a participatory methodology as a model that could integrate women more fully in the process of rural development;

2. devel,op in rural women self-esteem, self-confidence and an ability to accept leadership and decision-making roles in their community; and,

3. provide information on Women and Development issues that could influence policies of national governments in the region.

Scope of the Project

The project which was initially funded for two and a half years, is administered by a Community Working Group (90% women), and is now in its fifth year. The entire population of 1,500 people is involved in and has been affected by the project's activities and programmes that have emerged during - 145 -

this period. Through the use of a participatory methodology, the women and men of Rose hall have been enabled to participate fully in all aspects of planning, implementation and evaluation of project activities. It has unleashed their potential, provided them with skills and empowered them to take control of and direct the development of their community. Within this process, research has played a critical role in providing them with the necessary and relevant information on which to build successful community-based programmes and projects.

Methodology

Prior to the pilot project, like many others in rural communities in the region, the women of Rose·Hall had little knowledge or understanding of research except as 'objects of research'. In this role they had responded to the numerous questions of 'outside' researchers and had given information on practically every aspect of their lives without knowing how the information would be used and without hearing anything about it or having access to it after having given it. However, from the early stages of the project, they began to realise how important it was for them to have a certain amount of relevant and accurate information if they wanted to identify community problens and understand their causes, and if they wanted to plan and implement successful activities and to attempt to arrive at solutions to personal and community problems.

Training Rural People to do Research

Just as professional researchers have been trained in the development and use of research techniques for academic purposes, so too can community people be trained to develop and use research techniques for practical purposes to bring about change in their social situation. - 146 -

The pilot project began with a three-week Training workshop on Participatory Approaches to Community Needs, Assessment, Programme Planning and Evaluation. The workshop took place in Rose Hall and although only six members of the working group attended full time, the entire community was involved in some way or other in the exercise. Within the workshop, participants were exposed to a number of concepts, techniques and skills that could be used to collect, analyse and use data about themselves and their community. These included interviewing, discussion, problem identification and problem-solving techniques, role play, story telling etc. Community members were able to practice these and to acquire some skill in their use through planned field activities in the community. They first decided on what information they wanted, how they would get it and then on how and when they would use it. They also experimented with various ways and methods of analysing, interpreting and presenting the information to the wider community.

Research has continued to inform every community activity, project and programme, and since the initial workshop has been initiated by community members themselves. Moreover they have adopted a systematic approach to research which is consistently followed before any project or programme is implemented. In this process certain features stand out:

* The problem to be researched is identified by community members themselves. * The information needed to work on solutions is discussed and agreed upon by the working Group. * The most appropriate and effective ways of getting information from each source is agreed upon. * Research instruments are designed by community members themselves (the working Group or small group appointed by it). These are simple, direct, uncomplicated, specific and short so that they do not take a lot of time to be administered. - 147 -

* The research is usually carried out by a team rather than one person and the entire community can be covered within a week or two. * Information is generated first within the community itself, and then if/when necessary, sources outside of the community are tapped for additional relevant information. * Analysis and interpretation are carried out collectively, and quickly leads to concensus on action to be taken. * Results are presented to the entire community in large (mass) community meetings where they are discussed, decisions on relevant action are taken and a mandate given to the Working Group to implement the decision. * The entire research process is controlled by community members.

Examples of Research Issues and Methods Used

During the initial workshop, participants conducted taped interviews with the oldest members of the community and produced the story of Rose Hall to develop a community profile. Rooted in the knowledge and experience of community members, this story formed the basis of a larger and more complex research project on the 'History of Women's Organisations and Strategies in a Historical Perspective'. The Working Group selected a young woman to conduct this research. With technical support from a professional researcher, she has gained skills in the use and application of such sophisticated research methods as archival work, documentary research, life histories, and in-depth and group interviewing. Throughout there is continuous interaction, joint enquiry and dialogue between her and community members.

The Working Group has conducted surveys on adult education and literacy levels in the community, and on the size and characteristics and needs of the under-5 population. Results of these and other surveys are presented to community - 148 - members through group discussions, role play, story telling and mass community meetings.

Participatory evaluation has been an important component of the project. The Working Group regards it as a planning tool, and as a tool to monitor progress, and to assess the impact of project activities. To achieve this, they have used opinion polls, questionnaires, small group discussion, report writing, case studies and community evaluation workshops.

Women and men in Rose Hall have a much broader concept of research than that which is usually recognised, in the narrow scientific sense in social science circles. Their locally initiated community diagnoses make it clear that rural people have the ability and are capable of understanding and using research to find answers to some of the problems that they face.

II. Survey on the Economic Role of Women in Small-Scale Agriculture in the Eastern Caribbean - St. Lucia

Rationale and Objectives

There is a direct relationship between the 'invisibility' of women in development planning and the availability of the quantity and quality of information on women's economic participation in the development process. This in turn directly influences the usefulness and/or appropriateness of national policies and sectoral plans and programmes to women's situation, problems, needs and concerns.

An adequate database is essential if women's actual rather than stereotyped economic roles and workloads are to be recognised, and if women are to be fully integrated into the process of development. Moreover, without a continuing source - 149 -

of baseline and other supportive data, it is difficult to meaningfully evaluate the impact of development programmes on women.

Two major objectives of this study were, therefore:

1. to ascertain the extent and value of women's economic participation in small-scale agriculture; and

2. to suggest policies and strategies for the more effective delivery of agricultural suppo'rt services to improve the economic well being of these women and their families.

Scope of the Project

The project was set within a larger regional project for the improvement of agriculture extension services in the Eastern Caribbean. This larger project, the Caribbean Agricultural Extension Project (CAEP), conducted jointly by UWI and the Mid-Western Universities Consortium for International Aid (MUCLA), had as one of its stated objectives: "to involve women more actively and more fully in extension policies and programmes".

The survey and its results were therefore important to the achivement of the goals of this larger regional project. The findings were expected to provide policy makers in Ministries of Agriculture with more information and to increase their understanding of, and sensitivity to the role that women play in the agricultural sectors of the economy. It was also the intention that the project would lead to an improvement in the quality and delivery of agricultural services, and that because of the survey, these improved services would be more easily available to women. - 150 -

Another anticipated spin-off was the implementation of action programmes and projects that would increase women's capabilities in farming, processing and marketing of agricultural produce; and would result in greater recognition of these contributions to the national economy by policy makers.

Methodology

A traditional survey questionnaire prepared by non-Caribbean research consultants was administered to a random sample but many innovative features were introduced that made the study different from a traditional social science survey. The most noticeable of these were:

a) the high degree of inter-agency collaboration and institutional linkages; and

b) the innovative manner by which the data were analysed and interpreted. a) Collaboration:

From its inception, the project reflected a high degree of collaboration between a number of national, regional and international agencies. The UWI/MUCIA Team, the Women in Development Inc. (WID) Barbados, and WAND were responsible for the development of the project. WAND, as executing agency, after discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture in St. Lucia appointed the Caribbean Research Centre (CRC), St. Lucia as the local agency responsible for coordinating and carrying out the survey. Refinement of the design of the questionnaire was the result of collaboration between the research consultants, MUCIA, WID, WAND, CRC, the Ministry of Agriculture personnel and a St. Lucian linguist. - 151 -

Another level of the collaboration was in the design and implementation of the training of the interviewers. The training was designed and carried out by WAND, WID, MUCIA, CRC and Ministry of Agriculture personnel. The twelve women selected as interviewers were exposed to an intensive programme during which they learned various interviewing techniques. In addition, through a series of participatory activities and techniques they gained understanding of the philosophical and conceptual framework of the project, of its objectives, of the issues concerning the greater involvement of women in the development process, of the situation of agriculture in St. Lucia and of the position of women in that situation. By the end of the training, the interviewers were an integral part of the research team and were committed to the succe·ss of the project.

b) Innovation:

Traditionally the procedures adopted in most research projects have only allowed for minimum participation of persons other than the researchers themselves. Any participation of interviewers, interviewees, or users of the findings is usually limited to specific phases of these projects, and findings are not usually influenced by input from such persons. In most cases interviewers never see or hear what happens to the questions after they have asked or answered them. For this reason WAND decided that the data collected in this survey should be analysed and interpreted by individuals (including interviewers), agencies and institutions who are involved in agriculture, who had first hand experience of many of the problems which the data identified, and who could be instrumental in bringing about change within the agricultural sectors in the region.

To introduce this innovative element into the survey, WAND, in collaboration with CRC designed and co-sponsored a - 152 -

workshop at which the survey findings i.e. the raw data were presented, analysed, interpreted and discussed.

The workshop was designed to involve a wide cross-section of persons and interests. Participants included representatives of local, national, regional and international agencies involved in agriculture projects and programmes in the region. In addition, the interviewers, the Senior Community Development Officer responsible for women's affairs in St. Lucia, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) an Official Governmental Regional Institution that provides a forum for ministers and other officials to meet, discuss and decide on matters of mutual concern - Women's Affairs officer, the research consultants and a representative of the funding agency, all participated in the discussions and decided on the recommendations to be included in the final report.

Prior to the workshop, the research consultant had prepared and made available copies of preliminary summary findings so that they could be studied in preparation for the workshop. Workshop sessions were planned to facilitate maximum participat'ion and sharing of experiences and ideas between participants in small and large group discussions, as well as in plenary sessions.

The presence of interviewers in each group ensured their contribution to the interpretation of the data and to the final recommendations. Because of their understanding of the underlying philosophy of the project, their awareness of its wider significance, their sensitivity to issues concerning women and to the plight of the small farmer, they were able to supply much incidental information and direct feedback from the field which it is not always possible to record accurately on a questionnaire. Their contributions often provided greater and further insights and a background against which to interpret the data. - 153 -

The recommendations developed by workshop groups and discussed and agreed on in plenary sessions, reflect'ed in a very real way many of the concerns of small farmers themselves as well as of personel involved in agricultural programmes at national and regional levels. Consequently many of them have been incorporated into national agricultural development plans and have formed the bases of community action programmes (e.g. The Integrated Rural Development Project implemented in three communities in St. Lucia in 1983}.

III. Project to Assess the Impact of Rural Development Schemes on Low Income Households and the Role of women (Rural Households Project}

Rationale and Objectives

Issues such as the distribution of and access to project resources and services between the sexes; the division of labour; women's parti~ipation in decision-making in the household, the community and the project are central and critical to the idea of intergrating women into development. However large-scale development projects do not specify women as targets in project goals and evaluation procedures rarely include mechanisms to monitor the impact of such projects on women. Questions about the project's impact on women, on women compared to men, and on how women's participation or exclusion affects the successful achievement of project and of national development goals were never seriously considered until recently.

The purpose of the "Rural Households" project was to:

1. generate information about the relationship between programme plans and impact, and about the effect of development - 154 -

projects on women's roles and the survival of rural families and communities: and

2. increase the capacity to conduct programme evaluation research and encourage planners, and users to apply in a practical way the information and insights on rural women that had been generated by the research.

Scope of the Project

The three country study was conducted in Dominica, Jamaica and St. Lucia. In each case, it focussed on a large-scale development project which had been in operation for more than five years, in which there had been minimal social analysis, which had problems in achieving its stated goals, but which had been seen in its initial conception as a possible model for replication on a national basis.

Selection (by each country) of projects with significantly different features allowed for comparisons to be made between projects which were/had -

a) sector specific or integrated rural development projects:

b) government initiated or community generated,

c) sensitivity to women built into the planning and implementation or not,

d) micro or macro ir. scale, geographical area, community type,

e) rigid or flexible relations with state bureaucracies/ministries/planning units, etc.

In addition, more than just being an exercise in data collection and evaluation, the project was an attempt to forge - 155 -

connections and linkages that would create and promote a greater capacity among diverse groups and communities to initiate changes which would penetrate right up to the highest level of planning.

Methodology

An evaluation methodology sensitive to women's issues begins with the premise that women as individuals and as a group need project benefits, should not have to depend on male project participants for these, and must therefore participate in decision-making within and about the project. Central to the methodology employed, were a variety of methods, techniques, and strategies that ensured a high degree of' participation of a wide variety of indiviudals, groups and institutions at various levels through the research process. A multi-sectoral, inter-disciplinary and inter-agency approach resulted in the comprehensive collaborative involvement of researchers and practitioners, technocrats and project participants.

The main research team in each country included a social science researcher, representatives from the National Planning Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bureau/Department of Women's Affairs, and a member of the project staff. In addition, a support team comprised of representatives of relevant government and non~governmental agencies and groups, including community groups, was available for consultation and to give advice and provide feedback to the main research team. The composition of these teams served not only to sensitize each agency to the issues of women, but provided each with deeper insights and clearer understanding of the perspectives and ways in which the others sought to achieve their own objectives and those of the project. - 156 -

Research Issues and Tasks

The research issues identified and tasks carried out, emerged out of a process of participation characterised by the collaborative efforts of all those involved in the project. The research team recreated the project's history by analysing project documents and records, by visiting the project communities, and by having informal discussions with project participants and staff. Key issues to be addressed were then agreed upon and the three country teams met to decide on common elements in the research design to facilitate comparative analysis of the data. Each country team also met at other times during the life of the project to discuss and do preliminary analysis of initial findings and at the end, to look at the final outcomes and to prepare case studies to present at a regional conference. Each country research team met with its support teams on an on-going basis as the project progressed. It also presented its findings at national workshops planned for this purpose and involving persons representing a wide cross-section of the society. Participants at these national workshops examined and analysed the research findings and made specific recommendations for follow-up action at the national level. Multiple methods and techniques were used to generate, cross check, sift and ensure high quality data that were valid and reliable. Documentary research; random and purposive sampling; control (non-project participant) groups; survey questionaires; in-depth interviews with individuals (male and female) and with groups; community visits; participant observation of community events; the use of special informants as interviews, e.g. female agricultural extension workers; were all successfully used to generate, feedback and disseminate data on a continuous basis throughout the project. This dynamic process facilitated and kept alive a dialogue with experience that allowed all to systematically draw out the lessons of the research/process/evaluation in which they were involved. - 157 -

In the large regional conference held at the end of the project, senior officials from national and regional agencies, e.g. government ministers, permanent secretaries, planners, etc. were not only presented with the results of the research, but were exposed to an innovative model for conducting policy-related research on Women and Development, and were given guidelines on how they could implement the model in their own countries, agencies and/or institutions.

IV. The Women in the Caribbean Project (WICP)

Rationale and Objectives

The Institute of Social and Economic Re,search (ISER) of UWI conducts policy-oriented research, with the aim to assist decision-makers in the region by providing them with information that is necessary to inform national planning. Convinced that if social science research is to be genuinely relevant to Caribbean needs, it must be inter-disciplinary in scope and thrust, the Institute organises research projects on a regional basis and involves teaching and research staff from all three campuses of the UWI and from the University of Guyana (UG).

The WICP is one of three such major research projects. Carried on by ISER at the Cave Hill Campus, Barbados (1979-1982), the project was conceived as a way of producing empirical data on, and expanding understanding of the lives of Caribbean women. It was also intended to suggest policies and to identify programmes that could address the issue of women's participation in Caribbean development.

Its main objectives were to:

1. contribute to and increase knowledge about the position of Caribbean women by identifying the subjective - 158 -

meaning of the social realities which face women, the ways in which these realities are manifested, and their consequences for the individual, the community and the society:

2. devise a theoretical framework that could integrate analysis of women's roles as they relate to the processes of social change and development:

3. develop guidelines for a cohesive social policy that recognises the needs of women and that draws on their skills and talents for the planning and implementation of development programmes:

4. establish a database for teaching and research as the basis of a Women's Studies Programme at UWI: and

5. produce a cadre of women equipped with the necessary skills to conduct good female-centered research.

Methodology

Prior to the 1980s, data on women's situations and knowledge about their experiences had mostly resulted from research studies and using methods designed, analysed and interpreted by males. The female organisers/researchers in the WICP knew both from personal experience and intimate knowledge of their communities, that more accurate information and a more realistic picture of women's reality was possible if issues other than structures and functions of the family were addressed. They therefore set about to devise a research methodology which would adequately reflect how concepts such as role, work status, head of household, etc. operate in the everyday life of women in the region. In order to examine these concepts from a variety of perspectives (e.g. geographical, social), and disciplines, and to provide women in - 159 -

development practitioners with research skills to generate relevant data to influence national policy on women, they used an exploratory, experimental research design.

This inter-disciplinary, multi-level and multi-method approach involved 20 researchers working in research sites/cormnunities that stretched across the region from Jamaica in the north to Guyana in the south.

Scope of the Project

The project was organized in two phases. Phase I operated at the regional level through documentary research of various sectors in different territories, and Phase II consisted of a series of micro studies at the national level in three territories that are at different stages in the process of national development. The sector studies exrunined women in public life, female networks, unemployment and strategies for survival, women in education and attitudes of men towards women, among others.

Documentary research from Phase I provided a historical perspective of the changing position and perceptions of women in Caribbean society, and created the theoretical framework for the studies in Phase II. The two phases were linked by multi-level interviewing at three levels. In level I, a survey questionnaire was administered to large samples of women in Antigua, Barbados and St. Vincent to provide general baseline quantitative data; in level II interviews and life history techniques were used with a sub-sample of the larger sample to provide more qualitative data; and in level III, structured interviews and life history techniques were used with special groups of women, e.g. elderly, unemployed, to focus on important issues that had emerged in levels I and II.

Three themes - Sources of Livelihood, Emotional Support and Power and Authority - were used to link - 160 -

quantitative and qualitative data and to provide a frame\\Ork for their analysis. Within this framework, and through the thematic investigation, emphasis was placed on women's work experiences, male-female/female-female relationships the creation/existence of support networks, and on women's perceptions of themselves. So as not to impose European ideas of class and social status in a multi-cultural and highly heterogenous society like the Caribbean, samples were drawn in such a way as to ensure that a wide range of types and areas would be covered~ Included were not only women in rural and urban areas and in a variety of socio-ecoomic groupings, but also special ethnic groupings e.g. Syrian/Lebanese, Caribbean and East Indian, and separate groupings of women and men.

The Research Team

The multi-discipline team included sociologists, an anthropologist, an etho-historian, a demographer, political scientists and specialists in Caribbean literature from all four campuses, (3 UWI, and UG) all of whom were jointly responsible for the successful completion of the project. A senior researcher coordinated the work of team members on each campus, supervised junior researchers and organised regular work group meetings. Research assistants as members of the team, had roles and responsibilities that went beyond those

normally expected of them~ and junior female researchers/ scholars had the opportunity to be exposed to and work with experienced counterparts engaged in women-oriented research. Project team members kept in touch through correspondence, small and large working group meetings, campus visits, regional workshops and conferences.

Special care was taken in selecting and training female interviewers. These included social workers, teachers and civil servants who had had experience working and/or dealing with women and who because of their intimate knowledge - 161 -

of their various societies, were critical in helping the project team to discover and understand the situation of women in individual territories. At meetings of the interview team, many experiences were shared, problems discussed and solutions worked out. The high degree of interaction between project team members and interviewers in the various territories and the informal social contacts that developed did much to reduce and break down the social distance that usually exists between researchers/interviewer/respondents/women in communities.

Research Tasks and Methods

Tasks were organised on a campus basis. Technical aspects of the project were shared among all team members, and all researchers were involved in the preparation of research instruments and in the analysis of the data. Each member of the team also contributed specific sections to the final report. These were first presented as papers at internal project staff meetings/workshops in which team members reviewed, commented on and gave feedback to each other, small and large work-group meetings on each campus and of all team members on one or all campuses allowed researchers to share experiences, provided them with practical on-the-job training in leadership, responsibility and delegation of authority, and helped them to appreciate the value of different approaches to and perspectives of women's issues.

Training of interviewers was done by research assistants acting as field coordinators. Methods such as role play, not only provided interviewers with practise in administering the questionnaire and in accurately recording information, but served to clarify concepts and definitions of terms (e.g. household), and to build up closer relationships between researchers and interviewer. Since these relationships often were responsible for invitations to attend, participate and/or observe local/community events from which the - 162 -

researchers was able to obtain relevant and useful information. This was especially useful when coordinators had to make an inventory survey of social amenities available at the community level.

From the beginning, the project team was committed to giving back data to those (communities) who had given it, and community and national workshops were organised for this purpose in countries where micro studies had been conducted. Workshops participants - respondents, interviewers, and government officials, - were able to discuss findings - the issues and problems raised - and to make recommendations for addressing and/or solving them. At the end of the project a regional conference brought together policy makers, representatives of international agencies1 organisers of women's programmes/groups and researchers to assess the project, to discuss findings and to recommend follow-up action. A variety of material, print and audio-visual, has been produced to disseminate project findings.

The Impact of Research on Women and Development

The examples of research on women and Development in the Caribbean contain many new and deep insights and useful lessons, not only to women, researchers and policy makers in the region, but in other parts of the world.

Lessons for women

Through this research women have been able to create, be in control of, and use their own knowledge. women have gained the kind of experience that has increased self realisation and self-confidence and that has empowered them. Being involved in women-centred research, has helped them to become highly conscious about issues that are central to their life experiences and critical to their functioning effectively - 163 - in society. Research on women, by and with women has forged links between women of all classes and from all walks of life - profesisonal and non-professional, urban and rural - as they struggle together to make sense and meaning of their experiences and to liberate themselves from oppression and discrimination. The collective work of women researchers, \\Umen's organisations, and women's groups has strengthened old and created new networks and had given new meaning to the concepts of solidarity and sisterhood.

Lessons for Policy Makers

Because of the increase in the number of research studies on women, policy makers and planners can no longer claim that there is not sufficient and/or relevant data on women available in a form which can inform policies and on which to base plans. Outcomes of research on women and development has been directly related to policy issues and communicated through a variety of media to policy makers. Key issues in planning, organisation, implementation and evaluation have emerged and a wide variety of techniques and methods with which to address these are now available. Deeper insights have been gained into the philosophy and methodologies that are critical and necessary to the idea of integrated development programmes and projects and numerous opportunities have been provided for women and planners to work together to test and refine and implement these.

Lessons for Research and Reserchers

Women-centred research conducted from the perspective of women and within a framework of women's personal experiences, has called into questions traditional beliefs that male-centred models of reality and of research provide the only valid basis of knowledge. By focussing on sex and gender relationships in relation to the use and distribution of power - 164 -

within the family and the wider community, research on women has drawn attention to women as social creatures acting and reacting to others in a social world. In this way, it has challenged prevailing concepts, theories and assumptions that are at odds with women's subjective experiences. It has also permitted a much broader conception of research than as a highly specialised scientific activity conducted mainly for academic purposes, and has resulted in the production of knowledge based on a demand for practical research to address social issues and to solve social problems. It has created a body of knowledge that is reshaping our understanding of the nature and purpose of research.

On one hand, its multi-disciplinary nature has raised doubts about the wisdom of compartmentalizing knowledge into strict and separate disciplines and on the other, the methodologies it uses have broken down the distinctions between theory and practice, between objectivity and subjectivity, and have redefined knowledge, its purpose, creation and use. At the same time, the participtory approach that has become a feature of women's research, has gone a long way towards bridging the gap between researchers - the traditional producers of knowledge, policy-makers - the potential users or research findings, and the researched - the supposed beneficiaries of improved social policies.

Conclusion

Research on Women and Development has gone well beyond the idea of women's liberation. It has brought about significant theoretical and conceptual changes in our understanding of people and society. It is pushing for fundamental changes in the societal structures and power relationships, and it acknowledges the political implications of social science research. And so it has within it the potential to make real women's vision of a just and peaceful worM. - 165 -

REFERENCES Another Development with Women - Development Dialogue, l-2, Dag Hammershjold Foundation Uppsala, 1982.

BARDWICK, Judith - Women in Transition, the Hamester Press Ltd. 19 80.

Creating Knowledge: A Monopoly? Eds. B. Hall, A. Gillete and R. Tandon. Participatory Research Network Series, No. 1, ICAE, Toronto, 1982.

Drawing Valid Meaning from Qualitative Data: Towards a Shared Craft. Eds. Miles and Huberman in Education Researcher, p. 24-25, May 1984.

The Economic Role of Women in Small-Scale Agriculture in the Eastern Caribbean, WAND, 1981.

Education, Policy and Society: Theoretical Perspectives. Eds. Ben Cosin and Margaret Hales, Open University Publication.

Fighting on Two Fronts: Women's Struggle and Research. Ed Maria Mies, !SS, The Hague, 1982.

HETTNE, Bjorn. Development Theory and the Third World, Saree Report, R 2, 1982.

IDRC Reports, Vol. 13, No. 3, October 1984, pgs. 24-25.

Issues for Research and Teaching Related to Women by Bernadette Eylwan Okma, Convergence XV, No. 4, 1982, pgs. 26-30.

Participatory Research - An Integral Part of the Development Process by Pat Ellis. Unpublished paper 1983.

Participatory Research and Rural Development in Rose Hall, St. Vincent W.I. by Pat Ellis in Participatory Research in the Caribbean Principles, Practice, Problems and Potentials. Ed. C. Hawey, UWI, Trinidad and Tobago. 1985.

Planning for Women in Rural Development: A source Book for the Caribbean, WAND, 1982.

Researching Participation in Adult Education: The Potential of the Qualitative Perspective - Kathleen Rockhill. Adult Education, Vol. 33, No. 1, Fall 1982, pp. 3-19.

Women in the Caribbean Project, Vols 1-6, Ed. Joycelin Messiah, ISER, Cave Hill, 1982.

Women's Perspectives - Research as Revision. Helen Callaway in Human Inquiry: A source Book of New Paradigm Research. Eds. Peter Reason and John Rowen, John Wiley and Sons, 1981 • - 166 -

Measurement Issues in the Study of Working Women: A Review of the Philippine Experience

Marilou Palabrica-Costello

INTRODUCTION

The past decade has seen an unprecedented increase in studies devoted to the topic of women in development. It is now time to stand back and take stock of our findings in this area, both to consolidate the knowledge which we have acquired and to point to areas where further work is needed. The present paper will attempt to do this with reference to studies of working women, in the Philippines.

As always, the two major theoretical questions in the field would appear to revolve around, first, the extent to which working women are contributing to the development process in the Philippines, and, secondly the need to determine the effects--for better of for worse--which development has had upon these women. The first of these two questions raises the issue as to how exactly, one is to define a "working woman", while the second brings to mind the whole problem of sexual inequality in the work force. The paper will thus be devoted chiefly to examining studies which bear on these two issues.

Research Findings on the Status of Working Women in the Philippines

According to the findings of anthropologists, Philippine women appear to hold a fairly high status. As is the case in much of Southeast Asia, Filipinas enjoy continued support from their kin group after marriage. The culture also grants them considerable power in family decision making, especially pertaining to economic matters, and places few restrictions upon their geographic and social mobility - 167 -

(Goldschmidt and Michaelson, 1971; Stoodley, 1957; Fox, 1963). In addition, Philippine women have made considerable gains in terms of their level of educational attainment, so that at present they actually rank slightly higher than men in this respect (e.g. Curtin, 1982).

These egalitarian tendencies, however, do not seem to operate with equal vigor in the world of work. The labour force participation rate of Philippine women stood at around 33 per 100 in 1980. This is not particularly high for the developing world in general and is actually one of the lowest within the Southeast Asian region. Indeed, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country which has registered a decline in its rate of female labour force participation during the decade of the seventies (Jones, 1984a, Table 2.5). Historically, the female labour force participation rate has only been about half as large as that found for men (Rojas-Aleta, et al, 1977, p. 119). Various factors have been suggested as being responsible for this pattern, among which we might mention the continuingly high rates of fertility found in the Philippines and resistance on the part of married men to the idea of their wives working (Tagumpay-Castillo and Hilomen-Guerrero, 1969; Layo, 1978).

When Philippine women do work, they generally do so in occupations which are viewed as fitting within the confines of culturally approved feminine roles -- e.g. as unpaid workers on the family farm, petty traders, waitresses, nurses, teachers or the like (Eviota, 1978; Rojas-Aleta et al, 1977). While women are overrepresented in white collar positions (generally the lower-paying ones), they are also heavily concentrated in certain low status jobs, such as factory operatives in the country's new export processing zones, domestic servants, and prostitutes, all of which are identified with a number of distinct social problems (cf. Snow, 1978; Tanedo, 1983; and Coronel, 1983 on factory workers; Ibarra, 1977 and - 168 -

Palabrica-Costello, 1984 on domestic servants; and Evangesta, 1977 and Moselina, 1979 on the prostitution problem in the Philippines).

Considerable evidence exists as to the presence of discriminatory practices in the treatment of Philippine working women. Compared to men, they are less likely to be promoted to top administrative positions. For example, in 1970, only one out of every nine supervisors in the government civil service was a woman, even though over half of all government employees at this time were female (Rojas-Aleta, et al, 1977, p. 158). Working women in the Philippines have also been found to suffer from rates of unemployment that are twice as high as those experienced by males, as well as from higher levels of underemployment (Zosa, 1978; Zosa-Feranil, 1981 ). Female work activities are generally viewed as "marginal, dispensable, and seasonal" (Rojas-Aleta et al, 197 7, p. 148) so that women are typically the first to be laid off during periods of economic recession, such as that which the country is now undergoing (Cortes, 1982).

On the average, full-time working women in the Philippines earn only about 61 centavos for every peso earned by their male counterparts. This differential persists even when comparisons are made within similar occupational categories (Rojas-Aleta, et al, 1977; Miralao, 1980). These disparities seem to be at least partially due to discrimination against women in the determination of wages and salaries, insofar as they are larger among wage and salary workers than among the self-employed (Mangahas and Jayme-Ho, 1976).

Measurement Issues and Areas for Further Study

Who are a "Working Women"?

Perhaps the most fundamental question still to be answered revolves around the means by which the economic - 169 -

activities of Philippine women may best be quantified. To date, most studies have been content to utilize the labour force concept (e.g. Zosa, 1978: Mijares and Engracia, 1981; Engracia and Herrin, 1984). This technique, however, appears to underestimate seriously the economic contribution of women.

Under the labour force approach, persons are classified as employed, unemployed, or not in the labour force. Housewives are to be placed in the latter category, although married women who stay at home can be treated as employed if they are acting as unpaid workers in a family farm or business. One apparent defect of this approach is that this distinction is exceedingly difficult to apply in rural areas of the Third World, so that many female economic activities, especially those of an agricultural nature, are undercounted. Part-time, income-producing activities of women in smaller towns and cities may also be missed by this approach. In this category would fall, for example, housewives who make and sell snacks to neighbourhood children, women engaged in part-time handicraft producton, or urbanites who return briefly to the family from to help during harvest time.

Even in cases where the housewife is not directly engaged in the production of goods or services for the market, the question might well be raised as to whether this means that her daily activities are necessarily non-economic in character. In capital-scarce settings where the household is the basic unit of production, some intraf amilial division of labour must necessarily be agreed upon so that both household maintenance tasks and wage-earning {or food-producing) activities can be carried out. These activities are complementary: if either were to be suspended the household as a whole would suffe.r a decline in its standard of living .1 Thus, the exclusion of housework, as performed by housewives, from the category of productive activities is not in keeping with Third World economic realities. It is also not logically - 170 -

consistent, since domestic servants who perform the same (or even fewer) activities are counted as bona fide members of the labour force. The arbitrary quality of this situation is nicely summarized by Gavin Jones' (1984b, p. 7) observation that "when a man marries his maid and she continues to do the housework, both the labour force and the G.N.P. decrease."

One response to this methodological impasse has been found in attempts to systematically collect data on how household members spend their time. Termed the "time allocation" method, this approach has several advantages. The foremost of these is that it does away with preformed value judgements about "economic" and "non-economic" activities, by focusing on a variety of specific household tasks. Secondly, the method is admirably suited for quantifying part-time market activities. For this reason, studies utilizing this approach have been shown to arrive at higher estimates of female labour force participation than those using the traditional labour force concept.2 Third, the time budget survey appears to be less prone to the problem of "normative" responses, that is, of the tendency to report only activities which are in line with conventional ideas about proper female behavior. Finally, the technique has proven to be of use in suggesting new policy implications for development planners, such as means by which the time devoted by lower-class housewives to market activities could be increased (cf. Birdsall and McGreevey, 1978).

Despite these points in its favour, some hard questions must be asked about the utility of time budget surveys. Perhaps the major problem in this regard refers to the costs, in both time and money, of conducting such surveys. Because the method is so time-consuming to carry out, it is not likely to be taken seriously by national census and survey offices, for whom every additional question on a household interview schedule may cost thousands of dollars. Thus, use of this method in the Philippines has to date been limited to one-time - 171 -

pilot surveys (e.g. King-Quizon and Evenson, 1978; Ho, 1979; Miralao, 1980), which are scarcely the sort of sustained data-collection efforts that will be needed to better integrate women's needs into the development planning process.

Questions might also be raised about the validity of time allocation data, especially in settings where few people can afford clocks or watches and where the sense of time consciousness is not well developed. Memory lapses, too, might be expected to cause misestimates of the time devoted to various activities. True, these problems can be circumvented by placing an observer in the household (e.g. Jayme-Ho, 1976) but in this case the questions of costliness and practicality become even more problematic. One function which 'this approach could serve, however, might be to serve as a validity check upon the data produced by time allocation surveys. That is, a series of studies could be made, in different cultural and socioeconomic settings, which use both techniques to collect data for the same households. To date, no such study appears to have been made, although the benefits of such a strategy, in terms of a clearer understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of time allocation studies, are considerable.

Experimentation should also be made on possible modifications in both the labour force approach and the time allocation method, in order to find ways of circumventing their associated problems. Thus, national economic surveys might be willing to include supplementary checklist items on some of the part-time economic activities most typically performed by housewives. A variation on the time budget approach which might be tried would be for interviewers to make random checks of sampled households to record what the spouse as doing at the time of their visit. This could be one way of increasing the validity of this approach without resorting to the costly device of a full-time observer. Whether or not these specific suggestions will work, however, our major conclusion must - 172 -

clearly be that the need still exists for a practical means of measuring economic activities that will show the contributions of women, as well as those of men.

Proving the Obvious? The Inequality Question Revisited

If the development process is to have a beneficial impact upon Philippine women, we would surely expect to see greater equality between men and women in the world of work than is now the case. For this reason, the regular collection of an expanded set of indicators of gender inequality is much to be desired. Beyond this, however, further improvements can be made in the methodologies which have heretofore been used to study this topic.

To date, most Philippine studies on this issue have been secondary analyses of data collected in the course of multi-purpose labour force surveys. Relatively few have been formulated specifically with an intent to investigate patterns of discrimination against female workers. As such, the evidence which they have produced on this question has tended to be circumstantial in nature, and less than totally convincing. This must inevitably lead to a certain reluctance on the part of government administrators and law-makers to vigorously pursue a policy of equal rights in the labour market. 3

Two approaches might be suggested for strengthening our findings in this area. In the first place, more sophisticated statistical techniques should be used by researchers who utilize conventional labour market surveys. In particular, statistical controls should be made for more than the respondent's occupational group when analyzing income differences between male and female workers. Other confounding variables, such as education, age, or level of work experience, which might lie at the root of these differences must also be - 173 -

controlled.4 More detailed occupational breakdowns will also be needed, insofar as female workers tend to cluster together in the less prestigious (and lower paying) jobs within such broad categories as professional and technical workers, administrative positions and service occupations. For example, census data over the past two decades have shown approximately 90 percent of all female "professional, technical and related workers" in the country to be teachers, nurses or medical technicians.

In addition, studies which can produce more direct evidence of discriminatory practices against women are sorely needed. For example, we need to know more about the attitudes held by company administrators and personnel managers about working women. Studies which are based upon actual personnel files and which could thus show the practices which take place in this regard would no doubt prove to be even more valuable. Field experiments might also be devised to shed further light on this issue. For example, we might send out some of our equally qualified male and female students to apply for advertised openings in large-scale corporations, to see how both groups were treated. In short, the employment of more innovative and more direct research techniques will be needed if we are to strengthen our case for the amelioration of the problems now faced by working women.

Bringing in the Time Dimension: The Need for Longitudinal Studies

Another characteristic of studies on gender inequalities in the Philippine labour market is that they have almost universally employed cross-sectional data-gathering techniques. This tendency is puzzling since "development" in a time-bound process, thus leading one to suppose that analyses of "women in development" would take a similarly dynamic approach. Again, the predominance in the field of one-shot - 174 -

pilot studies or of conventional labour force surveys might be suggested as a reason for this. Whatever the reason, though, the fact is that we know very little about the changes which have occurred over time on this vital question.

Looking at the past, there is a need to bring together comparative time series data on gender inequalities in the labour market. Trends in the levels of wage inequality between the sexes represent one possible study area along these lines: changes over time in gender segregation in the labour market ought to be another. Studies of this type should also attempt to correlate these trends to specific manifestations of the development process such as mechanization trends in agriculture or the growth of the country's urban population.

Nor should we be content with exploring the past, with what few shreds of historical evidence are still available to us. We must also look to the future and to the need for documenting the impact of current developmental trends upon the status of Philippine working women. Plans should be made now for the ongoing collection of indicators on this topic.

At the micro-level of analysis, too, longitudinal data have only rarely been employed. For example, most studies of social mobility have been carried out upon samples of male respondents, apparently on the assumption that a woman's socioeconomic status may be treated as coterminous with of the husband. This tendency is unfortunate, since it is clear that female mobility patterns constitute a key research issue for contemporary Third World countries. For example, studies have shown domestic servants to have a high level of geographic mobility. Many of the young women who flock to the cities of the Philippines are able to find jobs as servants (Palabrica-Costello, 1984, Engracia and Herrin, 1984). Careers in domestic service, however, are typically quite brief, thus leading to the question as to where these young women go after - 175 -

they have ceased being servants. Do they marry and drop out of the labour force? Are they able to locate higher status jobs in the city? Do they go home to the barrio? No one seems to know for sure, even though these questions have important implications for such central development issues as rural-urban migration, nuptiality and child-bearing behaviour, circular mobility and informal sector employment.

One reason why it is often so difficult to take a longitudinal perspective on working women lies in the fact that conflicting trends will so often be taking place for different groups of women. Women are a heterogeneous group insofar as their life chances are affected not only by their subordinate female status, but also by such variables as social class, ethnicity, marital status and stage of the life cycle. Studies which fail to take these differentiating factors into account are likely to arrive at conclusions which are correct for some subgroups but manifestly untrue for others.

A good example of this tendency is provided by data on changes over time in the occupational composition of Philippine working women. Some illustrative statistics on this question are given in Table 1. At first glance, these figures would appear to show that substantial gains in occupational prestige have been made by these women. As they indicate, the past two decades have been marked by increasing representation of females among white collar workers in general and professional and technical workers in particular. Some of the specific occupations in the latter category which have been characterized by a growing proportion of female workers include physicians, professors and teachers, accountants and social scientists.

Concurrent with this trend, however, are other indications that women are still expected to take a subordinate position in the world of work. For example, the proportion of - 176 -

administrators who are female actually declined during the 1970's, even as the number of female clerical workers grew dramatically. We are thus getting more women in the office setting, but these are secretaries and bookkeepers, not managers. The figures in Table 1 also show an ever-growing proportion of female service workers, with the vast majority of these ending up in the very unprestigious position of domestic servants.5

In addition, Philippine women are being increasingly recruited into certain other low-skilled urban jobs, such as factory operatives, market vendors and store clerks, in which the opportunities for personal fulfillment are not great. Petty trade is becoming less remunerative as increasing numbers of the urban poor take up jobs in this sector (Hackenberg, 1975). Large stores and shopping centres are also providing increased competition for self-employed females in this type of job.

The option of finding employment in a factory is also fraught with problems. In order to increase foreign industrial investment, pay scales have been permitted to remain at very low levels, while the rigid time schedules required by these jobs are also likely to conflict with important family roles. An example of this latter tendency is shown by the low levels of infant breastfeeding exhibited by mothers employed in the factory setting (Costello and Palabrica-Costello, forthcoming).

It would thus appear that two very different trends are underway for higher and lower status Philippine working women. For the minority who were born into more affluent surroundings and who have been able to obtain a good education, the opportunities for professional or white collar employment are good now and probably getting better. The same cannot be said, however, for that large mass of women who come from the countryside or from lower class urban homes. Indeed , it would - 177 -

seem that the lifestyles and mobility opportunities for these two groups of women are becoming increasingly differentiated (Szanton, 1982).

One implication that stems from this finding is that the possibilities for political solidarity among working women as a whole may be weakened greatly where cross-cutting ties to class or status groups are strong. The question might also be raised as to whether the appointment of women to government policy-making positions will do much to better the lot of lower-status working women. Most such appointees will no doubt come from higher status backgrounds, thus leading to the charge that "as elites, they constitute part of the problem" (Hollnsteiner, 1981, p. 17).

More generally, however, the lesson that we can draw from this example is that women themselves are a highly diverse group. It will thus behoove us, not only to view women from a longitudinal perspective, but, whenever possible, to do so in a more disaggregated fashion than is now the case.

Policy Relevance: Formation and Implementation

Most research which has been conducted on working women in the Philippines appears to have been carried out with a view towards providing recommendations for government policymaking bodies. This is quite praiseworthy, of course, but it seems that still more could be done along these lines. In particular, there is a need to investigate the extent to which those policies which have already been promulgated are actually being implemented on a day-to-day basis.

At present, women workers in the Philippines are accorded a number of key rights. The country subscribes to the !LO conventions on equal rights for men and women workers. Discrimination by sex in hiring, promotion, or wage-setting is - 178 -

prohibited by law. Women workers are also given some special privileges, such as paid maternity leaves (cf. Fidelino, 1981 ). This is all well and good, but what we don't know is the extent to which these legal provisions are actually enforced. Given our earlier review of the manifold inequalities faced by Philippine working women, it would appear that the enforcement issue represents the real heart of the problem.

There are a number of good reasons for suspecting that policies which guarantee equal rights for working women will not be energetically implemented once they are on the books. The problem of bureaucratic "red tape" is, of course, always with us. The fact that the overwhelming majority of government administrators in the country are male should also be mentioned. Can we expect these men to actively pursue policies which may not fit well with either their views on working women or their own self-interest?

On their part, too, many working women may not always press for full recognition of their rights. Where the culture stresses respect for and acquiescence to older males, and where job opportunities are scarce, few working women can be expected to seek legal redress, for even the most patent violation of their rights. The difficulties of documenting one's complaint may also be great in smaller firms or in private households, where contracts are not provided and financial record keeping is minimal. In other cases, the women involved may not even be aware of their rights.

Further studies are clearly needed on this topic. These should include annual statistics on the number of reported violations in the equal rights laws and the eventual outcomes of these cases. Beyond this, studies are also needed on the views held by government administrators and private-sector employers toward these laws (this, of course, may require methods other than conventional survey techniques). - 179 -

We also need to know more about the methods by which employers can use existing loopholes in the laws to circumvent the equal rights issue.

Analyses might also be made on this problem from the side of the women themselves. Some questions which need answers include, first, the extent to which working women are aware of their rights. Second, to what extent are employed women able to see work-related inequalities as symptoms of a more general pattern of discrimination against women as opposed to merely viewing them as personal "troubles"? Third, what are the various pressures which are typically brought to bear upon women to convince them not to seek help on this matter from the proper government agency? J\dditional information on all of these questions would be of great help in ensuring that existing or future laws in this area will be implemented fully and effectively.

Conclusion

In sum, I have attempted in this paper to review the state of research on working women in the Philippines and to make a number of recommendations as to how future studies on this topic may be improved. My concern has been largely with two problems. First, are present research methods capable of completely documentin9 the economic contributions made by Philippine women? And, secondly, in what ways can we upgrade our analyses of the inequalities faced by these working women? It is my sincere desire that this conference will provide both guidelines for answering these questions and a sense of urgency about the need for discovering their answers. For it is only by continuing to press against the research frontiers posed by these, and similar, questions that we social scientists can hope to make some small contribution to the momentous problems now facing the world's women. Table 1. Statistics on the Sex Composition of Selected Occupations and Occupational Groupings, Philippines, 1960-80

Percent Female As a Percentage of All Female Workers 1960 1970 1975 1980 1960 1970 1975 1980

Professional, Technical and Related Workers 51. 1 60.0 59.3 59.7 6.1 14.0 12.4 17.0 (Natural Scientists) (55.5) (48.1) (44.3) (- ) ( 0. 2) ( 0 • 3 ) ( 0. 3) (- ) (Professors and Teachers) (66.9) (74.3) (74.5) (- ) ( 4. 7) (11.6) ( 9. 4) (- ) (Physicians, surgeons and Dentists) (28.0) (32.7) (37.8) (- ) ( 0 • 2 ) ( 0. 3) ( 0. 3) (- ) (Nurses, Midwives and Medical Technicians) (78.2) (80.5) (81.6) (- ) ( 0 • 6 ) ( 1. 2) ( 1. 4) (- ) (Accountants and Social (20.4) (28.5) (38.4) (- ) ( 0. 1 ) ( 0 • 3 ) (0~5) (- ) I-' scientists) 00 • 0 Administrator ano Managers 14. 5 26.1 20.8 19. 1 0.4 1. 0 0.9 0.6

Clerical Workers 23.0 36.9 41. 7 47.4 2. 1 4. 1 6.7 9.6

Sales Workers 50.7 54. 2 51. 6 49.7 1 2. 6 12. 3 15. 7 15.4

(Working Proprietors) (50.7) (51.3) (49.0) (- ) ( 5. 7) ( 4. 5) ( 6. 6) (- ) (Sales persons and Kindred ( 54. 5) (60.8) (57.6) (- ) ( 6. 8) ( 7. 7) ( 8. 8) (- ) workers) Service, Sport and Related workers 66. 1 65.9 62.4 57.3 16.4 18.4 20.7 21 • 7 (Housekeepers, Cooks and Maids) (80.5) (84.3) (82.5) (- ) ( 1 3 • 4 ) (15.5) (17.5) (- )

SOURCE: Republic of the Philippines, Bureau of the Census (1965, Table 4) and Republic of the Philippines, National Census and Statistics Office (1974, Table II-7: 1978, Table 11: and 1983, Table 9). - 181 -

Footnotes

1 11 An adequate account of the sexual division of labour ••• is one that fully recognizes the participation of both sexes in the enterprises and defines their tasks and obligations, their duties and responsibilities as they are structured in their own terms. It is not based in assumption and judgment but in a located description, that is in a description which occurs where the division of labour occurs, within the household (Jacobson, 1981, p. 20). 2For example, Ho's study of rural housewives in Laguna province found the female labour force participation rate, as based upon a conventional labour force survey question, to be only 29.7 per hundred. In contrast, her more detailed time budget data revealed a comparable figure of 43.2, as based upon the definition of a working woman as one "who has spent any time at all in market production." As the author comments, "women who had actually spent time feeding poultry, tending a vegetable garden, or engaging in similar qu~si-market activities may not have regarded such activities as employment and may have reported having no occupation ••• " (Ho, 1979, p. 655). 3For example, the former Executive Director of the National Wages Council of the Philippines--herself a long-time champion of the rights of working women in the country-- has observed, quite correctly, that "the weekly cash earnings of women being lower than that of men is not proof of the violation of the 'equal pay for equal work' principle" (Fidelino, 1981, p. 9). 4Two recent studies which did institute such controls found nonsignificant income differentials between male and female household heads (Qureshi, 19831 Costello and Palabrica-Costello, 1985). These findings, however, must be interpreted with caution. Neither is based upon a national sample of respondents, while they also fail to tell us anything about the great majority of working women in the country who are not household heads. 5That domestic service ranks very low in terms of occupational prestige in the Philippines has been demonstrated by a number of studies. The most recent of these (Voth, 1970) found, in fact, that maids were ranked lowest out of 148 jobs on a scale of occupational prestige. - 182 -

References

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Women's Participation in Two Irrigation Projects 1n the Philippines!

Jeanne Frances I. Illo2

Approaches to integrating women in the development process have basically taken two forms. One takes women as a special category and custom fits projects and/or organizations to women's concerns. In rural areas in the Philippines, these projects are exemplified by the initiation of mothers' classes and nutrition projects (The NFE/WID Exchange-Asia 1984). This approach has also been used in forming livelihood groups along the lines of existing occupations (such as the production of subsistence crops) or traditionally female domestic activities (like sewing).

The other .form does not address women as a special group nor does it concern itself with women's issues. This approach is characteristic of most development programs which are aimed at addressing problems besetting the rural populace, be they men or women. Rural credit programs are one example;

lpreparation of this paper was supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation to the Development Academy of the Philippines. The author appreciates the comment of Dr. Frances F. Kor ten of the Ford Found a ti on.

2The author was a Research Fellow of the Development Academy of the Philippines.

To be published in The Philippine Sociological Review 1985 (Third & Fourth Quarter) issue. - 187 -

production training programs, another. Women's access to these efforts is anchored not on their membership in an exclusive women's organization but on their ownership or access to key resources like land. Although these rural development programs are intended for men and women who meet program selection criteria, the operationalization of the plans inevitably focuses on men who are generally assumed to either own (jointly with the wife in most cases) the land or possess the right to cultivate a farm. Organizations formed in support of these programs, as exemplified by the Samahang Nayon or Barrio Association, then tend to be tailored for male adults, and membership is almost limited to men. 3

In the same vein, the Philippine irrigation development program and the irrigators' associations created by the program involve primarily male cultivators. The implementation of a new approach to irrigation development, known as the participatory approach (Bagadion and Korten 1980, and Korten 1982), in the latter half of the 1970s presents an interesting case insofar as women's participation in the program is concerned. Before the initiation of the participatory approach in 1976, the field staff of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) consisted of engineers and technicians, the great majority of whom were male. Beginning particularly for participation in the planning, design, and construction of physical irrigation facilities and with organizing the water users into irrigators' associations which will operate and maintain the completed irrigation systems. This institutional staff, called community organizers, has been

3In a number of cases, training sessions conducted by government agencies had more female than male participants. This persisted although the organizations for whom the training programs were conducted had predominantly male memberships. - 188 -

composed of college graduates about two-thirds or whom were women. 4 The fielding of community organizers dramatically changed the sex ratio of the NIA field teams.

This paper discusses how female farmers have been involved in two irrigation projects in the Philippines: the Aslong project and a component (the Lower Lalo section) of the Buhi-Lalo project. The general issues surrounding women's participation in irrigation are further illustrated in the case of two women--Tiang Yayang and Tiang Loring--who were named to leadership positions in their respective irrigators' associations. The analysis draws heavily on data collected from 1979 through May 1982 during which the implementation of two projects was intensively documented.5 The studies focused on general farmers' participation and highlighted the processes, and policy and procedural issues associated with involving farmers in the development of their irrigation systems. In 1983, additional information was gathered on women's involvement in the two projects.

4The sex ratio among NIA's community organizers compares favorably with that observed among extension workers of the Philippines' Ministry of Agriculture and Food. In 1983, for instance, the ministry fielded a total of 4,063 farm management technicians, about 58 percent of whom were women (Ministry of Agriculture 1983).

5The implementation of the Aslong communal project has been documented in Illo, de los Reyes, and Felix (1984), and in Illo and Volante (1984), while the application of the participatory mode to irrigation development in the Lalo project was documented in Illo and Chiong-Javier (1983). - 189 -

The present analysis uses the two irrigation project situations to examine the roles that women were playing in various stages of project implentation and in different activities of the irrigators' associations. Based on the experiences of women in the Aslong and LOwer Lalo projects, issues are explored affecting the integration of women in development efforts which are neither female-specific nor female-oriented. Moreover, lessons are culled concerning the likely effects of women's participation in general rural organizations.

The Women in the Aslong Project

The Aslong irrigation project involved the improvement of an ex.isting communal system (which is collectively owned by its water users) located in Southern Luzon. The irrigation development scheme included the construction of a concrete dam (to replace the temporary brush darns built by the farmers) and several canal structures, and the rehabilitation of irrigation canals. The improved system was expected to irrigate about 325 hectares of riceland throughout the year, or a doubling of the dry-season irrigated area. Along with the development of the physical system, NIA intended to create a viable irrigators' association which would be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the completed system as well as the repayment of part of the government's investment in the Aslong project. To accomplish NIA's institutional building objective, the agency hired and fielded community organizers. The Aslong project officially began in March 1979 with the arrival of a female community organizer in the area. Two months later, she was joined by another female organizer. Because of transfers, by the - 190 -

end of 1983 a total of five organizers had worked in the project; three of these were women.6

Part of the community organizers' assignment was to develop the irrigators' association and to build among the farmers a commitment to the organization. While an irrigators' association had been organized in the area in January 1979 (or three months before the entry of the community organizers), the association had but 45 farmers listed as members by March 1979. The community organizers then encouraged the association officials to identify and recruit farmers who were qualified to join the association. The organizers also mobilized the leaders

6The first two female organizers (C0-1 and C0-2) together covered the Aslong project until they left the area to assume the supervision of organizing work in specific regions of the Philippines. C0-2 left Aslong in March 1980 while C0-1 departed in April 1980. They were replaced in the Aslong project by a male organizer (C0-3), who was fielded in February 1980 and stayed on until June 1981 after which he, too, was promoted to supervise region-wide organizing work in the NIA communal program. C0-3 began his organizing work at the time when the Aslong project had barely started its construction phase, and left after the improved system's first season of operations. In mid-1981, he was replaced by a female organizer (C0-4) who worked in Aslong until she left the agency in late 1982. C0-4, together with her replacement (a male organizer), covered Aslong and another communal project. Between 1979 and 1983, the community organizers in the Aslong project were supervised by a total of three persons (two females and one male). Overall supervision of organizing work in NIA's communal program was provided until December 1983 by a male consultant. - 191 -

to comply with legal requirements set by the Philippine government for the diversion of water from a river for irrigation purposes and those for acquiring a legal personality for the association. The organizers further engaged the farmers in various project activities which called for planning their participation and harnessing resources to get the tasks done. When the system became operational in late 1980 (see Figure 1 for a sketch of the completed system), the irrigators' association began discharging its system operation and maintenance responsibilities. The association started repaying its construction loan from NIA in December 1983. These activities theoretically concerned all association members, be they men or

women. Participation, however, tended to differ bet~een as well as among male and female farmers -- as did their access to association membership.

Entry into the association

When the association was formed in January 1979, 45 farmers and 3 nonfarmers attended the meeting and were automatically considered as the initial members of the newly-organized group. Within six months or so after the association's organization, the assocaition decided to limit membership to actual cultivators of farms which drew water from the Aslong system. Consequently, the three nonfarmers (all males} were dropped from the membership roster, and the leaders actively campaigned among the qualified farmers to join the association. Generally, the all-male leadership focused their recruitment efforts on heads of households whose farms were irrigated by the original Aslong system. By the end of 1979, the association had about 140 registered members, 126 of whom were males. Of the 14 female members, 9 were widows who directly managed farming operations and who were generally regarded as the heads of their households. The other 5 female members were LEGEND

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,,, (:! .~ral"- {7/7'~ff'/ j'' \.t.~a--p~-"': ---~1ll L ~w ~'... (. c, ,_. \0 j N ~·~~,~---W - ''l>! c- ' ' \\•, ,.--- ~ '\ "-...._,I main canal '\, c---. Ij ~ ~Oais•}·- -"""'"' al B . , -··1 "" ,/ I ,, 6~'- . ~~ ~ I -~ "i-G" ~· I . \...___.---"~~ - ..._ ____,.-- .WC. c.eral B-1

Fig'..lre 1. Irrigation facilities constructed in the Aslong systex (Septe~e= 1980) - 193 -

married and thus were not acknowledged as the heads of their households. In two of these cases, however, the husbands were working elsewhere which made the women directly responsible for the farm1 the other three women either held the title to the land or the right to cultivate it. In all 14 cases, the women were identified by the leaders {and, in a few cases, by the husbands) as the farmer.

After four years, registered association members numbered 165, including 16 women. As shown in Table 1, 11 of the 16 female members were farming in the two upstream sectors, while the other 5 were distributed among the remaining sectors.7 {Sectors are divisions of the irrigation system's area coverage which were based on a combination of community boundaries and the irrigation canals which served these areas).

Between 1979 and 1983, two of the original female members died while one was dropped from the membership roster when she stopped farming. Moreover, five were added as these women's farms were finally irrigated by the Aslong system.

Among the 16 women listed as members, two were currently married women who joined the association because their husbands were employed outside the community and visited their families on rare intervals between jobs. In contrast, four other married women qualified for association membership either because

7The water users of the Aslong system included some 23 nonmembers of the association. Three of these users were women, all of whom were widows with farms in an upstream section of the system, and who cultivated their lands with the help of hired labour. - 194 -

Table 1. Registered membership of the Aslong irrigators' association, by sector and sex of members (March 1983)

Coverage a Membership Location and sector (in ha.) Male Female Total

Upstream

San Isidro Sag op 1 68 33 (85)b 6 ( 15) 39 San Isidro Sagop 2 87 23 (82) 5 ( 18 ) 28

Downstream

Bahay 22 16 (84) 3 ( 1 6 ) 19 Aslong 27 21 (95) 1 ( 5) 22 Palangon 120 56 (98) 1 2 ) 57

aThis refers to the irrigable area within the sector or system.

bThe figures in parentheses pertain to the percentage of members of a praticular sex to total membership.

cpalangon was divided into two sectors in December 1981; the figures, however, refer to the combined Palangon sectors.

they owned the riceland or they were generally known as the tenant of the farms served by the system. In 1983, these four women were not actually cultivating their land: in three instances, the husbands were reportedly farming the land, while - 195 -

in the fourth case the woman had sublet the farm to another (male} farmer. Although farming arrangements had changed in the four cases, the four female members retained their place in the membership roster because they allegedly continued to exercise a modicum of management control over the farm.

Of the remaining 10 female members, one was separated from her spouse for several years while the nine others were widows. In case a widowed member remarried, she continued to be regarded as the member of the association as illustrated in the following instance.

When N.B. joined the irrigators' association in 1979, she had been widowed for a few years. Her late husband used to cultivate a rice farm as share tenant. When he died, N.B. sought the landlord's permission to continue operating the farm; this time, she was considered as the tenant. After 1980, N.B. remarried. Her second husband took over the actual farming of the land. Nonetheless, she kept her association membership on the grounds that she held the right to cultivate the farm, not her second husband.

Apart from the 16 listed female members, two women had been attending meetings after their husbands, who were association members, died. After a year of widowhood, however, the association had yet to enter them in the membership roster in lieu of their deceased spouse.

Participation in project activities

As association members, the female farmers attended meetings, joined field inspections, and contributed equity to the - 196 -

project.9 While women generally attended meetings and on-site investigations of facilities, they tended to send their spouse or adult sons to report to the project's construction sites so that their labour could be credited as the female members' counterpart contribution in the project. In contrast, male members raised equity in the project by contributing part or all of their labour during the construction phase of the Aslong project while some of the male members sent their wives to represent them during general assemblies and other association meetings (see Table 2). The use of proxies during meetings was raised as an issue by the community organizers in mid-1979, and subsequently discussed during board meetings.

Four months after the start of organizing work in Aslong, the organizers brought to the attention of the board of directors the low attendance in previous activ1ties and the visibility of proxies (usually farmers' wives) during general assemblies and (female members' sons) field inspections. One association official seconded the organizers' contention that the use of proxies reflected the members' lack of commitment to the participatory goals of the project. The majority of the officials, however, was not opposed to members sending their wives as their representatives during meetings. The all-male board generally

9Beginning in the mid-1970's, the Philippine government required farmers who would benefit from assistance to develop or improve communal irrigation systems (1) to repay, within 50 years and without interest, part of the development cost, and (2) to raise as counterpart at least 10 percent of the construction cost. - 197 -

considered the phenomenon as a "natural" one since women were as concerned about farming matters as their spouse. Moreover, women's presence in meetings was expected to "educate" them about the project and to allay their fears over the financial commitments which their spouse might make to the association. But while female proxies were tolerated during meetings, they were not allowed to participate in the formal decision-making process (that is, voting on an issue).

Among the ways by which members contributed equity to the Aslong project was by donating rights of way for irrigation canals which were located on their lands. A difficult right-of-way situation, however, arose where the needed land belonged to someone who was not a member of the association. One such case involved the dam site. In negotiating for this land, the leaders discovered that they had to content not only with the man, who was initially assumed to decide on the matter by himself, but also with the wife. The association's negotiation experience over the dam site is as follows.

When the association and NIA agreed on the location of the concrete dam in mid-1979, they discovered that building the dam in that site would affect the land owned by MA, a nonmember who was not expected to benefit from the system because all his fields were located outside the system's service area. Consequently, the association initiated right-of-way negotiations with MA in August 1979, about six months before construction commenced in the area. At the outset, MA declared that he would allow the association to construct a dam on his property only if he would be compensated for the 400 square meter dam site. The association resigned itself to paying MA. In November, - 198 -

Table 2. Attendance in selected general assemblies convened by the Aslong irrigators' association between 1980 and 1981a

Attendance Percent of Date of the Male Female Female females to Assembly members members proxies Total total at- tendees

1980 29 March 38 2 1 41 7 22 June 74 4 78 5 24 July 60 7 4 71 15 17 August 28 3 2 33 15 1 October 42 8 4 54 22 26 October 58 7 6 71 1 8 10 November 27 2 3 32 16 30 November 51 4 4 59 14

1981 18 January 69 6 4 79 13 26 April 62 7 3 72 14 23 May 54 5 1 60 10 28 June 30 6 37 19

aThese general assemblies pertain to those for which the association had kept attendance records when visited in mid-1983. During the 1980 to 1981 period, the association had about 140 members.

bThe percentage of female to total association members was about 10 percent. - 199 -

however, MA reportedly changed his mind because he feared that parts of his property might be flooded as a result of the dam construction. To allay his fears, two association leaders accompanied him on a tour of the dam site.

By December 1979, negotiations for the dam site was perceived by the leaders to have turned to the worst. MA's (then) estranged wife publicly declared her reservations about the project and the use of their land as dam site. (Moreover, her father was heard to comment that MA's land could be flooded once a dam was built on the proposed site.) To avoid further worsening of the situation, the association began negotiating with MA and his wife. On 8 December, for instance, the association treasurer and the project engineer met with Mrs. MA and explained that measures would be introduced during the construction of the dam to prevent flooding of their land. A week later, she visited the proposed dam site with the project engineer and several association officials. The leaders felt that they had convinced Mrs. MA about the improbability of flooding on their property in connection with the dam construction.

On 15 December, the association offered to pay P1 per square meter of the dam site. The couple did not respond to the offer. Thus one week later, the association began to consider initiating expropriation proceedings against them. When MA did respond, he declared that they would not sell their land for less than P15 per square meter. To persuade them to lower their price, the association continued to threaten them - 200 -

with expropriation action. The officials claimed that should their land be expropriated, the court would use the government's assessed value which tended to be very low. On 12 January 1980, the couple agreed to sell their land for P4 per square meter. MA told the association officials that he would not sign any right-of-way document until he received payment for their land. (The community organizers did not heed MA's statement; they tried to convince him to donate the dam site to the association to no avail.) On 21 February, the project engineer and the association president brought the Pl,600 payment to MA who then signed the deed of sale which the president brought with him. (Under Philippine law, however, the husband

cannot legally dispose of conj~al property without the wife's signature on the deed of sale. The association claimed that Mrs. MA had agreed to the sale before the actual signing of the deed of sale.)

Right-of-way negotiations and other preconstruction­ phase activit~es basically involved only male leaders. However, activities which engaged association members (such as formulating the association bylaws) also involved women. Female farmers and farmers' wives attended sectoral meetings convened to discuss amendments to the bylaws; they also were present in conferences with NIA engineers during which system design was negotiated and the terms of construction set. But during the construction phase when members were more active participants in the project than the association officials, these active members were generally male. As men and women in Aslong explained, women were not expected to do heavy construction work (like excavation and hauling of materials). And in several cases, women said that sending adult males to construction sites and women to meetings - 201 -

distributed the time-consuming demands of the project among the men and women of member farming households.

Selection of leaders

When the association was organized in 1979, the leadership rested on a board of directors and several association officers all of whom were male. This male-dominated central leadership persisted until the end of 1980, there being no general elections until January 1981. During this period, however, the association opened up several informal leadership positions through the formation of ad hoc construction committees. (Pre-construction committees were.composed of association officials except for the bylaws committee which was comprised of a male representative from each of the five sectors of the system.) Additional leadership positions were created beginning in December 1980 when each sector's members elected their sectoral officers (see Figure 2 for the association's organizational setup.) The women shared in these leadership posts as follows.

Membership in construction committees. In November 1979, the general assembly created four construction committees, each composed of five members who represented the five sectors of the Aslong system. In all, 20 informal leadership positions were opened. These were filled by 19 association members one of whom was a woman--Tiang Yayang. She was selected to head the quantity and quality control committee with four male farmers as members. The other three committees had an all-male membership.

Tiang Yayang was one of the 14 initial female members of the association. She managed a 2.0-hectare rice farm while her husband worked in construction sites in Manila. Like most of the committee members, she had completed the six-year elementary course. General Assembly

By laws ------Audi tor committee

Board of Directors

President

N 0 N

Vice President

I Treasurer Operations Secretary I I Manaqer I I I l I I l l Book- As long Bahay Palangon Sagop 1 Sagop 2 keeper Sector Sector Sector Sector Sector Gate- President President President President President keeoer I I I I

jother sectoral officers!

Figure 2. Organizational set up of the Aslong irrigators' association as of January 1981. - 203 -

Several factors led to Tiang Yayang's election as a committee chairperson. Her house was located along the national highway, about 100 meters away from the association's warehouse (bodega) where construction materials would be delivered by NIA-contracted suppliers. Because her committee was charged with the checking of the quality and amount of materials delivered, the discharge of this duty was facilitated by her living close to the delivery point. Moreover, the association members articulated their confidence in her alertness to identify inferior or defective construction materials. She was also widely known for her astuteness (dunong) and her ability to work with both men and women. A third factor which was hinted at during the deliberations pertained to the belief that a woman, who was experienced in managing both a household and the family farm, would tend to pay closer attention to details of material deliveries.

While association members were able to rationalize their selection of Tiang Yayang to head a committee, they were less articulate in explaining why women were not named to the other committees. In fact, the few men and women interviewed showed initial bewilderment when asked the question, but later ventured to explain that the other committees (such as canvass and bidding) might take the members away from home, something which the female members might not be keen on doing.

Sectoral leadership. To secure broad participation in association affairs and the representation of upstream and downstream interests in the management of the association and the system, the association used two mechanisms: one, sectoral representation in the board of directors which ensured that leaders at the central level would be drawn from different geographical areas of the system: and two, election of a set of officers in each sector. The sectoral officers constituted the - 204 -

sectoral leadership which was entrusted with the implementation of association policies and the operation and maintenance of irrigation facilities found within the sector.

The first sets of sectoral officers were elected for 1981. A total of 34 sectoral positions were created throughout the system (see Table 3). Three of these were occupied by women, two in San Isidro Sagop 1 and one in Aslong.

In San Isidro Sagop 1, the 32 members elected Tiang Yayang as president and a member's wife as secretary and collector. Tiang Yayang's selection was attributed to the leadership she had displayed as committee chairperson and as officer of community organizations such as the San Isidro Parent-Teachers' Association and the Rural Improvement Club. A month after her election, however, she was prevailed upon to give up the sectoral presidency in favor of the treasurership in the association. Nonetheless, the sector members persuaded her to serve also as auditor in San Isidro Sagop 1.

When some of the sector members were asked why they chose a nonmember as secretary/collector, they explained that said person had served as secretary in other organizations and had proven to be very efficient and trustworthy. Moreover, they did not find anything amiss with their decision because they felt that they had named the most appropriate person to the position. Being a member or a member's wife was but of secondary importance.

In the Aslong sector of the system, the 21 male members chose as their secretary the lone female member, a married women whose husband was tilling the land she inherited from her parents. As in the case of the San Isidro Sagop 1 female - 205 -

Table 3. Female participation in sectoral leadership: 1981

~~l!!bership Leadership Positions occupied by Sector Male Female Male Female Male members Female members

San Isidro Sagop 1 27 6 5 2 President Auditor Vice president Secretary/ Public Rela- collector tions Officer Watertenders

San Isidro Sagop 2 21 5 8 President None Vice president Trec;i.surer/ collector Secretary Auditor Watertenders

Bahay 16 3 6 President None Vice president Auditor Collector Watertenders

As long 21 1 7 1 President Secretary Vice president Auditor Public Rela- tions Officer Watertenders

Pelangon 41 1 5 President None Vice president Collector watertenders

Overall 126 16 31 3

aThe leadership posts include those occupied by watertenders which in 1981 numbered two per sector. I 1982, the sector president concurrently served as the area's collector and watertender. - 206 -

leaders, the Aslong secretary-elect had served in various organizations in the Aslong village as secretary or treasurer.

In the other three areas of the Aslong system, all 19 sectoral leaders were men. Farmers from these sectors who were asked why no female member was named to a leadership post shrugged their shoulders and said that nobody thought of suggesting any of the women members during their sectoral elections. Moreover, the women were allegedly indifferent to joining the "power struggle" in their area.

Central leadership. In Aslong, the board of directors (which was the policy-making body) and the executive officers (headed by the president, and in charge of policy implementation) constituted the central association leaders. These people were charged with formulating and implementing policies and procedures for the whole association, particularly those in connection with the operation and maintenance of the system.

Between 1979 and the end of 1983, an average of 11 central association'officers were elected in each of the three general elections held during the four-year (for details, see Illo and Volante 1984). In 1979-80, the 11 leadership posts were filled by more educated, male farmers, a number having completed at least 10 years of school. Departing from this all-male leadership structure, the association members encouraged Tiang Yayang to vie for the association treasurership during the January 1981 elections.

Tiang Yayang served as treasurer of the association for two consecutive years. In these two years, she was the only female official out of a total of five to six executive officers: the board of directors continued to consist of all male farmers. When Tiang Yayang, an elementary school graduate, decided not to run for a third term in 1983, she was replaced by a male member - 207 -

who had received about two years of college education. In 1983, as in 1979-80, all the association officials were men.

Tiang Yayang's election as treasurer proved to be an extension of her involvement in community organizations. At various times, she served as treasurer of the local Parent-Teachers' Association and the Rural Improvement Club, an association exclusively for women which she headed after leaving her post as treasurer of the irrigators' association in 1983. Several members of the irrigators' association pointed to her ability to mobilize and manage resources as the crucial factor leading to her two-year term as treasurer of the predominantly male farmers' group.

Performance of leaders

Beginning in late 1979, women leaders in the Aslong association headed one committee, served in two sectoral posts, and acted as treasurer of the association. These leaders discharged their duties alongside their male colleagues. As head of the committee on quality and quantity control, Tiang Yayang checked the materials delivered to the association warehouse, and sought the assistance of other (male) leaders to monitor the construction materials which were transferred from the warehouse to the bunkhouse and the different work sites. Particularly during the height of material deliveries and transfers, Tiang Yayang carefully balanced the demands of home and farm with those of her committee. When she felt that she could not spend sufficient time to monitor materials transferred to the bunkhouse and elsewhere, she immediately informed the board of directors. One (male) official remarked that she should probably be replaced since the job seemed to require a male committee head. The other board members, however, reiterated their support and confidence in Tiang Yayang, and promised to mobilize the project - 208 -

warehouseman to help her. While her committee members intermittently helped carry the materials while she checked them, and stacked these inside the warehouse or somewhere in the warehouse compound, Tiang Yayang almost singlehandedly performed the committee tasks.

In the different sectors, male and female leaders saw to the accomplishment of concrete tasks assigned to them. Sector presidents, who were male, mobilized the farmers for clearing the irrigation canals of weeds and debris and for undertaking repairs of canals and structures. Fee collectors, including the secretary/collector in San Isidro Sagop 1, began their collection tasks. Meanwhile, the secretary-elect of Aslong and her male counterparts checked the attendance during sector meetings, noted down key points of sectoral meeting proceedings, and kept the records (generally, in an unsystematic way) for the group. As auditor of San Isidro Sagop 1 in 1981, Tiang Yayang had no real functions to perform since the sector had no financial accounts to audit. Nonetheless, she and the secretary/collector took care of collecting fines from sector members who could not participate in system maintenance group work. With their collections, the two female leaders secured snacks and/or refreshments for those who reported and rendered unpaid labor during system maintenance.

Tiang Yayang's performance as association treasurer in 1981 and 1982 illustrates the contributions which female leaders could make to an irrigators' association. During her two-year term, Tiang Yayang was charged with the collection of irrigation fees, fines, and membership fees. She was responsible for issuing official receipts for payments remitted to her, recording all collections in her cash journal, and banking the collections with a local savings bank in the town center (or poblacion). - 209 -

As treasurer, she controlled cash disbursements out of association funds. These took the form of commissions for the collectors, honoraria for officials and system management personnel, and other operational expenses. Her term was beset with problems associated with frequent requests for cash loans (against expected honoraria) from association officials. At a time when she saw the association just building its financial base, she felt that payments to officers and board members should be minimized and cash loans curbed. Because the male association president and auditor indiscriminately authorized the preparation of cash vouchers covering the cash loan requests, she confessed to a sense of powerlessness in containing the cash expenses of the association. She would have liked to have been consulted before any cash voucher was finalized in order that she could advise the leaders concerned about the cash status of the association. Since she was not, however, she dealt with the situation by keeping her petty cash to a minimum and banking the collections immediately so that she could honestly turn down cash loan requests on the grounds that she had no cash with her. Because of her obvious reluctance to honor the officials' demand for cash loans, she had become the object of criticism. This, in turn, led to her desire to quit her post in mid-1982. She was, however, prevailed upon by the association to stay until the end of her second term.

Armed with her experience in household and farm management, Tiang Yayang appreciated the usefulness of recordkeeping, particularly in financial matters. However, she was slow to agree with the community organizers on the value of keeping additional records (other than her cash journal). She felt that the association bookeeper (a male) was maintaining all other records which the association had to keep. - 210 -

While she religiously recorded cash transactions in her cash journal and immediately issued official receipts for irrigation fee remittances, she seemed less consistent in the treatment of cash disbursements. However, this "aberration" was in fact correlated with her perception of the legitimacy of the expense item and with cash availability. Thus she would pay collectors their commission and reimburse officials who had purchased office supplies even without the required cash voucher (prepared by the bookkeeper). In the case of cash loan requests, the required cash voucher might be served to her, but she would sometimes plead nonavailability of funds to turn down these requests.

Tiang Yayang defended her deviation from the prescribed procedure for cash disbursements by invoking the fact that the bookkeeper could prepare the vouchers only when he reported to the association office on Fridays. Meanwhile, the association sometimes had to pay collectors early during the week. Instead of waiting for the bookkeeper to furnish her with the official vouchers, she made the cash recipient sign a termporary cash voucher. She accumulated the temporary vouchers for the week, and turned these over to the bookkeeper at the end of the same week so that he could prepare the official vouchers and thus "set their records straight."

In connection with her election as association treasurer, Tiang Yayang became automatically the chairperson of the financial management committee, which in 1982 had male fee collectors as members. Her committee, which was the only operational committee two years after the partial turnover of the irrigation system to the association in 1981, drafted the financial policies, the treasurer became responsible for their implementation. - 211 -

Performance in system maintenance

Beginning in October 1980, the NIA-improved irrigation system started operations. Subsequently, the irrigators' association engaged in various irrigation functions like water distribution, conflict management, system maintenance, and collection of irrigation fees (and management of its financial resources). Of these, system maintenance required the greatest labour input with the members involved in construction of farm ditches or foot bridges, clearing of canals, and repairs of embankments and canal structures. Because of the nature of these tasks, system maintenance was a function which was generally regarded as "masculine."

For about 14 months ending in May 1982, a total of 43 sector-level maintenance workdays were convened in the Aslong irrigation system. Participation in the sectoral maintenance activities ranged, on the average, from 9 to 13 association members or their proxies (see Illo and Volante 1894). These activities were primarily convened by male leaders, except in one instance in San Isidro Sagop 1 which Tiang Yayang organized. Regardless of who initiated the activity, the maintenance work teams were mainly composed of men. Only in San Isidro Sagap 1 did women personally report to the work site. In the other sector of the Aslong system, female members (like the secretary of the Aslong sector) sent their spouse or, in the case of widows, an adult son or male relative to serve as their proxy.

The nature of women's involvement in maintenance activities in San Isidro Sagop 1 is illustrated by the following cases. Tiang Yayang personally attended four of the nine maintenance activities held in the area: one of these she initiated. In two of the activities she attended, she was involved in the clearing of the lateral canal which led to her farm, while in a third, she - 212 -

supervised the male members whom she mobilized to construct a farm ditch. In the last activity she joined (in May 1982), she helped to supervise the clearing of the main canal which traversed the sector. At one time, she was joined by the secretary/ collector. The two female leaders took charge of collecting fines from the nonparticipants, providing the maintenance workers with refreshments, and supervising the canal-clearing work. While these female leaders did not directly participate in many of the maintenance activities which took place in their sector, they however generally provided the maintenance work team with food or refreshments which they financed out of their collections of fines from nonparticipants and the P50-allotment of the association. Other female members usually sent proxies, although some visited the work site for a few minutes to chat with the maintenance workers.

To the women, members or proxies, the association's acceptance that its members would sometimes send representatives enabled their respective families to spread the responsibilities of association membership among their adult members. Consequently, the pressures to participate in project and system management activities tended to be diffused at the household level, with household members possibly taking turns attending to association demands. In the case of the two female sectoral secretaries, sending their husbands to help maintain the irrigation facilities in their area minimized the potential work load of their leadership positions.

The women in Zona Cuatro of Lower Lalo

Zona Cuatro occupied a total area of 300 hectares in the head-end section of a new irrigation system which NIA was developing under its Buhi-Lalo project, about 75 kilometers south of the Aslong system in Southern Luzon. The new system would ~\ TOWN OF BATO LEGEND: ~ ~~:-;J-i.~----. / _...,._,,._, Main canal ,..,, /-- - - ->·- ..... PL. . --- /\--1 , .,,... ''-______L-~P-1,_ o;'¥·J- - '._::-'a.-...... •'--:', _ ~ • -r Lc>.teral L \ a:> Culvert ( ----,,":-..(' 1 ' ~ ) L-2 JI 6 Turnout (1"'7 L- - '. Rotational-area ' h' .... (,,...... _J __ ---- -· .. --_)-.'-;' . boundary t , -- {v", v National highway I . I':' ( f~/ I L-3 ,..,,{ I . - ""' . /··-~)\. TOWN OF I /(},;\..._..- ' ,... Ir ,,'' / ~~. NABUA ' ~' - _,,,... / / .. - - d.J:. //Mc- 'i _,.. {"'J · A/Mc- (., su ~/ ~~ r . ( SP-·/I,,.. · i:. -,r 1' ' I - , ""'< \ L-5 ~\ SA/ r. ::i;y '\. ... N \ L-4 1\ I l ,.. 4 I-' ,.., " I .,.,- w i ) CITY OF IRIGA ' \ P\ -- ' .,.1 I • / .,._' l \ / ,r' \ J \ f ,.. (\" 4 \~r.= ' -, '\ \ / '( t1~X> ( 1..r.\.\ L-8 \ l' " ...... _,,, i\ -I ! \\ j \41 ) - -<..-.,.' \ • / __,r I '~ /

\ ~ ,,; L-7 "\f - '-'"""· \ To Iriga City I ( ; , __ I Figure 3. Layout of the rotational ·---' areas constituting Zona Cuatro ...... / (March 1982) ...... ,,., / - 214 -

irrigate about 2,300 hectares of previously unirrigated riceland. Its area coverage was divided into sections called rotational areas, each corresponding to an area (from 9 to 48 hectares) which would draw water from a common turnout on a main or a lateral irrigation canal. Of the 84 rotational areas constituting the new system, 11 composed Zona Cuatro. These 11 rotational areas included 9 which had turnouts located along a canal labelled as Lateral L and 2 with turnouts on the section of the main canal close to the areas covered by Lateral L (see Figure 3).

The NIA project in Zona Cuatro involved building a network of irrigation canals, structures, and farm-level facilities (such as turnouts, farm ditches, and ditch structures). The canal network would connect Zona Cuatro with the other seven zones of the Lower Lalo system. The 2,300-hectare system would be irrigated by impounding water from Lake Buhi and bringing the water to the area through a connector canal. The development of the physical facilities was accomplished using the same approach tried out in the Aslong project~ thus, NIA fielded community organizers to Lower Lalo, including Zona Cuatro, to organize farmers into irrigators' associations and to prepare them for involvement in project activities. The government stimulated this participation for two reasons: to develop the skills and organizational structure of the irrigators' associations~ and to improve the design of the system by combining farmers' knowledge of their area with the technical expertise of NIA engineers. Once the irrigation system was operational, NIA expected that associations developed through the participatory approach could assume greater responsibility and authority for system operation and maintenance than had been possible in other national systems developed without applying the participatory mode. - 215 -

As in the Aslong project, women participated either as development agents (as community organizers) or as members of the organizations which were formed throughout Lower Lalo. The first batch of community organizers fielded in Lower Lalo included five females and four males. (Until mid-March 1981, these organizers were assisted in the field by one male and three female students of the University of the Philippines who were doing their practicum requirement prior to graduation.) Of these community organizers, two were fielded to Zona Cuatro, both of whom were female. A female student organizer was added to the team to assist them for four months. They worked on forming rotational-area groups. In mid-November 1981, one of the female organizers was replaced by a newly-trained male org~nizer. He handled the organization of the remaining rotational-area groups and the formation of the zone-level irrigators' association in the area. In mid-1982, the other female community organizer resigned from NIA, leaving the male organizer as the only one handling the area.

Women from the villages covered by Zona Cuatro got involved in project activities in various ways. These are described below along with the roles organizers played in stimulating the village women's participation in the project.

Qualifying for association membership

Zona Cuatro straddled six villages in three towns and covered about 200 farming households. Each household tended to cultivate several small-sized rice parcels scattered throughout the zone; some even farmed in other towns in addition to their farm lots in the zone. The average size of their combined rice parcels was roughly 1.5 hectares. About 29 percent of the farming households in the zone owned the land they cultivated, while 42 percent were governed by either share tenancy (36 - 216 -

percent) or leasehold contracts (6 percent). The remaining 29 percent operated their various farm lots under separate and different tenurial agreements.

Organizing work proceeded gradually within the zone. Except for the two main-canal rotational areas which were reclassified as part of the Zona Cuatro in early 1982, the other eight areas were organized by December 1981. This meant that after a year's stay in the field, working committees had been formed and the rotational-area groups had undertaken, or had begun to accomplish, the following activities: preparation of lists of farmers for their rotational area, drafting their proposed location of terminal facilities, finalization of the system design with NIA engineers through walk-throughs and surveys, and negotiation for rights of way for land which would be affected by the canals and ditches.

The rotational area was considered as the basic unit of the prospective irrigators' association in Zona Cuatro. The lists of farmers belonging to the rotational-area groups then constituted the initial membership lists of the association. To prepare the lists of individuals who farmed in the rotational area, the leaders and organizers included whomever was the reported cultivator of the farming households. As the community organizers covered all the areas of the zone, several things became apparent. First, because households often had rice parcels located in different rotational areas in the zone, they ended up qualifying for membership in more than one rotational-area group. On the average, households could be members of two rotational-area groups. The household's multiple membership took several forms. In one form the adult male (usually the husband) of the household was listed in as many rotational areas as the household was farming. This arrangement was highlighted by two farmers who were elected to leadership - 217 -

positions in two different rotational-area groups. A different form was where the husband was listed in one rotational area while the wife was listed for the other area. This pattern was exemplified by Tiang Loring, one of the zone's female leaders, and her husband. A third, but rare, arrangement pertained to having both the woman and her spouse listed as members of the same rotational-area group--this arose when the members of the rotational-area group prevailed on the couple to assume leadership roles and to individually enlist as members of the group.

A second point which emerged during the organizing process

pertained to the significant number of women who w~re directly responsible for managing a rice farm. Of these, about 3 out of 5 were widows, often in their late forties or older. The other female farmers were married to men who were working in nonfarming occupations outside the zone. In a few cases, a widow's son might be the actual cultivator of a rice parcel; he, however, referred the organizers and leaders to his mother who either owned the land and who held the right to cultivate it. By mid-1983, 83 women were included in the association's roster of members (see Table 4); they accounted for 20 percent of the total listed members in Zona Cuatro. These female members, however, were concentrated in three rotational areas (RALAT-L-2, RALAT-L-4, and RALAT-L-7) where they accounted for 16 to 30 percent of their respective area memberships. In contrast, RALAT-L-1 had but one female member out of 32 members of the rotational-area group. The lopsided distribution of female members among the rotational areas was considered by both organizers and farmers as "accidental." They explained that one area, like RALAT-L-2, covered rice farms belonging to widows as well as farms cultivated by married couples or by married women, while another area, RALAT-L-1, consisted mainly of land owned or - 218 -

Table 4. Selected information on the rotational areas comprising Zona Cuatro (June 1983)

Cover- When organized as Rotational areaa age a rotational-area MembershiE (in ha.) group Male Female Total

RALAT-L-1 37 August 1981 31 ( 97) b 1 ( 3 ) 32

RALAT-L-S P-1 9 October 1981 14 ( 8 2) 3 ( 1 8 ) 17

RALAT-L-2 24 June 1981 43 ( 70) 18 (30) 61

RALAT-L-3 27 April 1982 50 (88) 7 ( 1 2 ) 57

RALAT-L-4 48 March 1982 59 ( 84) 11 ( 16 ) 70

RALAT-L-5 27 September 1981 48 (88) 7 ( 1 2 ) 56

RALAT-L-6 22 February 1982 37 ( 82) 8 ( 18 ) 45

RALAT-L-7 46 February 1982 45 ( 7 8) 13 (22) 58

RALAT-L-8 39 August 1981 45 ( 83) 9 ( 17) 54

RAMC-SP-5-A 15 April 1982 38 ( 8 6) 6 ( 1 4 ) 44

RAMC-SP-5-B 8 May 1982 6 ( 100) 6 overall 302 417 ( 80) 83 ( 20) 500

aThe acronyms used for the rotational areas are as follows: RALAT refers to a rotational area which would draw water from a turnout located on a lateral canal; RAMC, to an area which would be served by a turnout on the main canal; and RAMC-SP, to an area covering not more than 20 hectares which would draw water from a turnout on the main canal.

bThe figures in parentheses pertain to the percentage of members of a specific gender to total rotational-area membership. - 219 -

tilled by married couples. In the latter case, the husband was "normally" listed as the member of the rotational-area group.

A third aspect revealed by the organ1z1ng experience in Zona Cuatro referred to married couple's differential response to opportunities of acquiring association membership. The following cases illustrate the variation in responses and the circumstances leading to the couples' decisions.

Case 1. When the community organizers and their identified farmer-leaders were preparing the initial list of farmers for RALAT-L-8, they considered Tiang Loring' s husband and other adult males (who were assumed to be the heads) of farming households as well as a few women as constituting the area membership. In June 1981, the group (RALAT-L-8) formed their working committees, elected their overall chairman and unanimously chose Tiang Loring to serve as the group's secretary. In February 1982, the community organizers had mobilized the leaders in another rotational area (RALAT-L-6) to prepare the list of farmers for that area and to create its working committees. Because Tiang Loring and her husband also had a rice parcel in RALAT-L-6, the couple decided to have Tiang Loring listed as member of RALAT-L-8 while her husband would join RALAT-L-6. By mid-1983, therefore, Tiang Loring and her husband were both members of the Zona Cuatro association.

Case 2. In early 1981, the community organizers began preparing the list of farmers in one rotational area (RALAT-L-2). One of the female farmers included in the list was a widow (Mrs. D), who remarried in late 1981. Her second husband (Mr. N) was also a listed member of RALAT-L-2. After their marriage, Mr. N took over the management of Mrs. D's land. Subsequently, the couple agreed to just have Mr. N be listed as a member of RALAT-L-2. When the Zona Cuatro association was - 220 -

formally organized in June 1983, Mrs. D was not reflected as an association member.

Case 3. One of the women included in the RALAT-L-8 list of farmers was a married woman (Mrs. F. L.) who held the title to a 2.0-hectare riceland. Mrs. F.L. and her husband cultivated 1.0 hectare, while the other hectare was leased to two farmers who were then listed as members of the rotational-area group. When Mrs. F.L.'s husband was asked who should be listed as a member from their household, he pointed to his wife. He explained that Mrs. F.L. owned the land they cultivate in the area; thus, she should be considered as the farmer for the list's purpose. However, in the case of a conjugal property covered by another rotational-area group, Mrs. F.L.' s husband was listed as the member.

In Zona Cuatro, therefore, women gained access to the irrigators' association because they were directly involved in farm management in the absence of a spouse, because the couple decided to have both husband and wife enlist in the rotational areas where.they farmed {particularly when the woman had earlier been elected to a leadership post in a rotational-area group), or because the woman held the title to the land and the husband (who might be involved in cultivating it) acknowledged her to be the appropriate person to be listed as member of the rotational-area group. In the normal course of list preparation, however, generally it was the senior male members of households with rice farms in the rotational area who were included in the membership 1 ist.

Selection of women-leaders

Organizing work in Zona Cuatro involved the selection of farmer-leaders at different levels. First, the community - 221 -

organizers chose individuals to serve as "contact leaders" with each rotational-area group. These initial leaders becmne the links between the organizers and the farmers belonging to a group1 they also assisted the organizers in accomplishing certain tasks including the preparation and validation of lists of farmers, conducting groundwork with their fellow farmers, and convening the initial farmers' meetings in their respective rotational areas (for details, see Illa and Chiong-Javier 1893). In Zona Cuatro, the organizers had at least three female contact leaders1 two were members of the barangay or village council, while the third was a leader of the village nutrition program. The other 37 contact leaders were male, a number of whom were either incumbent or former barangay council offici~ls. Not all of these leaders, however, stayed on. Among the "dropouts" was a female contact leader. As the following case reveals, she resisted her selection from the outset.

On 10 February 1981, a barangay councilwoman (CW-C) was requested by the community organizers to serve as their "contact leader" for her area. Subsequently, she was asked to write a letter in Bikol informing the other farmers in the area about a meeting which would be held on 15 February. She was also requested to relay the notice, develop the agenda, and preside over the meeting. Of these tasks, CW-C only complied with the first. She wrote the letter of notification but declined to undertake the other tasks. It turned out that CW-C resented writing a letter in Bikol since the farmers in the area could understand English. Moreover, she declared that the organizers should have asked the barangay head to prepare the letter, not her.

When asked to help notify the farmers about the meeting, she told the community organizers that she was busy with her store and the fmnily farm. The organizers then - 222 -

went around the area themselves and asked the farmers who had read CW-C's letter and who intended to attend the meeting to affix their signature on the letter. CW-C apparently confided with a male community organizer who was assigned to an adjoining zone about her gripes with the female organizers working in Zona Cuatro. She allegedly said that the organizers should not be passing on their work to her since they were being paid by NIA to accomplish all the tasks which they wanted her to perform. When the male organizer told the Zona Cuatro organizers about this, the latter confirmed with cw-c about her availability to serve as a contact leader. During the 15 February 1981 farmers' meeting, cw-c was not persuaded to preside over the meeting. Instead, she told the community organizers that they should preside since they were the ones who had information about the project. Because of CW-C's persistent refusal to help the organizers, the latter chose CW-C's persistent refusal to help the organizers, the latter chose CW-C's husband who seemed to be more willing to perform the leadership functions.

As a second step to the identification of leaders in Zona Cuatro, the community organizers and their contact leaders convened organizational meetings in the different rotational areas. Farmers belonging to a rotational-area group selected their overall chairman and secretary and formed at least three working committees. In RALAT-L-8, Tiang Loring was unanimously elected to be the secretary depite her not being a formal member of the group. She was one of four women selected to serve as rotational-area secretaries, and one of two who were chosen to be secretary despite their not being members. In contrast, none of the overall chairpersons was a woman although the leaders in one rotational area tried to persuade a female member to assume the post. The woman declined because she felt she was too old (she was over 60 years old) to function effectively as the group's leader. Among the 110 committee members chosen in the 11 - 223 -

rotational areas of Zona Cuatro as of 31 March 1982, women constituted about 20 percent. In one rotational area which was originally slated to draw water from Lateral L, women exclusively comprised the right-of-way committee. In thi.s rotational area, the farmers articulated that women might be more effective right-of-way negotiators because male landowners would be less aggressive or offensive with them.

When the rotational-area groups first chose their informal (that is, pre-association) leaders, secretaries were not supposed to be leaders. Only those selected as overall chairperson or named to committees of a rotational-area group composed the cadre of leaders. This probably accounted for the selection of nonmembers, like Tiang Loring, to the secretarial position. (In some cases, farmers' children who had completed secondary education were designated to serve as association secretary.) Over the course of the project, however, the community organizers increasingly engaged the secretaries-elect in leadership tasks. Tiang Loring, for instance, bec~~e involved in right-of-way negotiations in addition to her original assignment of keeping records (like membership lists, and minutes and attendance in meetings) for the rotational-area group. In another rotational area, the secretary proved to be more active than most leaders1 thus, he was gradually eased by the community organizers into the group's overall leadership to replace the farmer elected as overall chairperson in early 1981. Because Tiang Loring and other rotational-area group secretaries demonstrated both interest and skills in discharging leadership tasks, they were eventually considered as leaders by the farmers and the community organizers.

The third level of farmer-leaders were named when the irrigators' association for Zona Cuatro was formed in mid-1983. The farmers from its 11 rotational areas elected two female - 224 -

members to the association's board of directors. One of these was Tiang Loring who was subsequently asked by the board to concurrently serve as the board secretary. (The other female board member was a leader from an upstream section of the zone.)

Tiang Loring's selection as secretary first to her rotational-area group and subsequently to the association's board of directors stemmed from her extensive involvement in various community organizations either as secretary or treasurer. For example, she had served as secretary and as treasurer of the Rural Improvement Club in previous years. Moreover, she was elected secretary of the Parent-Teachers' Association and the Farmers' Class, both of which had predominantly male membership. She also sat in the barangay council for at least one term. Compared with the majority of the leaders of Zona Cuatro, Tiang Loring was better educated. She left school after one year of college training, while most male leaders (including those who served as secretaries in 7 or 11 rotational areas) were elementary-school graduates or high school dropouts. As farmers in Zona Cuatro articulated the issue, Tiang Loring was a "natural choice" because ·of her educational background and impressive organizational participation record.

Echoing the attitude of other female leaders, Tiang Loring was neither surprised nor threatened by her leadership status in a male-dominated association. She explained the leadership posi­ tions in organizations in her village and in adjoining areas had generally been accessible to both men and women. While most of the positions tended to be occupied by men, at least one or two women would be elected officers in either the barangay council or the Farmers' Class. Because leadership functions rarely were consistently time-consuming, both men and women could take time off from their usual preoccupations (including management of the household) to discharge their obligations in community - 225 -

organizations. Thus, being a leader in the irrigators' association was not viewed by Tiang Loring and the other female leaders as out of the ordinary.

Participation in project activities

During the preconstruction period in Jona Cuatro, farmers were engaged in various org ani za tional and technical ac tivi ties. To prepare for the formation of their irrigators' association, the farmers listed the owners and cultivators of riceland within every rotational area, and planned and convened meetings to organize committees and to decide on strategies of mobilizing farmers for project activities. Farmers in each rotational area also cultivated their sense as a group by accomplishing specific technical tasks geared towards locating the terminal facilities (such as turnouts, division boxes, and farm ditches) to be constructed in their area. Thus, they prepared a rough sketch of the farm lots and landmarks in their rotational area and overlaid on this map their preferred layout of terminal facilities. Moreover, they finalized the ditch routes with NIA engineers during conferences and field investigations (called

11 11 walk-throughs ) and surveys. And be fore construe tion commenced in their area, the farmers negotiated for rights of way with owners of lands which would be affected by the planned ditch routes. In these activities, Tiang Loring and the other women in Zona Cuatro participated in various ways.

Attendance at farmers' meetings. Leaders and community organizers employed two means of disseminating project information and discussing project matters with farmers who belonged to the rotational-area group. One means involved home or farm visits which leaders and organizers undertook in connection with their groundwork activities. Another way was by - 226 -

convening farmers' meetings, or bringing together the members of a group to discuss issues and strategies as well as to organize committees to perform specific tasks.

In Zona Cuatro, women figured in both home visits and farmers' meetings. The community organizers discovered that they were more likely to meet with the women than their husbands during their (organizers') home visits. Initially, the organizers considered the situation problematic. They commented that because the 11 household heads" were not available, they had to rely on the wives for information about the farm {such as tenure status of the husband, area of the farm, and location of the land). Although initially the organizers were concerned about the accuracy of the wives' reports, they subsequently found that these gibed with the information which the men later supplied them. The organizers' other worry was that the women might not be able to commit their spouses' time for meetings and other activities. The community organizers later realized that there were as many farmers among those present during meetings whom they had personally seen as those whom they reached through their wives. Fu'rthermore, the organizers observed that in a number of cases the women themselves were the heads of their households and the acknowledged decisionmakers in both home and farm matters. Included among these female household heads were married women whose husbands were away for long periods in connection with their work.

Between January 1981 and March 1982, a total of 32 farmers' meetings were convened in zona Cuatro. Attendance in these meeting ranged from 13 to 58 percent of the rotational-area membership. Of the attendees, roughly 24 percent were women {see Table 5). The female attendees included female members, farmers' wives and mothers who were substituting for male members, and wives who went with their spouses. - 227 -

The participation of women during the deliberations depended largely on their status in the rotational-area group. Female leaders were more articulate than either female members or women who were substituting for their husbands. This phenomenon derived from two forces. One, the female leaders identified by the community organizers and the farmers were generally established community leaders: hence, they were used to being more vocal than other women in public meetings. And two, the community organizers actively encouraged the leaders to develop the agenda for the meetings and to take turns in discussing the different items in the agenda.

Women's interest in meetings also depended on the matter being discussed. When location of farm ditches were discussed, both female and male members whose properties would likely be affected by the proposed ditch network were quick to suggest rerouting of ditches to minimize the loss of land which any individual farmer would have to shoulder. In one meeting, an elderly female member asked the group to spare her 0.10-hectare rice farm, which was planned to be crossed by a farm ditch. She said that having the ditch in any part of her land would remove her only source of income. The other farmers agreed to consider alternative routes. A week later, the farmers and NIA engineers located a new ditch line which bypassed the old woman's farm and for which rights of way had been successfully negotiated.

Involvement in the location of terminal facilities. The determination of ditch routes and location of turnouts in Zona Cuatro involved farmers in various concrete tasks like preparation of a rough sketch of the rotational area and the farmers' proposed location of terminal facilities, field investigations including walk-throughs and surveys with NIA engineers, and final confirmation of the ditch routes and turnout locations. To accomplish these tasks, the rotational-area groups - 228 -

Table 5. Selected information on farmers' meetings convened in Zona Cuatro from January through August 1981

Date of meeting Attendance of farmers' Male Female group N::>. Percent N:>. Percent Total Remarks

10 January 3 33 6 67 9 Included female con- tact leader and her husband

15 January 8 57 6 43 14 The women were pro- xies of their spouses 15 February 13 72 5 18 18 Included the female contact leader and her husband 22 February 18 75 6 25 24 The women were consi- dered as observers 1 March 18 95 5 19 13 March 9 90 1 0 10 15 March 1 0 71 4 29 14 Included two husband- wife teams 3 June 4 67 2 33 6 The women were in the meeting with their husbands 7 June 9 90 10 10

9 August 8 100 8 30 August 24 86 6 14 30 31 August 26 74 9 26 35 Seven of the women were substituting for their husbands

Average for all meeting 1 3 76 4 24 17 - 229 -

formed committees. In some areas, three separate committees were created: one to prepare the area's rough map of rice parcels and the group's suggested paper location of terminal facilities; another to organize a walk-through of the area to verify the acceptability of the proposed routes as well as to confirm the list of farmers of the area; and yet another to joining the NIA engineers when the latter conducted surveys to assess the technical feasibility of the farmers' proposed lines and to mark the ditch routes. In most areas, however, the first two committees were merged. Memberships in these committees ranged from 3 to 6. Of the 53 farmers named to the committees created in 8 of the 11 rotational areas of Zona Cuatro by the end of March 1982, about 10 percent were women. In five rotational areas, a woman sat in the committee charged with the preparation of the paper location of terminal facilities (or the spot-map committee) in contrast to the all-male survey committee formed in all five areas. When asked why women were named to one but not the other committee, the farmers were hard put to explain. Persistent questioning, however, produced the following answers. The farmers claimed that in a group with male and female members, committees should also have male and female members to allow for good working relationships between the committees and the general membership. In the case of the survey committee, however, its members were expected to accompany the NIA engineers and to help carry survey instruments and materials, often for a whole day. Thus while the presence of a female committee member might be ideal, the farmers felt that the survey committee's work was too strenuous for women.

The women who sat in the spot-map committees in Zona Cuatro generally joined the walk-throughs conducted in connection with the preparation of the farmers' paper location of terminal facilities. A few other female members accompanied them. Some women, however, sent an adult son to represent them, while others - 230 -

stayed in their farms and joined the investigation of the proposed farm ditch lines closest to their farms when the walk-through team reached their section of the rotational area.

The farmers in the rotational area were given another chance to scrutinize the initial paper location of terminal facilities which the leaders had drafted. When farmers' meetings were convened to discuss the ditch routes, a number of husband-wife teams usually attended the sessions; those who could not, sent proxies--sons, wives or mothers, depending on who was available. Attendance in these meetings was felt to be necessary for the rotational-area group's goals of delineating a ditch network which was generally acceptable and of securing right-of-way agreements over the ditch routes. Objections to the preliminary ditch location were raised, and those which could not be settled during the meeting were tabled for resolution during the farmers' field investigations with the technical staff. The final location of terminal facilities was usually determined after a survey of the area. During the surveys, male farmers generally joined the NIA engineers. Female landowners, like their male counterparts, made sure that they were around or that a responsible representative was on hand to discuss the final ditch routes with the survey team. Throughout the negotiations for the location of terminal facilities, male and female farmers guarded their interests at the same time that they worked together to identify a ditch network which would maximize benefits while minimizing the costs of irrigation to individual farmers.

Performance of leaders

As of the end of March 1982, there were about 20 female leaders, out of a total of 131 leaders, distributed throughout Zona Cuatro. Of these, 16 sat in committees while 4 served as secretaries of their respective rotational-area groups. In one - 231 -

group, women exclusively composed the right-of-way committee, while in another they dominated the membership committee. In a third group, a woman headed the membership commit tee which had both men and women as member.s.

In the discharge of their functions, the committees usually involved male and female farmers. The female-dominated membership committee of one group prepared the list of farmers by joining the male-dominated spot-map committee in the latter's walk-through of the rotational area. By inquiring from farmers whom they met in the field about the cultivators of adjoining ricefields, the membership committee was able to prepare or update rotational-area membership lists. Moreover, the all-female right-of-way committee in another area accomplished its task together with the overall area chairperson and other leaders, most of whom were male. In rotational areas with all-male committee to negotiate rights of way, female leaders who were originally elected as secretaries (like Tiang Loring) or members of other committees were often asked to help deal with hostile landowners.

In several instances, Tiang Loring and other female members accompanied a group of male members and NIA engineers in a walk-through of the farmers' proposed location of a lateral canal and farm ditches. Tiang Loring and the other secretaries-elect in Zona Cuatro also participated in planning meetings and notifying farmers about these. Because they were entrusted a copy of the list of farmers in their respective rotational areas, they then became peripherally involved in updating the lists based on other leaders' reports of their list-confirmation efforts. While Tiang Loring and the other rotational-area group secretaries engaged in various leadership functions, their involvement was rarely continuous except in their performance of their secretarial duties, which consisted of keeping the minutes - 232 -

and attendance records of farmers' meetings as well as membership lists and other records of their group.

A number of the female leaders in Zona Cuatro, like Tiang Loring, had served as officers in other community organizations, both in those formed specifically for women as well as in general organizations like the Parent-Teachers' Association, the barangay council, and the Farmers' Class. Probably because of this, they had learned to juggle their time between household work, farm operations, and the demands of their leadership positions. Several of the female leaders shrugged off the additional work they had to do as rotational-area leaders as one of the things they had to accomplish at the moment.

The female leaders articulated a keen interest in seeing through what they considered as a serious government effort to bring irrigation services to their communities. Like their male peers and the rest of the farmers, however, they often felt frustrated at the "slow pace" of the project, an impression which prevailed in places where rotational-area groups had been organized and had completed all preconstruction work long before construction started in their area. Despite the dissatisfaction among farmers which resulted from the long preconstruction organizing period (lasting for 16 months per community organizer), this organizing time enabled community organizers to develop the capabilities of farmers' groups to accomplish various technical and organizational tasks under the leadership of men and women whom the farmers themselves had chosen.

women•s Experiences in Irrigation Projects: Issues, Lessons, and Implications

The experiences in Aslong and Zona Cuatro indicate several interrelated issues and lessons in connection with integrating - 233 -

women in rural development endeavours such as the construction and management of irrigation systems. These issues and lessons touch on the assumptions about women's roles in an agricultural society, membership in organizations which a~e formed under particular rural development programs, the leadership pool from which a rural organization {such as an irrigators' association) could draw to mobilize its members for various activities, and the employment of female field workers (like corrununity organizers). The lessons underscore the factors inhibiting women's participation as well as the countervailing forces which encourage women in rural communities to engage in project activities.

Assumptions and reactions

One lesson suggested by the data on the development efforts in Aslong and Zona Cuatro points to the vulnerability of attempts to involve women in development projects to two factors: the assumptions which project planners and implementors have about women's roles in non-household enterprises, and the view that project beneficiaries hold as to what constitutes acceptable female participation. By design or by accident, non-female-oriented programs and projects in the Philippines, as elsewhere, tend to discriminate against active female involvement. Such pro-male bias originates partly from the assumptions which government and other development agencies make concerning the roles women play in the community and the concerns which dominate their lives. In the conception of government planners, women are generally relegated to the domestic or household production sphere. Female participation in agriculture is assumed to be secondary to home and family management. Moreover, although in some cases the women might be earning as much as their spouses, they continue to be regarded as auxiliary income earners. Finally, women are assumed to lack interest in - 234 -

the "affairs of the world." As a consequence of these role stereotypes, nutrition and family planning programs have women as "clients" while men are usually the "targets" of production and related programs, including the irrigation development efforts.

Farmers themselves, however, often take a different view about women's involvement in the project. In Zona Cuatro, for example, male farmers encouraged a number of women not only to formally join the rotational-area groups and participate in project activities but to assume leadership posts as well. Thus while often the corrununity organizers were initially predisposed to work with male farmers, the openness of the local population to women's participation led women to actively pursue their interests in the project. In situations where the project beneficiaries favour female involvement, the pro-male bias of the project could be neutralized. The degree to which this effect could be achieved largely depends on the strength and direction of the organizers' prejudices, on the one hand, and the leeway given to the farmers to draft rules governing their participation in the project, on the other. In Zona Cuatro, the female organizers soon beg an encouraging both men and women to engage in project activities. While for married couples they initially listed only males as potential association members, later they responded to the community's openness to women's participation by helping draw up an arrangement whereby women could be members also. The project was, therefore, subtly transformed to become a women's as well as a men's enterprise.

In other areas, however, community organizers and project beneficiaries might hold a common view that the project is intended for male farmers. When the pro-male bias of the project or progr~n designers get echoed by both corrununity organizers and project beneficiaries, women could be effectively shut out from the project. This non-participation of women would take place - 235 -

unless the issue of women's involvement in the project is raised in training sessions of community organizers.

Membership recruitment

A second lesson emerging from the Aslong and Zona Cuatro experiences concerns the relationship which women's formal involvement in the project bears on the membership recruitment strategy which the farmers had worked out with the help of community organizers. By extension, women's participation depended, too, on the empathy which the organizers felt with the women in the project area. In a program which does not seek female participation as an objective, the organizers' sensitivity to women's aspirations and interests in the project becomes crucial.

In Zona Cuatro, the organizers (who incidentally came from neighbouring towns} and the farmers implicitly agreed to list farming households in as many rotational areas as they were cultivating rice farm lots. In several cases, this resulted in men being counted in more than one rotational area. In a number of instances, however, the man enlisted with one rotational-area group while the women registered with another group. Dual or multiple membership for households allowed the participation of women other than those whose husbands were either dead or working outside the project area. Because membership fees are usually kept low, households could afford to have more than one representative in the irrigators' association.

In Aslong, on the other hand, the association adopted the "one household, one member" rule to which rural organizations generally adhere. This rule reduced the percentage of female members. In 9 out of 10 cases, the registered members were the - 236 -

most senior adult males from the member-households. Nonetheless, a number of women repesented their husbands in meetings and other organizational activities. Men and women in the project area considered sending husbands, wives, or children as proxies of the registered association members as a practical response to the demands of the organization and the project. They claimed that this arrangement allowed the household to shift the burden of organizational affiliation among the household members, depending on who was available or what was convenient to the household. The situation in Aslong suggests another alternative for allowing women to participate formally in project and association affairs. Rather than the restrictive single membership rule, recruitment and registration of members could be on the level of households, with the woman and her spouse listed as alternate representatives. Such arrangement would support the reality of what families did. It could also help avoid differences between husbands and wives in response to the association's demands on their resources. While the man, who was involved in the association, would more likely view financial contributions to the organization as a necessary expense, the woman, who was excluded from the association, would more likely consider it as an unnecessary drain in their finances. As the leaders of the Aslong association noted, the presence of wives during meetings might help the association extract firmer commitments from members to pay membership fees and other dues. In Aslong as in other rural communities in the Philippines, the discharge of the household's financial obligations generally rested on the women.

Leadership selection

A third lesson indicates that women's inclusion in an organization tends to increase the talent pool from which the association leaders can be drawn. This is significant considering that rural organizations are often faced with limited - 237 -

or scarce leadership resources, both in terms of the number of potential leaders and the time which leaders can effectively invest in an organization. When positions are open to women, this expands the number of people who can perform leadership functions. Allowing a woman to occupy a leadership post improves the chances of getting someone with the appropriate qualifications. In the Aslong project, for example, the association needed someone who lived near the bodega who could keep track of materials delivered to the project site. While there might have been other male farmers who could have done the job, there were very few who had potential leadership capabilities and happened to live close to the delivery point. Had the association overlooked the women because of sex-based prejudices, the chances of getting responsible leaders would have been reduced considerably. Moreover, when the association wanted a treasurer, the number of people available with recording aptitude and the strength of character to resist personal-loan requests were few in the project area. Naming a woman to fill the position answered an important need of the association.

In Zona Cuatro, the project needed right-of-way negotiators and people who could keep the records of the different rotational-area groups: it also need.ea individuals who could lead the group to draft the paper location of canal lines. In the same spirit of openness with which women were encouraged to join project activities, several women were urged to take on leadership functions, thus expanding the number of potentially qualified leaders.

In Aslong and Zona Cuatro, the associations displayed how the leadership core could be expanded with the entry of women. They also exhibited a healthy respect for competence and efficiency, regardless of whether these qualities are possessed by a woman or a man. While there lingered a predisposition among - 238 -

the predominantly male membership to choose male leaders, the proportion of female leaders to all leaders tended to reflect the membership's sex ratio.

Fielding of female community organizers

A final set of lessons suggested by the data from Aslong and Zona Cuatro revolves around the fielding of female community organizers. The launching of the participatory irrigation development program in the Philippines in the late 1970 marked a shift not only in the style and substance of irrigation assistance but also in the sex ratio of NIA's field staff. The organizers, most of whom were women, worked alongside the traditionally predominantly male field staff composed of engineers, surveyors, construction crew, and irrigation technicians. By the end of 1983, about half of NIA's field personnel assigned to communal irrigation projects were women, who comprised two-thirds of all community organizers then working in different projects throughout the country.

The fielding of female community organizers in Aslong, Zona Cuatro, and other project areas underscored the involvement of women in a development activity which had been traditionally the near-exclusive domain of men. While women outnumbered men in the organizing staff, the technical teams continue to be dominated by men. There occurs, therefore, a de facto division of work in the field along sex lines: men generally handled the technical, engineering activities, while women often took care of organizing (or non-technical} tasks. The presence of a considerable number of male community organizers saved the situation from a total sex stereotyping of field activities in the Philippines irrigation projects. - 239 -

In the field, the farmers, whose previous dealings with NIA were largely limited to male engineers, were initially confused about the female organizers. In Zona Cuatro, the organizers were mistaken at first for social workers because .they were women who conducted house to house visits. During their home visits and discussions with farmers, the organizers eventually explained the project, the farmers' roles in it, and their own tasks of preparing farmers for participation in the project. On the whole, farmers in the two project sites were solicitous of the female organizers. With a few exceptions, community and association leaders responded positively to the organizers' demands on their time to carry out project activities. In fact, some residents in the two sites remarked that the farmers tended to be more cooperative with female field workers than with their male counterparts.

In the course of their organizing work, the female organizers tried to fit in with the farmers' schedules. Meetings were held whenever these were convenient for the majority of the farmers involved although these might take place late in the afternoon or during weekends. Home visits sometimes took place at night since this was the best time to reach a number of farmers in the area. The organizers were generally accompanied by a male farmer (usually a leader) or two during these visits. The female organizers' willingness to perform their duties regardless of the time of day impressed the farmers. Consequently, the organizers provided the farmers role models for active female participation in the project. In Zona Cuatro, the predominantly male groups urged some female members, and even nonmembers, to assume leadership posts "just like the community organizers."

While the female organizers stimulated or reinforced farmers' interests in having women involved in the project and in - 240 -

leadership functions, this effect was more pronounced in Zona Cuatro than in Aslong. This could be because the Aslong irrigators' association was already formed before the organizers arrived and had only men as leaders. The organizers worked with these leaders and later three women (or 9 percent of sectoral leaders) emerged as leaders. In Zona Cuatro, in contrast, there was no existing organization when the community organizers arrived in the area. The organizers were therefore free to choose "contact leaders" and they included several women among those chosen. This apparently reinforced the community's acceptance of women as leaders, as women subsequently held about 20 percent of the leadership positions.

On different occasions, community organizers, male or female, remarked that they developed leaders and mobilized farmers for project activities depending on the individuals' interests in the enterprise, and not on their sex. If more men than women were selected to be leaders, attended meetings, and joined other activities, they claimed that these were caused by men being more interested and willing to invest time in the project. Similarly, women who joined organizational and project endeavours and those who were eventually chosen to perform leadership functions were people who preferred to get involved in these activities. Views such as these place the onus of female participation in projects and organizations on the women themselves. This, in fact, was a lesson gleaned from Zona Cuatro. However, the experience in Zona Cuatro indicated that when organizers initially chose some female contact leaders, and subsequently arranged membership rules to open up membership to women, these seemed to stimulate greater female participation.

Summary and conclusions

The data from Aslong and Zona Cuatro demonstrate how women participated in the project, and how these women belie the - 241 -

general impression that they leave involvement in development projects to their menfolk. In both the areas studied, a number of women, married or widowed, displayed considerable interest in the irrigation project, attended meetings, and.joined field inspections of proposed location of irrigation facilities. Together with the men, women engaged in discussions which would determine the canal layout in their area, attributing their interest to their desire to ensure that water would reach their farms with the minimum loss of land to canals. Even among households which would not benefit from the projects, women tended to register concern as to how the construction of project facilities would affect their property. While in the majority of cases the men were more actively involved in working the land, ownership of the land or the right to cultivate it and management of the farm were shared by women with their spouses.

Moreover, while care of the children and management of the home remained the dominant occupations of women in the two project sites, a number of these women attended to association or project matters either on their own behalf or their spouse's. It appeared that when women were adequately informed about the project and their interest sufficiently aroused, they could accommodate project demands on their time. Furthermore, where the organization allowed more than one member from each household, the proportion of female to total membership rose. In Aslong, where the "one household, one member" rule was observed, women accounted for but 10 percent of the total membership. In contrast, in Zona Cuatro, where multiple membership of households was possible, the proportion of female members rose to about 20 percent.

While a number of women became active participants in the irrigation projects in Aslong and Zona Cuatro, the majority of women in the two areas shied away from direct involvement. One - 242 -

reason, which these female non participants share with the less active male members, was preoccupation with family matters. This often-cited reason covered an array of concerns including care of children and sick household members, work in the farm or family business, employment outside the project area, and celebrations of weddings, death anniversaries and the like. This excuse was also sometimes given to disguise lack of interest. Another reason, which has been quoted in other studies concerning women's interest or participation in community affairs (Gonzales and Hollnsteiner 1976, and Rojas-Aleta, Silva, and Eleazar 1978), was women's preference to leave membership in organizations to their husbands. This, however, does not necessarily imply that they totally withdraw from project or organizational affairs. A number of these female nonmembers attended meetings and sometimes engaged in on-site negotiations over canal routes. They deemed themselves nonparticipants primarily because they were not registered members of rotational-area groups or of the irrigators' association.

The Aslong and Zona Cuatro experiences underscore the fact that, beyond what formal records often showed, women were interested in programs and projects affecting the household's economy. When allowed or encouraged to participate, they had considerable impact. They served as leaders, improved attendance during meetings and other activities, helped to finalize the location of irrigation facilities, and lent firmer support to the contributions which their respective households had to make to the irrigators' association. Female leaders assisted in the negotiations for rights of way, reco~d keeping, and management of association finances. The employment of female community organizers provided the farmers immediate role models of active female participants in the project.

The effect of fielding community organizers, however, needed to be reinforced by the organizers' overt or covert efforts to - 243 -

encourage female participation in the project. This might mean, as in Zona Cuatro, going along with the community's initial predisposition to involve women in the project. But in areas where sex-based prejudices inhibit women's participation, discussing the project with both men and women could constitute the first step. A second move could be opening up the association membership to households, with husband and wife as alternate representatives. These two-step opening moves present attractive starting points for rousing women's interest in the project and for allowing them to directly engage in project activities.

Compared with the women of Africa, the women in rural Philippines are certainly not as intimately associated with agriculture; thus, Philippine women could not be as radically alienated by pro-male-biased development programs (see Rogers 1980 for the effects of pro-male development programs on African women). Nonetheless, women in the Philippines are as preoccupied with their households' economy; this governs their interest in projects like those introduced in Aslong and Zona Cuatro, an interest which focuses on the likely effects which these projects would have on their farm and, by extension, on their family's chances of survival. Persistent pro-male bias in rural development programs, therefore, marginalizes the very people whose concern over family welfare is greatest. Aslong and Zona Cuatro provide some clues for averting such a disaster. References Cited Bagadion, Benjamin u., and Frances F. Korten. 1980. "Developing viable irrigators' associations: Lessons from small-scale irrigation." Agricultural Administration 7:273-287.

Gonzales, Anna Miren, and Mary Racelis Hollnsteiner. 1976. Filipino women as partners of men in progress and development: A survey of empirical data and a statement of basic goals fostering male-female partnership. Quezon City: Institute of Philippine Culture, Ateneo de Manila University.

Illo, Jeanne Frances I., and Ma. Elena Chiong-Javier. 1983. Organizing farmers for irrigation management: The Buhi-Lalo experience. Naga City: Research and Service Centre, Ateneo de Naga. Illo, Jeanne Frances I., Romana P. de los Reyes, and Nestor s. Felix. 1984. Organizing farmers for communal irrigation: Preconstruction and construction in the Aslong irrigation project. Quezon City: Institute of Philippine Culture, Ateneo de Manila University.

Illo, Jeanne Frances I., and Jesus R. Volante. 1984. Organizing farmers for communal irrigation: Operations and maintenance in the Aslong and Taisan communal systems. Naga City: Research and Service Centre, Ateneo de Naga.

Korten, Frances F. 1982. "Building national capacity to develop water users' associations: Experience from the Philippines." World Bank Staff working Papers, No. 528. Washington, D.C.: The world Bank.

Philippines (Republic) Ministry of Agriculture. 1983. "Women and rice farming in the Philippines." A country report prepared for the Women in Rice Farming Systems Conference, 26-30 September 1983, at the International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines.

Rogers, Barbara. 1981. The domestication of women: Discrimination in developing societies. New York: Tavistock Publications, Ltd.

Rojas-Aleta, Isabel, Teresita L. Silva, and Christine P. Eleazar. 1978. A profile of Filipino women: Their status and role. Manila: Philippine Business for Social Progress.

The NFE/WID Exchange-Asia. 1984. "The RIC's in the Philippines" Los Banos, Laguna: Information Exchange Centre of Asia, University of the Philippines at Los Banos.