Interested co-operators can contact the Manila-based AWCF Secretariat for this training and other gender equality-related concerns. E-mail:
gadsummit@coopwomen.org or gender.coop@yahoo.com. Mobile: 09178436390 or 09174579228.
-----------
WHY GENDER IN CO-OPS?--A Backgrounder
Co-operatives, being both social and economic enterprise, have a role to play in ensuring that the benefits gained from co-operation are equally shared by women and men members. This is warranted in two of the "Seven Principles of Co-operatives": under Principle 1) Voluntary and Open Membership, and Principle 2) Democratic Member Control. In the Philippines, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the New Co-op Law, Rule 11, Section 5 on Social Audit of Co-ops also requires organizations to show activities and programs on their contribution to the promotion of gender-fair culture and practices.
On November 18, 2013, the Philippines's Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) issued Memorandum Circular (MC) 2013-22 “Guidelines on Mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in Cooperatives" (http://cda.gov.ph/images/Issuances/MCs/MC2013-22-Guidelines-on-mainstreaming-GAD-in-coops.pdf). This MC on GAD aims at disseminating to the co-op sector the GAD mandate of the Philippine government so as to ensure the promotion of gender equality (GE) and the institutionalization of GAD in policies, programs, and other activities in co-ops. Since co-operatives are the key development players in rural communities, GAD is important to co-ops’ sustainability.
GAD efforts of co-ops enable them to integrate GE that leads, in turn, to even more economic and social growth in the co-ops because:
- with GE, co-ops give attention to the needs and contributions of both women and men members, and
- equal opportunities given to both women and men help strengthen even more the co-ops and communities.
>National summit on GAD was held
In March 2014, the Philippines's "National Summit on GAD in Co-ops" was held in Subic Bay, Philippines, organized by the CDA and AWCF. It was attended by 568 delegates from 429 co-op organizations. A "Declaration and Call for Action" of the National Summit was crafted by the participants, which contained the co-ops' concerns and recommendations/resolutions about GE, and the co-ops' commitments in bringing about and strengthening GAD in co-ops. The Declaration and Call for Action emphasized the mainstreaming GAD in the co-ops to bring gender perspective to all aspects of the co-op policy, development plans and activities, budget, mechanisms and instruments through buildinggender capacity and accountability.
>TOT on gender for co-ops is made available
The TOT on gender to be held by AWCF is part of the GAD mainstreaming activities of co-ops. Co-ops need to:
- capacitate people to support the continuing GE education of the co-op members, officers, and staff
- update and enhance skills customized to the functions of the co-ops' Gender Committee and Education Committees; Gender Focal Persons; human resource staff; and trainers
Recognizing that there is still much work to be done in raising the GE awareness of both women and men in co-ops, AWCF will conduct this TOT on Gender for Co-ops to help trainers and advocates enhance their skills specifically in handling gender education.
As a Asian regional organization on gender and co-op development, AWCF works in and through co-ops in the region. Among its programs that had been implemented recently were capacity-building on gender for a number of Philippine co-operatives that have now become gender-fair and gender-sensitive organizations that enjoy the economic and social benefits of GE (see AWCF website http://coopwomen.org).
