Disrupting the Agricultural Innovation Cycle in Africa: Rethinking the Gender Divide

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1 Disrupting the Agricultural Innovation Cycle in Africa: Rethinking the Gender Divide Prof Aldo Stroebel, NRF and Cornell University Dorothy Ngila, NRF and OWSD

2 Inertia in the Gender Debate? AU - Year of women s empowerment and development towards Africa's Agenda 2063 NEPAD - Conference for Women in Agriculture Global Gender Summits..

3 Gender and Agriculture: An Overview Women provide 43% of all agricultural labour in middle and low income countries The figure is even higher in sub-saharan Africa: intersectionality with poverty and few employment opportunities for women 80% of the food produced in SSA is by women smallholder farmers (excl. SA) Women as farmers, workers and entrepreneurs Women achieve less yields than men - they have less access to everything they need to be more productive FAO, 2015, The State of Food and Agriculture: Social protection and agriculture- breaking the cycle of rural poverty, FAO FAO, 2011, The State of Food and Agriculture: Women in agriculture- closing the gender gap for development, FAO FAO, 2014, The State of Food and Agriculture: Innovation in family farming, FAO

4 Gender and Agriculture: An Overview Fewer women graduating in agriculture and life science subjects at higher education institutions Fewer women pursuing agricultural research careers Deficit of women in agricultural leadership positions where key decisions on agricultural innovation and transformation are made League of European Research Universities, 2012, Women, research and universities: excellence without gender bias

5 Female Share of the Agricultural Labour Force FAOSTAT

6 Access to Extension FAO

7 The Gender Yield Gap FAO

8 SA: Staff population in HE: females and males Staff (FTEs) Agricultural sciences Staff (FTEs) Life sciences Female Male ASTI by IFPRI

9 SA: Staff population in HE: female shares by degree Ag. sc. Life sc PhD 25% 29% 39% 42% MSc 40% 39% 51% 52% BSc 41% 45% 57% 59% Other 38% 51% 50% 68% ASTI by IFPRI

10 Why So Few: Focus on Research In Education: Gender stereotyping in family, media and education In Research: Lack of gender dimension in research, unconscious bias, work-life equilibrium In Leadership: structure and organizational culture of research community - limited peer structures and mentoring National Advisory Council on Innovation, 2009, Women in SET: Exploring the Facts American Association of University Women, 2010, Why so few European Commission, 2008, Mapping the maze: getting more women to the top in research

11 Gender and Agriculture: The Interventions Women for Science: Increasing the participation of women in agricultural education, research careers Science for Women: Ensuring gender considerations in agricultural research and innovation cycle Gender in agricultural policy and decision making: diverse voices around the table

12 Disrupting Women s Participation in Agricultural Research and Innovation Increased participation of girls and women in agricultural and science: access to resources, barriers to entry, mentoring and role models Retention of faculty and leadership: gender sensitive work-life equilibrium policies i.e. parental leave, meetings during school hours, fellowship schemes to support families in science, conference representation Hilton, D, 2015, Practical policies can combat gender inequality, Nature News

13 AWARD: Disrupting Participation African Women in Agricultural Research and Development programme AWARD Fellowships Focus on Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral female scientists 4 components to fellowship: Fostering mentoring partnerships; Building science skills; Developing leadership capacity; Tracking learning and outreach AWARD, 2015, Empowering African women scientists through career development fellowships

14 Disrupting Agricultural Research and Innovation Integrate gender considerations as part of research and innovation cycle research conceptualisation, prioritisation, funding, composition of agricultural research teams, execution of research and innovation; and monitoring and evaluation of research findings

15 Gendered Innovations: Where Disruption Works Gender analysis contributes to research and innovation Higher education institutions and funding agencies: q Have sex and gender been considered in: Conceptualising research priorities and outcomes; concepts and theories; Formulating research questions and objectives; Research methodologies used in collecting data and analysing results; Reporting of findings and conclusions; Suggested areas of future research q Engendering the review and evaluation criteria q Training researchers and reviewers on sex and gender analysis of funding proposals Progress by the NRF, Global Research Council, and other science granting councils European Commission, 2013, Gendered innovations- How Gender Analysis Contributes to Research

16 "When women are empowered and can claim their rights and access to land, leadership, opportunities and choices, economies grow, food security is enhanced and prospects are improved for current and future generations" Michelle Bachelet - Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women