WUNRN
WOMEN & COOPERATIVES - BUILDING
ASSET OWNERSHIP & CO-OP LEADERSHIP
Co-operatives, often called co-ops, are an alternative to the shareholder model of business ownership. Co-ops are governed by their members, who typically invest in the co-operative and have an ownership stake in it, as well as a voice in how the firm is run, usually on a one-member, one-vote basis. While democratic and egalitarian in outlook, most co-operatives operate in market economies and are subject to the competitive pressures found in market systems. http://vitalsigns.worldwatch.org/vs-trend/emerging-co-operatives
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Challenging
Barriers to Women’s Leadership in Cooperatives
By
Giselle Aris, Enterprise Development and Gender Specialist and Leland Fellow
for Land O'Lakes International Development
Cooperatives
play a critical role in advancing socioeconomic development. They serve as a
jointly owned, democratically-managed structure for people to work together
toward common goals, and in doing so, they help reduce poverty levels and
create jobs. In the world of cooperatives, the agriculture sector dominates:
nearly one-third of the largest 300 cooperatives across the globe are centered
on agriculture.1
In a
group, farmers have increased access to technologies and trainings that improve
agricultural productivity, and increased access to markets where they can sell
their products at competitive prices. When agricultural producers work together
and individual farmers assist each other for the benefit of all, their strength
in numbers leads to lower input prices and improved access to financial
services.
Numerous
factors, including access to markets, access to productive inputs, and the
quality of the products produced, play a role in determining an agricultural
cooperative’s success. Alongside these contributors to success, the global
evidence base suggests that gender-balanced leadership in cooperatives is a key
determining factor in creating and maintaining a competitive advantage.
Nonetheless, men still hold the vast majority of executive level positions
within cooperatives worldwide. How can we help change this status quo, and
foster an environment where more women can apply their leadership skills to
cooperatives?
Why
Women’s Leadership is Important
From the
United States to many countries in Africa, one of the most detrimental
shortcomings of agricultural cooperatives is their general lack of women’s
leadership. The International Development division of Land O’Lakes, Inc. –
a full-fledged development organization that currently works in 22 countries
across Asia and Africa – has observed numerous barriers to women’s cooperative
leadership. These barriers include limited literacy and numeracy skills,
discomfort with public speaking, time constraints due to family obligations,
and the general perception in many agricultural communities that leadership
roles are for men. Despite the fact that women largely predominate in
cooperative membership and meeting attendance, because of these obstacles, cooperative
leaders tend to be men.
The extent
of these impediments became all the more clear to Land O’Lakes International
Development when it co-hosted the U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID)-funded Cooperative-to-Cooperative Learning Event in Kenya in
early 2012. Held in partnership with Cooperative Resources International
(CRI), this event provided a unique opportunity for managers and board members
of dairy cooperatives to gather together with industry thought leaders. This
collaborative environment provided a unique opportunity for participants to
network and gain tools and tactics to increase their cooperatives’
competitiveness, and learn how to enhance the socioeconomic benefits provided
to cooperative members. The event included 43 people representing 28
cooperatives from 9 countries on 4 continents – but despite this diversity,
only one woman participated. Since female cooperative leaders remain a rarity,
cooperatives attending the event selected male candidates to participate. At
the event, participants discussed probable causes for this unintentional gender
disparity, and concluded that because the event was for cooperative leaders –
not members – very few women were considered for participation.
A dearth
of women’s cooperative leadership persists domestically, as well. Anne
Reynolds, Assistant Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for
Cooperatives, spoke at a Land O'Lakes Women in Cooperative Leadership Forum in
August 2012. She discussed the most current findings from their cooperative-related
research, noting that less than 3 percent of United States-based
agricultural cooperative board members and leaders are women. Why is the
extent of women’s cooperative leadership important? Numerous private-sector
studies show that gender-balanced leadership2 creates a strong competitive advantage,
including an 84 percent advantage for return on sales, a 60 percent advantage
for return on invested capital, and a 46 percent advantage for return on
equity.3
When
leadership bodies exclude women, competitiveness, product quality,
productivity, and profits suffer.
2 Gender-balanced leadership refers to 30% or
more of board membership being composed of women
3 The
Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards, 2004–2008
(Nancy
M. Carter, Ph.D., and Harvey M. Wagner, Ph.D., Catalyst 2011) – updated 2012; Thematic Equity Report (Mary Curtis,
Credit Suisse Research Institute 2008);
Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America
and American Companies More Competitive (Policy and Impact Committee, Committee for
Economic Development 2012)
4 http://borlaug.tamu.edu/2011/10/14/world-food-prize-2011-day-two/
Unlocking
Women’s Leadership Potential
Land O’Lakes International Development projects from around the world provide additional evidence that women’s leadership is critical to cooperative success. In Kenya, for example, Mary Rono started the Koitogos Dairy Dynamic group in 2009 with 15 members. In just over two years, she successfully grew the membership to 350 farmers – and did so in a community that typically shuns female leadership. International Development worked with Mary during the five-year USAID Kenya Dairy Sector Competitiveness Program (KDSCP) and demonstrated key tools to her that she applied to help build her cooperative. Mary became a role model for women dairy farmers around the world when she spoke at the 2011 World Food Prize, where she talked about how she is "creating a new trend in her community of women in leadership, and peacefully bringing the local leaders to understand the value of women leaders in agriculture."4 Mary’s story is one of many that demonstrate women’s abilities to effectively attract active cooperative members, and to encourage communities to rethink traditional gender norms.
Land
O’Lakes believes that increasing the level of women’s cooperative leadership is
an important objective internationally and domestically, and is making
strides in both arenas. In USAID’s 2012 Kenya Gender Analysis and Action Plan
report, Land O’Lakes International Development was commended for its high level
of gender expertise and for having a Gender Policy, which goes beyond gender
requirements set by USAID. As the report notes, Land O’Lakes demonstrates that
"gender analysis and strategy development is integral to its work with or
without donor funding." The report also commented on actions taken by
International Development to empower women through producer cooperatives under
KDSCP, a dairy development program that has helped establish and strengthen 135
cooperatives in Kenya. These actions include supporting poor and female-headed
households through the addition of clauses to cooperative membership agreements
that allow funds for shares to be raised over time; encouraging men to allow
women to apply for women-friendly loans at lower interest rates; and paying
women for their milk sales in-kind. These in-kind payments are often
facilitated through a cooperative store, where school books, basic food items,
seedlings, and other necessary inputs are available.
Land
O’Lakes has taken similar measures to empower women in cooperatives in other
countries. Land O’Lakes’ Gender Task Force, a global collaborative body with
representatives from all projects, regularly identifies and promotes measures
that are proving most effective. These methods include holding trainings at
times and locations that enable women to participate, and inviting two family
members – rather than one – to attend. This act alone dramatically increases
the likelihood that women will attend trainings, since husbands frequently
invite their wives, and that they will later be consulted on agriculture and
cooperative-related issues. Land O’Lakes also promotes women’s ownership of
agricultural assets, such as dairy cows and goats. Measures like these are
essential: with increased asset ownership and improved access to technical
knowledge, women’s leadership abilities surge, enhancing their likelihood to be
elected to a cooperative leadership role.
Globally,
the call to action is clear: cooperative leaders and members must work to
ensure that increasing women’s cooperative leadership remains a primary
objective, and one that is met with successful outcomes. As global markets for
agricultural products continue to become increasingly competitive, the presence
of gender-balanced leadership in cooperatives will prove to be essential for
remaining relevant and ensuring future success.
About
Land O’Lakes International Development
Since
1981, Land O'Lakes International Development has improved the quality of life
for millions of people in 76 nations through more than 275 projects worldwide
that are generating economic growth, improving health and nutrition, and
alleviating poverty by facilitating market-driven business solutions. A
business unit of Land O’Lakes, Inc. (www.landolakesinc.com) – a
national, farmer-owned food and agricultural cooperative with annual sales of
over $14 billion – International Development’s vision is to be a global leader
in transforming lives by engaging in agriculture and enterprise partnerships
that replace poverty with prosperity, and dependency with self-reliance.