Integrating The Gender and Development Perspective in Extension Activities

NSTP and Extension

The National Service Training Program (NSTP) is a program aimed at enhancing civic consciousness and
defense preparedness in the youth by developing the ethics of service and patriotism while undergoing
training in any of its three (3) program components.

Extension
● Is a systematic process of empowering people and communities.
● Includes working with rural people in order to improve their livelihoods.

Benefits in Doing Extension Activities

1. It develops an increased sense of social responsibility;
2. It provides an opportunity to apply academic learning to real life events;
3. It build social relationships and social connectedness with peers and adults;
4. It improves lifelong communication, interpersonal and critical thinking.

Why is There a Need to Include the GAD Perspective in Extension Activities?

Development- aims at the fulfillment of three basic human needs:
● The ability to provide for basic necessities;
● The ability to become persons with identity, dignity, and self-esteem; and
● The exercise of freedom and responsibility.

Gender and Development

● An approach to or paradigm of development focusing on social, economic, political and cultural
forces that determine how differently women and men participate in, benefit from, and control resources
and activities.
● It shifts the focus from women as a group to the socially determined relations between women and men.

Basic GAD Concepts

“Sex”
● People, animals, etc., being either female r male depending on their sex organs or genes.
● Also refers to the differences between individuals that make them male or female.

“Gender”
● Refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers
appropriate for men and women.
● It also refers to the subjective feelings of “maleness” or “femaleness” regardless of sex (gender
identity).

Sex Role- function which a male or female asumes because of the basic physiological or anatomical differences
between the sexes.

Male Sex Role

● Ovum Fertilization
● Produces Spermatozoa

Female Sex Role

● Child-Bearing
● Lactation

Gender Roles- how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our
assigned sex.
● Socially-Constructed.
 ● Dependent on a particular time and place.
● Not set in stone; can change.

Stereotypes- unreliable generalization about all members of a group that does not recognize individual
differences within the group.

Sex-Role Stereotypes- rigidly-held oversimplified beliefs that MALES and FEMALES possess distinct
psychological traits and characteristics.

Things to Consider in Doing Extension Work

1. Use gender lens- a tool used to identify problems and obtain information related to gender.
COVID-19, mental health and sexual and reporductive health links between health and gender
equality – an area which the coronavirus pandemic has exposed more than ever.
● Women are overrepresented in the healthcare sector and therefore face a higher risk of
contracting the virus.
● Healthcare workers faced acute mental distress during the pandemic from being overworked and
seeing patients suffer and die.
● Men with COVID-19 were at higher risk of hospitalization than women.
● This is linked to their health behaviors and pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease
and diabetes, which are more common among men.

Gender Issues
● Gender-Based Violence.
● Gender-Based Discrimination.
● Vulnerability during calamities such as the pandemic.
● Question of Gender-Responsive Technologies.
● Mental Health Issues due to Gender-Based Biases.

Assumptions
● Hinder the pursuit of gender equality.
● Results in the misdiagnosis of the causes of inequality and propping up ineffective strategies that
seem like good ideas.
Assumption 1: Gender equality is a women’s issue.
Assumption 2: Women and men are homogenous groups.
Assumption 3: Women are innately caring and connected to the environment.
Assumption 4: Gender equality is a numbers game.
● Men and women, young and old, all play vital roles in rural livelihoods, but assumptions are
often made about who does what and who makes the decisions.
● These details of gender and decision making are critical to the formulation of projects and
technology-development.

2. Conduct a Gender Analysis- refers to the variety of methods used to understand:

1. Relationships between men and women;
2. Their access to resources;
3. Their activities; and
4. The constraints they face relative to each other.
● Identify gaps or differences between women and men, girls and boys.
● Understood why these gaps exist and persist.
● Choose what actions to take to reduce the gap or address the issue.

Some questions to be asked in Gender Analysis:

Sex-Disaggregated Data
- WHO DOES WHAT
- WHO HAS WHAT
 - WHO DECIDES
- HOW
- WHO GAINS
- WHO LOSES

Gender Analysis should/can be undertaken at any/all stages of a program/project cycle:

● Identification of the project;
● Planning or design of the activity;
● Implementation; and
● Monitoring and evaluation of programs.

Implicit Assumptions of Development Projects

Assumptions during project and implementation:
Men are the head of household. → Project activities for economic benefits should focus on
men.
Housework or child care is not much effort. → Women can handle outside work with house
work and women's priorities go unnoticed.
Women do care work. → Interventions related to family health should focus on women.
Development benefits will automatically reach women.

Gender Analysis- is a very important part of extension activities.

● It helps you to identify gender roles in each of the cultures that you will be working with.
● This is important as it will ensure that information and technology is provided where
necessary.

Gender Division of Labor- refers to the allocation of different jobs or types of work to
women and men.
Men Women

Productive Role Reproductive Role

Performs tasks that contribute economically Care and maintenance of the households and its
(income-generating) to the household and to the members, including the bearing and caring of
community like agriculture, manufacturing, children, food preparation, water collection,
livelihood enterprise, etc.). shopping, housekeeping and family health care.

Community Role
Tasks that have to do with managing activities of community organizations and projects or they have
to do with leadership of community organizations and political structures related to the concerns and
affairs of the locality.

Sadly, most reproductive work is not assigned an economic value.

3. Use gender-fair language

● Language articulates consciousness.
● Language reflects culture.
● Language affects socialization.
● Language is one of the most powerful means through which sxism and gender discrimination are
perpetrated and reproduced (Menegatti and Rubini, 2017).

Sexism in Language
● Inherently discriminatory language, either written or spoken, that implies an unjustified
sexual bias against a group or an individual, usually women, but sometimes men.
● Males are superior to women as evidenced by their created and used words (Kintanar,
1993).
 Current Usage Alternative

Man Human Being, Human

Manking, Men Humankind, People

Man-Made Manufactured, Synthetic, Artificial

Early Man Early people, early men and

women/human beings

If a farmer has an issue with technology Farmers who have issues with technology
use, he should be referred to the farm should be referred to the farm technician.
technician.

The handicapped child may be able to Handicapped children may be able to feed
feed himself. themselves.

When a reporter covers a controversial When reporters cover controversial

story, he has the responsibility to present stories, they have the responsibility to
both sides of the issue. present both sides of the issue.

Gendered Norms
Avoid exclusionary forms such as: Choose inclusionary alternatives such as:

Mankind Humanity, human beings, people

Man’s achievement Human achievements

The best an for the job The best person for the job

Man the controls Take charge of

Man the ticket booth Staff the ticket booth

Avoid exclusionary words and phrases such as: Choose inclusionary alternatives such as:

Stewardess Flight Attendant, Steward

Authoress Author

Poetess Poet

Coed Student

Male Nurse Nurse

Lady Lawyer Lawyer

Woman Doctor Doctor

Gender-Fair Language
Issue:
● Use of “Mr.,” “Miss,” and “Mrs.”
● “Mr.” can refer to any man, whether single or married.
● “Mrs.” is used to define a woman’s relationship to men (by whether they are married or
not)

Solution:
 ● A way around this is to use “Ms.” (which does not indicate marital status) to refer to
women. Use courtesy titles that promote gender equity.
● “Mx.” may be used.
4. Identify the needs of the target beneficiaries that you would like to work on- practical gender needs
vs. strategic gender needs.

Practice gender needs do not challenge, although they arise out of, gender divisions of labor and
women’s subordinate position in society.

Why Water is a Women’s Issue

How much time women and girls spend fetching water? The total that UNICEF reached was 200 million
hours – every day.

Hippo Roller- conceptualized in 1991 by Pettie Petzer and Johan Jonker:

Brought improvements to the family’s:
Health
Education
Reduced Injury
Food Security
Cultural Change

Strategic Gender Needs

● “Requirements of women and men to improve their position or status. Addressing these
needs allow people to have control over their lives beyond socially-defined restrictive roles.
● Strategic needs are the needs required to overcome the subordinate position of women to men in
society, and relate to the empowerment of women.