Gender Issues in Cooperatives

by Anne-Brit Nippierd

What are cooperatives?

Cooperatives are autonomous asso- ployees of these and other coopera- Statement on the
ciations of people who join together tive enterprises. Although coopera- Cooperative Identity
to meet their common economic, tives are not instruments of em-
social and/or cultural needs through ployment promotion as such, they
jointly-owned and democratically do create and maintain employment Values:
controlled enterprises. Cooperatives in both urban and rural areas
are able to promote economic and around the world and thus provide Cooperatives are based on the
social development because they are income to both members and em- valu es o f s el f -help , sel f
commercial organizations that fol- ployees in the form of shares of r es p o n s ib i li t y, d e mo cr a c y,
equality, equity and solidarity. In
low a broader set of values than surplus (profit), wages and salaries
the tradition of their founders ,
those associated purely with the depending on the type of coopera- cooperative members believe in
profit motive. Because cooperatives tive. the ethical values of honesty,
are owned by those who use their Enterprise development and par- openness, social responsibility
services, the decisions taken by co- ticularly the promotion of small and and caring for others.
operatives balance the need for prof- medium enterprises, has been
itability with the wider interests of adopted as a prerequisite and a Cooperative Principles:
the community. They also foster strategy for job creation and eco-
economic fairness by ensuring equal • Voluntary and Open
nomic growth in a large number of membership
access to markets and services for countries. Governments are respon- • Democratic Member
the membership base, which is open sible for formulating policies for an Control
and voluntary (see Statement on Co- • Member Economic
enabling environment for these
operative Identity). Participation
businesses. However, more aware-
Cooperatives play an important role • Autonomy and Independence
in job creation by directly providing ness and knowledge about the co-
• Education, Training and
productive self-employment for sev- operative form of enterprise, as an Information
eral hundred million worker-owners option to conduct business, is • Cooperation Among
of production and service provision widely needed by the people most Cooperatives
cooperatives and non-member em- likely to benefit from it. • Concern for Community

Cooperatives as potential empowerment vehicles

Empowerment has always been fundamental to the cooperative idea where people get together to achieve goals
that they would not be able to achieve on their own. The goals are decided by the members themselves and, since
cooperatives are organized on the principle of one person - one vote, the cooperative form of enterprise provides
women with the opportunity of participating on equal terms with men. Cooperative enterprises can take on dif-
ferent forms: They can be set up by a group of enterprises or by individual entrepreneurs wishing to benefit
from shared services, cheaper goods, easier access to markets or higher prices for their products. But what they
all have in common is that, as a group, members are able to create economies of scale and increase their influ-
ence and bargaining power.
In many developing countries women work individually, often isolated, in the informal economy, operating at a
low level of activity and reaping marginal income. Joining forces in small-scale cooperatives can provide them
with the economic, social and political leverage they need. A good example of this can be seen in the achieve-
ments of SEWA in India (see Box overleaf). For the member entrepreneurs, cooperatives provide the setting for
collective problem-solving and the articulation of strategic and basic needs. The support and mutual encourage-
ment that a group of entrepreneurs can give each other can also be crucial in helping to maintain or boost their
self-confidence. Solidarity, social responsibility, equality and caring for others are among the core values on
which genuine cooperatives are based.
But are women able to fully utilize the potential that the cooperative method of doing business represents? And
do the traditional cooperatives recognize and make full use of the potential that women members and employees
represent?
Barriers and challenges to women’s participation in
cooperatives
Since cooperatives, like other forms of enterprise, reflect heritance. In some countries, women are also restricted
the broader society in which they operate, it is not sur- from conducting business independently or without their
prising that gender imbalances do exist, despite the coop- husband’s consent. In other cases women’s legal rights
erative principles and values that proclaim equality and may be stipulated in a law but not necessarily enforced
equity. Among the most important gender issues in coop- or they may be superceded by customary law.
eratives today are women's low level of active participa- In cooperative by-laws, which are formulated by the
tion and their under-representation in decision-making members themselves, certain rules and regulations can
and leadership. In cases where women actually do make have a discriminatory effect on the participation of
up a large proportion of the membership, such as in credit women. For example, in agricultural cooperatives, own-
and consumer cooperatives, their active participation is ership or control over land or property are often stipu-
particularly crucial as the cooperatives cannot claim to be lated as a condition for membership. Or, if the coopera-
truly democratic if women do not participate in decision- tive only allows one member per farm/household, the
making, and neither can women members’ needs and in- general tendency is that a man is chosen. When the
terests be adequately addressed. women household members are excluded from member-
Women, especially in developing countries, are con- ship, they are consequently excluded from the services
fronted by formidable constraints that block their active that cooperatives provide in rural communities.
participation in cooperatives. First and foremost among To address this problem, cooperatives in some countries
these constraints is the traditional role of women in soci- allow for participation and voting rights for several
ety and the prevalent misconception that women's repro- members per household. In Norway, for example, it is
ductive and domestic responsibilities constitute their stipulated that “there must be at least two votes per
main role. This places women at the margins of the coop- farm”. In order to exercise one’s right to vote, personal
erative business world. It restricts their choice of eco- attendance at the general meeting is obligatory. In addi-
nomic occupations and opportunities and is the root cause tion, it is stipulated that both representatives must be able
of their heavy work burden and time constraint. Carrying to hold office bearer positions or responsibilities in the
out income-earning activities in addition to their non- cooperative.
paid work as mothers and home-makers, often leaves lit- The lack of social, economic and legal rights also partly
tle time or energy to attend meetings or carry out other explains women's low participation in cooperative deci-
additional tasks. sion-making and leadership positions.
Women's lack of access to resources is also a major stum-
bling block. It affects both their participation in existing
cooperatives or the setting up of new ones. Without inde-
pendent assets it is also difficult for women to invest in
their own right in cooperatives. In many countries women Box: SEWA, the Self- Employed Women Association
lack access to land, credit or production inputs; their level
SEWA is a trade union formed in 1972 which aims at
of education is lower than men’s and their business ex-
mobilizing women in the unorganized sector of the Indian
perience and knowledge of cooperatives is very often economy. It is in fact a confluence of three movements: the
limited. Because they are unable to participate in coop- labour movement, the cooperative movement and the women's
eratives, they are excluded from the benefits that coop- movement which all share similar values and goals.
eratives and their support structures often provide to their SEWA's members are self-employed women who earn a living
members such as credit, education and training, produc- through their own businesses or through their own labour.
tion inputs, technology and marketing outlets. In other SEWA believes that self-employed women must organise
words, because they are disadvantaged at the outset, it is themselves into sustainable organizations so that they can
all the more difficult for them to change their predica- collectively promote their own development. SEWA members
ment as they do not have access to resources. therefore form cooperatives whenever possible to create
economies of scale, increase their bargaining power whilst
Legal constraints can also hinder women’s participation maintaining full control as owners and leaders. In SEWA's
in cooperatives. Studies carried out by the ILO1, have in- experience the formation of cooperatives has resulted in
dicated that cooperative laws are generally “gender neu- sustained employment and income.
tral” and do not discriminate directly against women. In Cooperatives are particularly successful in the provision of
certain cases, the provisions in the cooperative law are in social services and social protection. In India the integrated
fact gender pro-active, stating that the participation of insurance scheme of SEWA is one of the largest contributory
women in the membership should be reflected in coop- social security schemes in the country for informal sector
erative decision-making i.e. in boards and committees.
workers. The scheme offers insurance coverage to more than
One such example is the Cooperative Law of Namibia of
30,000 women workers.
1996.
However, women do face barriers to their participation in
cooperatives as a result of related laws that discriminate 1
“Legal constraints to women’s participation in cooperatives”,
against women in regard to property ownership and in- ILO-Cooperative Branch, 2002

Page 2 Gender Issues in Cooperatives

Cooperatives in a changing environment
Cooperatives have undergone tremendous changes dur-
ing the past decade, triggered by expanding global trade, Box: Empowerment of women in the Sahel
deregulation, economic liberalization and political trans-
formation. Earlier cooperatives in many countries func- Women in Africa, as in other parts of the world, face numerous
tioned in protected and highly regulated domestic mar- obstacles and constraints in their access to such resources as
kets in more or less monopoly situations. In centrally- knowledge, land, production inputs, finance as well as income-
planned economies, cooperatives were subjected to state earning opportunities. Women’s heavy workload and
interference at all levels of their operations making it im- subsequent lack of time constitutes one of the greatest obstacles.
possible for them to function as member-owned and In an effort to address this and other problems, an ILO-initiated
member-run business enterprises. With the end of the project has been assisting more than 5,000 women in the
Cold War, cooperatives were for the first time exposed to Bulkiemdé and Sanguine provinces of Burkina Faso in the
the challenges posed by the market economy. Sahel. Through the establishment of micro-finance associations
run by the women themselves, the local communities have
In developing countries too, where cooperatives had
experienced surge in entrepreneurial activity which has been
been introduced by colonial powers as development spurred on by the establishment of financial links with the
tools, they generally benefited from government subsi- national bank, Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole.
dies and other preferential treatment. The introduction of
According to the villagers interviewed, the project has had a
structural adjustment policies in the 1980s had dramatic
long-term catalytic impact on the communities concerned. It has
effects as cooperatives were suddenly forced to adjust to not only contributed towards improving the standard of living of
increased competition from the private enterprise sector the women and their families and increasing their social status,
without the financial support and extension services that but has also kindled a strong sense of solidarity and mutual
they had become accustomed to. They thus entered a pe- help among the villagers.
riod of crisis and were forced to adapt rapidly or disap- Moreover, gender sensitization, especially among men, has led
pear. Despite the difficulties many cooperatives have to a redistribution of tasks and responsibilities within the
managed to survive by introducing new innovative households and communities. Being freed from their heavy
strategies and becoming - often for the first time - genu- work burden, women are now increasingly able to participate in
ine, member-owned and controlled cooperatives. And, education and training programmes, income-generating
because of their social and economic role, it is increas- activities and meetings in their cooperative and in the
ingly recognized that cooperatives have an important role community.
to play in helping to mitigate the negative effects of More women also participate in decision-making both at home
globalization. and in the community, where the traditional negotiation
As a result of liberalization, many different forms of co- methods are being transformed. With strong women leaders
operatives today exist side by side in the same country. now taking their rightful place in municipal councils and village
“Free-enterprise (or commercial) cooperatives” can, for
committees, it is deemed that the voice of women will continue
example, co-exist with “state-sponsored cooperatives”
to be heard and their needs adequately addressed.
and “self-help groups”. This can be seen in countries
where governments legalized the already existing, but
until then illegal, unregistered cooperative self-help or-
ganizations such as the tontine, adjo, naam groups,
harambee groups or gotong royong. In other cases, alter- competitive market have been wiped out and rising in
native forms of cooperatives were established, or regis- their place are dynamic, innovative cooperatives that
tration procedures were simplified, which led to the have successfully adapted and transformed themselves
emergence of a large variety of cooperatives alongside into market-oriented enterprises.
the formal cooperative sector. Examples include: village In Western Europe, the cooperative movement experi-
groups in Burkina Faso (see Box ), Mali and Niger; com- enced a new period of growth after the 1970s when the
mon initiative groups in Cameroon; economic interest so-called “new cooperatives” started to emerge. These
groups in Senegal and other French-speaking African new forms of cooperatives came about in response to the
countries; credit cooperatives in Indonesia; mutually economic crisis of the late 1970s, which had led to rising
aided cooperatives in Andhra Pradesh (India) and pre- unemployment and a gradual decline in the European so-
cooperatives in Côte d’Ivoire. As surveys carried out in cial model. Some of these new cooperatives were set up
several developing countries have indicated, simplifying by employees as a way of saving their jobs in enterprises
registration procedures, would greatly encourage women that were nearing bankruptcy. New cooperatives and new
entrepreneurs to join and/or form their own cooperatives jobs were also created as unemployed people established
or group enterprises. social economy enterprises and as entrepreneurial activi-
Liberalization has thus dismantled or reduced monopo- ties were developed in areas abandoned by the welfare
listic advantages and provided a more equal playing field state.
to other business enterprises and new cooperatives to According to a report carried out by CECOP, women are
compete with the earlier established ones. Many of the the main cooperative entrepreneurs in Western Europe.
cooperatives that were ill prepared for the change to a For example, in Sweden, 80% of the founders of new

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cooperatives are women. They see cooperatives as a helped to absorb the steadily increasing number of women
good way of starting up a business, and they value the entering the labour force in these countries.
positive flexibility and influence and control over their It is estimated that more than 4,000 new social economy
work situation that the cooperative framework is able to enterprises are created annually leading to the creation of
provide. In Finland, 40% of the founders of worker co- jobs for around 30 - 40,000 people each year. CECOP
operatives are women. The main sectors in which they characterizes these new cooperatives created by women as
operate are social services, health care, marketing of a “veritable laboratory of new methods of work sharing
handicrafts, culture and media. In Germany, many new and methods for positive flexibility. This experimentation
cooperatives have also been set up by women, who in in the restructuring of working time has not only contrib-
many cases see them as an opportunity to combine so- uted to the individual aspirations of women, but also to
cial, political and ecological work. In Italy, France and
better reconciliation of individual, family and working
Spain, where the cooperative movement has a long tradi-
time.”
tion in certain sectors, cooperative enterprises have been
established in new and innovative sectors such as in the
2
provision of services, social care, tourism, cleaning, ca- “Participation and flexibility: An Opportunity for Women’s
tering, environment and architectural conservation and Employment”, EURb/100/97, CECOP (European Confederation
many others. The growing number of cooperative enter- of Workers’ Co-operatives, Social Cooperatives and Participa-
prises, many of which are run by women, has greatly tive Enterprises)

Seeds of change
The advancement of the status of women in cooperatives Attaining equality of opportunity between men and
and in society in general has always been important to women is a long process and cooperatives in all parts of
the international cooperative movement. Since the World the world still have a long way to go before they are able
Summit on Social Development and the Beijing Confer- to claim that they are truly gender responsive. However,
ence, however, the promotion of gender equality has the very fact that cooperatives, as opposed to other types
been particularly high on its agenda. In 1995, the Inter- of enterprise, have to pay attention to the needs and inter-
national Co-operative Alliance (ICA) passed a resolution ests of their members, gives them a special role to play.
on "Gender Equality on Cooperatives" in which the Members, clients and customers very often perceive co-
members of the ICA noted that gender equality is a operatives as having a high regard for business ethics,
global priority for the cooperative movement. ICA mem- therein included equality issues, so in order to attract new
bers declared their commitment to take action and the members and loyal clients and customers, cooperatives
ICA at the global level has undertaken a series of pro- should take advantage of this. The Cooperative Commis-
grammes and activities for the advancement of women. sion of the UK states in it Report (2001):
Several initiatives have been undertaken in collabora- “Active equal opportunities management can open up new
tion with the ILO such as the development of training opportunities and improve market share by broadening the
materials on gender in cooperatives in French, English customer base, particularly where the customers can iden-
and Spanish (see reference materials below) and leader- tify with the specific policies and practices e.g. gender,
ship development manuals for women cooperators soon disability, race and age. Conversely, bad practice can lead
to be published. to a loss of reputation and customers...”
Many cooperative businesses today have clearly formu-
lated policies on equal opportunities but practice may, of
course, differ. Very few cooperatives, for example, actu-
ally have a percentage of women in decision-making posi-
tions that corresponds to the percentage of women in the
membership. A key starting point is therefore to ensure
that cooperative leaders and management are sensitized to
gender issues. It is only with a understanding of the issues
and a commitment to systematically address them that pro-
active measures will be taken by the leaders and managers.
Ensuring that gender concerns are mainstreamed in all co-
operative policies, legislation, mission statements, visions,
by-laws, strategies, plans and programmes is also essen-
tial. Gender analysis can be used as a tool to help reveal
areas needing change. Examining the rights, resource allo-
cations and decision-making processes within coopera-
tives can give an indication of the constraints and chal-
lenges facing women and provide a key to designing poli-
cies and strategies to enable them to take better advantage
of the opportunities that exist. Measures can be taken, for

Page 4 Gender Issues in Cooperatives

example, that can lead to a more equal allocation of man- attention must often be paid to the specific gender-
agement and leadership positions through affirmative ac- related obstacles that women face.
tion, equal access to cooperative benefits such as credit, In many countries where women are particularly disad-
cooperative education and training, and removing legal vantaged in terms of legal rights, cooperatives should
obstacles to women's equal and active participation. For form national level coalitions and alliances with gender
successful gender mainstreaming, the strengthening of advocacy organizations and other civil society organiza-
gender capacities within the cooperative movement should tions to lobby governments for equal rights (especially in
be a priority. property and asset ownership) and an effective legal
Benchmarking, sharing best practice and establishing a framework and institutions that foster gender equality.
monitoring system in cooperatives which can trace the Without fundamental changes in society it is of course
progress in equal opportunities through agreed indicators, difficult for cooperatives alone to alter gender disparities
are necessary for cooperatives that wish to maintain a high which affect their operations. However, since coopera-
and dynamic profile as businesses based on ethical and tives often have the needed representation force behind
social standards. them, they are in a good position to influence national
Capacity building is another key area that needs to be level policies and should make use this.
given priority as one of the main obstacles to equal oppor-
tunities is the education gap between men and women and From the time cooperatives first emerged out of the ex-
the resulting occupational segregation. Cooperatives and cesses of the industrial revolution to today's market tur-
their support structures should ensure that their women bulence and resulting marginalization, social exclusion
members are fairly and equally represented in all training and denial of access of opportunities of large sectors of
and education programmes. These programmes should be the population, cooperatives have always represented a
sensitive to women needs, or specifically designed where valid organizational form with an important role to play.
necessary, and should include confidence-building meas- For cooperatives hold the potential to help people to help
ures. Identifying potential women leaders and helping themselves, to present an alternative way of organizing
them gain visibility and experience within the organization and carrying out business activities, and to demonstrate
through training, coaching and mentoring has proven to be that values of caring and sharing, democracy and partici-
an effective strategy pation do indeed work for the benefit of society.
Nominating, encouraging and supporting women members
to stand for election in various committees, representative
3
bodies and higher-level cooperative structures and to par- The ICA represents over 200 cooperative organizations with
ticipate actively in meetings, is an important step towards nearly 760 million individual members in nearly 100 countries.
the advancement of women in cooperatives, but special ICA Gender Equality Committee: www.coop.org/women

References and further reading:

1. ILO: Promotion of Cooperatives, Report V (1), ILC 2001.

2. ILO: Gender Issues in Cooperatives: an ILO ICA Perspective. Gender
sensitization package for cooperative leaders, Cooperative Branch, Geneva, 1995.
3. ILO/ICA: Genre et dévéloppement. Analyse de la place des femmes: Une
expérience au Sahel, ACOPAM, 1996.
4. ILO/ICA: Le genre dans les coopératives pour une responsabilité partagée et un
dévéloppement durable, (adaptation of the Gender Issues in Cooperatives
gender package), 1999.
5. ILO/OCA/SCC: Manual para implementar politicas de genero en las
cooperativas, 2000.
6. Report of Co-operative Commisssion, UK: The Co-operative Advantage: Creating
a Successful Family of Co-operative Businesses, January 2001.
7. “Participation and flexibility: An Opportunity for Women’s Employment”,
EURb/100/97, CECOP (European Confederation of Workers’ Co-operatives,
Social Cooperatives and Participative Enterprises).
8. ILO: Legal constraints to women’s participation in cooperatives, compilation of
11 country studies in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Cooperative Branch, 2002.
9. ILO: Country studies from Norway, Italy and the Philippines on the impact of
gender policies and practices on cooperatives, (soon to be published).

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