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Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches
for Food Security and Nutrition

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Disclosing gender-biased social norms to close gender gaps

17 December 2021

Colleagues from the United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) and partner organizations have participated in a series of intensive multi-session workshops on identifying and examining social norms that hinder community development.

In two multi-session workshops held in September and December 2021, about 50 participants immersed themselves in concepts, exercises and debates revolving around the Social Norms Exploration Tool (SNET), a participatory methodology for investigating the informal, unwritten rules that govern the way people behave and interact within their communities.

The workshops were organized in the framework of the Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches for Food Security and Nutrition (JP GTA), implemented by the three RBAs – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with and through financial support from the European Union.

In partnership with Georgetown University’s Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH), the workshops aimed to strengthen the capacities of RBAs staff and that of their partner organizations involved in the design, planning and implementation of rapid diagnostic studies to explore gendered-related social norms in Ecuador and Malawi – the two focus countries of the JP GTA.

Through this series of workshops, the JP GTA seeks to ensure thorough comprehensive assessments about the social norms that cause gender inequalities in the context of food security and nutrition in selected districts and provinces in Malawi and Ecuador, respectively, using IRH’s SNET methodology.

Digging deep to reach the roots

During the workshops, IRH’s facilitators provided a comprehensive overview of the SNET and an interactive space for discussion. The facilitators offered orientation on the key concepts that lie under the SNET, as well as practical examples and the five steps of the SNET process – from planning and preparation of field activities to application of findings, through identification of reference groups, social norms exploration and analysis of findings.

More traditional research tends to consult communities and extract the findings for analysis, with no assurance that they will be acted on. In contrast, the SNET enables people in a given setting to share their perceptions and identify, prioritize, and appraise social and other issues based on their knowledge of local conditions. By combining the sharing of insights with analysis, it provides a catalyst for the community itself (alongside the program staff) to act on what is uncovered.

The first multi-session workshop took place on 28-29 September and targeted those involved with the study in Malawi. The event brought together 25 attendees from the RBAs at headquarters and country level, CARE International in Malawi, CARE USA, University of Malawi and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources. CARE International in Malawi, with the support of CARE USA and the RBAs, is the main partner responsible for conducting the rapid diagnostic study. Moreover, personnel from the two universities will participate in the exercise to ensure knowledge sharing with local research and educational institutions.

In Malawi, the JP GTA’s expected overall result is the enhancement of the economic autonomy of women and youth through their improved financial inclusion. The RBAs will work towards this result through various activities aiming at building capacities and challenging discriminatory social norms at the individual, household, community, institution and policy/legislation levels.

The second multi-session workshop was delivered on 9-10 December to about 25 colleagues from the RBAs, the European Union and two non-governmental organizations, Fondo ecuatoriano Populorum Progressio – Grupo Social (FEPP) and Corporación Grupo Randi Randi.

In Ecuador, the JP GTA focuses on improving women’s productive capacity, access to markets and services, and decision-making to reduce the gender gap in family farming. The idea is to contribute to preventing structural gender inequalities in access to production systems, marketing, financial and non-financial services (technical assistance, credit, insurance) and community associations for greater economic autonomy, control over resources and decision-making by rural women.

 “Through the JP GTA we are developing the capacities of the RBAs’ own staff and of their partners to be well prepared for effectively addressing those issues,” says Hajnalka Petrics, the JP GTA Global Coordinator. “Behaviour change is a long and complex process, and change starts within ourselves. With increasingly sensitized employees and partners, the RBAs and the EU will be better positioned to explore the underlying causes of gender inequalities that curb food and nutrition security.”


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