This blog post, written by Loïs Archimbaud, FAO Technical Advisory Committee member for the JP GTA, provides key reflections on conducting gender norms diagnostic studies, such as those carried out under the JP GTA in Ecuador and Malawi to identify and understand the gender norms that influence specific behaviours of interest. 

As part of its urban cash assistance programming in Zimbabwe, WFP has been offering 'Toose', a gender transformative approach that addresses some of the root causes of intimate partner violence, such as economic instability and harmful social norms.

The story of female beekeepers in Ecuador shows that by giving women more equitable access to resources and markets, improving their technical skills and knowledge, and addressing deeply rooted social norms perpetuating gender inequalities, gender transformative programming has the potential to enhance food security, improve nutrition and transform agrifood systems.

When women suffer, numerous households experience food insecurity and poverty. The importance of eliminating gender-based violence lies not only in its violation of human rights but also in its reinforcement of various contributing factors. This perspective is underscored in an interview with Alejandra Safa Barraza, Global Coordinator of the JP GTA, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 

In collaboration with FAO’s Gender Team and the WeCaN community of Knowledge Practice for the Sustainable Forest Management Impact Program on Dryland Sustainable Landscapes (DSL-IP), the JP GTA contributed to building the capacity of 20 development practitioners and service providers during a four-day virtual training workshop on gender transformative and climate-resilient dimensions of agricultural value chains.

The JP GTA facilitated a dialogue session in August 2023 that brought together members of six Village Savings and Loan Associations in the district of Kasungu in Malawi with three financial institutions.

 

The Learning Route that took place from 16 to 22 October 2023 in the northeast of Brazil, organized by the JP GTA and Procasur, has inspired its participants to incorporate gender transformative approaches in projects and organizations upon return to their 12 countries, with a view to improving rural livelihoods.

 

In this travel blog, we follow along as the “Learning Route on Gender Transformative Approaches to Achieving Food Security, Improved Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture” meets innovative local host experiences in northeastern Brazil. The Learning Route was organized by the JP GTA and Procasur from 16 to 22 October 2023.

 

During the launch of the ‘Guidelines for measuring gender transformative change in the context of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture’, a dialogue panel between a representative of the Rome-based Agencies and one from the ONE CGIAR system focused on the opportunities and challenges of assessing normative constraints to gender equality in agrifood systems.

 

How to address gender inequality in rural areas? A Learning Route in Brazil, organized by Procasur within the framework of the Joint Programme, seeks answers and solutions to this question. The Learning Route will take place from 16 to 22 October 2023 and will visit initiatives of women's groups and rural communities in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco in Brazil.