Work towards gender equality in the Andes
In Peru, the regions of Ayacucho, Apurimac and Huancavelica form part of what is known as the “Andean trapezium”, one of the poorest parts of the country. BTC runs an integrated economic development programme there that aims at creating jobs for rural smallholders and at increasing the income of small regional businesses. In the long run it aims at contributing to poverty reduction.
To do so, two approaches have been chosen. On the one hand, work is done with municipalities, by strengthening their Local Economic Development Office. On the other hand, different regional products are promoted, namely diary products, potatoes, tara (a multi-purpose plant, mainly used to produce Tara gum), kiwicha (amaranth grain), avocado, alpaca fiber, ceramics and textile. In total, the programme supports 3,800 families with training and technical support to strengthen their associations and business acumen.
A diagnosis of the project pinpointed the poor involvement of women in economic activities. Two types of situations were highlighted. A first type regroups the five (mainly agricultural) sectors in which men are responsible for production, even though women are often involved “as a support”: kiwicha, potato, tara, avocado and ceramics.
The second type covers three sectors (dairy and alpaca breeding and textiles), which show mixed production activities. This has to be understood as sectors in which women do the work, whereas men manage the business and take decisions. This applies for instance to dairy, with women spending most of the time with the herd, whereas the men sell the milk and obtain the money, join the producer associations and are the decision-makers. In both types of situations, women have a minor role.
The gender mainstreaming strategy of the programme works towards the elimination of obstacles that hinder full participation of women to economic activities. Work started on raising awareness among the programme’s target group such as beneficiaries, producers and officials of the municipalities, in order to increase the income of the women as well as their decision-making power, in other words, to create the space they are entitled to in the economic activity.
In this perspective, on the occasion of the International Women’s Day, on 8 March 2010, the programme launched an awareness-raising campaign under the title “Work towards gender equality together”. The campaign includes a poster game that will be distributed among the municipalities, producer associations and businesses. The game brings two messages. The first message is that gender equality is everybody’s business because it is a condition for progress, a condition of development (poster 1). The second message is that such equality is not difficult to achieve; on the contrary, it is achieved on a day-to-day basis, through small acts, which are presented on posters 2 and 3.
The campaign was presented and well received during an event with local authorities, beneficiaries and programme staff. Eight women were also decorated during the event; they are eight dynamic participants to the programme who open perspectives towards gender equality.
