Udskriv

Chapter 7: Gender, rights and organisations

 

 

Introduction

This chapter explores what the principles of a gender and rights approach mean for how we organise ourselves. What are the characteristics of an organisation that is congruent with a gender and rights approach to development, and how can organisations change to strengthen these attributes? This discussion is based on the belief that organisational structure and practice is important, not just in terms of efficiency or even effectiveness but in terms of capacity to promote human rights and equality.

The chapter begins by examining the question of why organisation matters and then proposes what it means to be a ‘gender and rights-based organisation’. The majority of the chapter focuses on some of the most important organisational changes called for in adopting a gender and rights approach to development. It discusses the levels and sites at which changes may be necessary; how responsiveness to gender and rights issues can be built; and the implications of the approach for changes in an organisation’s relationships with partners and donors. It also raises some of the key considerations for planning and implementing organisational change. Finally, the chapter proposes an assessment tool that can help identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of an organisation, and hence prioritise sites for change.

There is relatively limited literature on the impact of RBA on organisations; this chapter also draws on lessons learned from gender mainstreaming and the literature on gender and organisations.

To the Top

Why organisation matters

Organisations are historically constructed frameworks that contribute to producing and reinforcing social relations, including gender inequities and discriminatory practices based on class, caste, race, and other differences (Mukhopadhyay et al. 2006). Organisations exist in and are shaped by relationships with their own staff and stakeholders, with partner organisations and with society at large. Changes within an organisation will bring concomitant changes in the way that organisation relates to other actors, both internal and external.

The study of organisational development has its historical basis in the private sector and this affects how far insights gained can be directly applied to non-profit institutions (Mukhopadhyay et al. 2006). The study of gender and organisational development has typically been occupied with how inequities cause inefficiencies. The result is that the advancement of gender equality has been focused on how it can serve the organisation’s other goals, and not as a goal in itself. Redefining the achievement of gender equality, either internally, externally, or both, as a goal of an organisation has implications for the type of strategy adopted and how relationships may be affected. It involves going beyond thinking in terms of efficiency or even effectiveness and includes the capacity to promote human rights and equality.

Policies and practices arise from the individuals who constitute the organisation’s staff, who are themselves informed by the organisational culture. The actions of individuals within organisations affect the rights that poor women and men can claim through processes of interpretation and implementation where individual discretion is exercised. At core, gender and rights-based approaches call attention to processes and whether or not they promote equality and deliver on rights. Therefore we need organisational practices and implementation processes that respect rights and are gender-aware. Without examining the beliefs and values of individuals responsible for these processes and the ways in which organisational structures and culture enable them, we cannot address discriminatory practices.

One source of scepticism about rights-based approaches has been a suspicion that agencies have appropriated the language of rights without changing how they go about development, whereas others have seen it as a new conditionality imposed on developing countries and southern partners (Cornwall and Nyamu-Musembi 2004). In the context of inter-organisational relations, demanding gender-aware programming by implementing partners without addressing gender inequity within funding organisations demonstrates hypocrisy and weakens development efforts (Mukhopadhyay et al. 2006). Similarly, an organisation that pays lip-service to rights-based approaches but does not itself adopt a critical view that examines its own power relations and political position is left in an indefensible position. A lack of consistency between internal practices and external messages limits the ability to bring about a transformation in NGO relationships and practices (Harris-Curtis et al. 2005). ‘Walking the talk’ adds to moral legitimacy and is essential for avoiding double-standards that reinforce north-south power differences.

At a broad level, gender and rights-based approaches aim to change society at large. Building awareness of how inequities are perpetuated by organisations, and developing strategies to create equitable organisational practices that support fulfilment of rights, will ideally contribute to this larger aim of social transformation.

To the Top

What it means to be a ‘gender and rights-based organisation’

Merely adopting a ‘rights-based approach to development’ does not necessarily bring about a change at the level of an organisation. Research carried out with 17 Northern European NGOs by Intrac and South Research identified four different experiences of how a rights-based approach to development affects the foundation (mission, values, long-term strategy) and work (programming) of organisations:

illustration

(Harris-Curtis et al. 2005)

Lessons from gender mainstreaming and literature on rights-based approaches to development suggest that the capacity of an organisation to promote equality and human rights will be greatest when a gender and rights-based approach has been internalised in a way which changes the foundation of the organisation. For example, in a joint project to learn more about the application of a rights-based approach to development, CARE and Oxfam America concluded that the capacity of an organisation to undertake rights-based programming requires not only a ‘fundamental shift’ in the way work is done, but also in the organisation’s ‘understandings, relationships, and roles’ (see for example Rand and Watson 2007)(Rand and Watson 2007).

Making these fundamental changes is a dynamic process rather than a result that can be achieved and ticked off the list (Harris-Curtis et al. 2005). This has several implications: it suggests the importance of becoming a ‘learning organisation’; raises challenges of how to balance this dynamic process with the needs of staff for clarity and the demands of the programming cycle; and it highlights the importance of involving staff (and possibly key stakeholders) in collectively developing realistic expectations about the change process.

Another key to understanding the organisational implications of a gender and rights-based approach to development is recognising that it calls for a significant change in the role and position of development agencies. Chief among these changes is a shift from being a provider of charitable assistance to being a duty-bearer with obligations. As a duty bearer, an NGO is answerable to rights holders for its work and must ensure responsibility for any violations of rights (Harris-Curtis et al. 2005). Seeing development organisations as responsible for delivering rights highlights the need to look at the systems, supports and capacities at the levels of definition, interpretation and implementation. Second, I/NGOS are called on to adopt what is essentially a political approach, taking into consideration power, struggle, and a vision for a better society (Chapman 2005). ‘Recognising that the poor are right-holders and not beneficiaries, and acting accordingly, requires challenging existing power dynamics. For a development organisation, this means recognising how their own role is political in the development arena’ (Hughes et al. 2005). This is a change from a role as a deliverer of services to being a participant and an ally in social and political transformations. I/NGOs that adopt this approach become allies and partners in a collective struggle for change, sometimes acting as intermediaries and supporting poor women and men to claim their rights. ‘This implies a much more complex mix of roles that involves sharing and negotiating power in new ways, challenging assumptions, and taking clear, often risky, political stands in favour of people marginalised by poverty and the privilege of others’ (Chapman 2005). This change also has implications for how and when to interact with the state and other duty-bearers, including international donors, the private sector, and other organisations.

Finally, the process of becoming a gender and rights-based organisation means striving to reflect the core principles of a gender and rights based approach in organisational structure, policies, practices and capacities. The focus is placed on securing rights, enabling rights-holders and holding duty-bearers to account. Committing to becoming an organisation based on gender and rights also requires a commitment to participation, accountability, equity and non-discrimination and empowerment (Lansdown 2005).

Building on these three aspects of what it means to become a ‘gender and rights-based organisation’, the next section identifies and discusses key organisational changes.

To the Top