Employment and Sustainable Livelihoods: A Gender Perspective

Background

This briefing was commissioned by the Gender Office of the Swedish International
Development  Co-operation Agency (Sida), to initiate discussion within Sida about the significance of gender for strategies aimed at promoting employment and sustainable livelihoods for the poor in developing countries. Sida recognises that employment as  conventionally understood accounts for only a 'small fraction' of work in the poor countries and that attention to livelihoods is preferable, encompassing all forms of activities which ensure survival and enhance living conditions (Sida, 1995).  Sida acknowledges that there is a need for comprehensive multidimensional strategies to address poverty issues in developing countries.

The relaxation of a focus on employment derives from a body of research which has argued that the concept of 'sustainable livelihoods' is more useful in understanding the realities of life facing the poor.  Attention is drawn to activities that do not normally fall within the standard definitions of 'work' or 'employment', but nevertheless enhance the well being of the poor  in  developing countries and  enable  them  to  survive  and  cope with economic stress and crisis. The need to support the diverse coping and survival strategies of the poor and promote  sustainable livelihoods is increasingly emphasised in development interventions.
In the general debates about employment and sustainable livelihoods there is little analysis  of gender issues.  The Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference for Women identified equality of opportunity and treatment of women in employment as a critical area of concern.  It also highlighted the inequalities in women's access to  and  participation  in  the  creation  of economic structures and policies.

Structure of Report

This paper looks at the gender dimensions  of  both  employment  and  livelihood  focused approaches. Section  2  provides  an  overview of key debates and shifts in thinking about the relationship between the economic activities of women and gender equality. Section 3 reviews the conceptual approaches to employment and sustainable livelihoods by giving a brief history of how  these  terms  developed  and  how  they have intersected with gender analysis. Section 4 highlights the major trends in employment and in the ability and capability of the poor to secure
sustainable livelihoods in the context of economic restructuring and globalisation, drawing out the gender consequences of these trends.  Section 5 discusses the strategies adopted by specific agencies to increase employment and enhance sustainable livelihoods for women, and suggests lessons  from these experiences. The  report  concludes  by  setting  out  ways  in  which  gender analysis could be brought more forcefully into strategies to promote employment and sustainable
livelihoods.