Lobbying Beyond the Legislature: Challenges and Biases in Women's Organizations’ Participation in Rulemaking

This study, which is based on a survey of women's organizations’ staff members, answers two previously unexamined questions about women's groups’ participation in the rulemaking process: (1) How do women's organizations participate? (2) What are the characteristics of the women's organizations that are the most likely to participate? About one-quarter (27%) of women's organizations reported that they lobby rulemakers, often using relatively low-cost methods, such as submitting comments or signing on to comments written by coalitions or like-minded groups. Women's organizations with large staffs that are structured the most like political insiders or influential economic interest groups were the most likely to participate in the process, potentially biasing participation in favor of relatively advantaged subgroups of women. Together, these results suggest that although rulemaking presents unique opportunities to represent women, the most marginalized women may be underrepresented during rulemaking debates.

Childbirth in Transit

This chapter ethnographically explores childbirth practices at Taljai, a large urban slum on the southern outskirts of Pune city in India. Based on women’s recounting of their personal experiences and social relationships surrounding birth-giving at home, this chapter describes childbirth at Taljai as unstable, mirroring the migrant lives of women. Women’s migrant lives at Taljai are precarious and subject to material paucity and systemic violence, defined by strong internal negotiation and sociability surrounding their birth-giving practices at home. While homebirths are predicated on friendship networks among women, clinical births either indicate individual exclusion from women’s groups at Taljai or women’s active choice to avoid being controlled by other women. This chapter explores the tight gendered sociability surrounding homebirth at Taljai, demonstrating how women amalgamate experiences of self-birthing at home with home-birthing at the slum, instrumentalizing childbirth rituals as a means of social bonding.

Rural entrepreneurship and the context: navigating contextual barriers through women's groups

PurposeThis study aims to examine how women's groups help women to navigate context-related barriers to their engagement in rural entrepreneurship. The paper combines the contextualisation of entrepreneurship framework and the feminist separatist theory to describe how women's groups in patriarchal rural communities enable women to circumvent context-related barriers and actively engage in rural entrepreneurship.Design/methodology/approachBased on a case study of 12 women's groups engaged in paddy farming, rice processing and marketing in rural Tanzania, this study draws on semi-structured interviews with 46 women, four focus group discussions, four in-depth key informant interviews and non-participant observation.FindingsRural women face unique context-related challenges that hinder them from effectively participating in rural entrepreneurship. Specifically, limited access to farmlands and profitable markets, lack of business networks, limited time, poverty and insufficient financial resources constrain women's engagement in entrepreneurship. To overcome these contextual barriers, rural women have organised themselves into groups to gain access to business services, business-related training, grants and business networks.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to the existing literature on contextualising entrepreneurship by focussing on how rural contexts may constrain women's entrepreneurial engagement while showing how women respond to contextual barriers that enable them to participate in rural entrepreneurship.Practical implicationsThis study shows that women with low education can pursue rural entrepreneurship if they are supported through training and access to networks. This will support the performance of these groups of women.Originality/valueThis study offers new insights into the role of women's groups in navigating gender-related constraints that hinder women from participating in rural entrepreneurship within the patriarchal context of low-income countries. Thus, new perceptions for the gender and rural entrepreneurship theory and the policy implications thereof are proffered.

Effectiveness of participatory women’s groups scaled up by the public health system to improve birth outcomes in Jharkhand, eastern India: a pragmatic cluster non-randomised controlled trial

IntroductionThe WHO recommends community mobilisation with women’s groups practising participatory learning and action (PLA) to improve neonatal survival in high-mortality settings. This intervention has not been evaluated at scale with government frontline workers.MethodsWe did a pragmatic cluster non-randomised controlled trial of women’s groups practising PLA scaled up by government front-line workers in Jharkhand, eastern India. Groups prioritised maternal and newborn health problems, identified strategies to address them, implemented the strategies and evaluated progress. Intervention coverage and quality were tracked state-wide. Births and deaths to women of reproductive age were monitored in six of Jharkhand’s 24 districts: three purposively allocated to an early intervention start (2017) and three to a delayed start (2019). We monitored vital events prospectively in 100 purposively selected units of 10 000 population each, during baseline (1 March 2017–31 August 2017) and evaluation periods (1 September 2017–31 August 2019). The primary outcome was neonatal mortality.ResultsWe identified 51 949 deliveries and conducted interviews for 48 589 (93.5%). At baseline, neonatal mortality rates (NMR) were 36.9 per 1000 livebirths in the early arm and 39.2 in the delayed arm. Over 24 months of intervention, the NMR was 29.1 in the early arm and 39.2 in the delayed arm, corresponding to a 24% reduction in neonatal mortality (adjusted OR (AOR) 0.76, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.98), including 26% among the most deprived (AOR 0.74, 95% CI 0.57 to 0.95). Twenty of Jharkhand’s 24 districts achieved adequate meeting coverage and quality. In these 20 districts, the intervention saved an estimated 11 803 newborn lives (min: 1026–max: 20 527) over 42 months, and cost 41 international dollars per life year saved.ConclusionParticipatory women’s groups scaled up by the Indian public health system reduced neonatal mortality equitably in a largely rural state and were highly cost-effective, warranting scale-up in other high-mortality rural settings.Trial registrationISRCTN99422435.

Education on the manufacture of personal protective equipment as a prevention of covid-19 infection in farmer women's groups in Bulu Village, Magelang

The female farmer has multiple roles in their daily lives. Apart from this, they also have to do other housework. Unfortunately, this condition makes them have less attention to their health. Therefore, during the current covid-19 pandemic, the group of females needs to optimize their role particularly involving them in particular activities focusing on the prevention of covid-19 infection. Therefore, this activity aims to improve the ability of female farmer groups in making personal protective equipment. This activity was carried out during June 2021 in Bulu Village, Kapuhan, Sawangan, Magelang Regency. The results of this activity indicate that the female farmers' group can make personal protective equipment. It is hoped that the result of this activity can be widely used in the village. When possible, that product can be sold to increase the economic growth in the village.

Electoral Systems and the Process of Substantive Representation

Chapter 7 examines how women’s entry into politics, their campaigning, and their legislating interact. Rather than considering each stage in isolation, Clayton demonstrates that the candidate selection processes covered in Parts I and II of the book shape what is possible once women are elected to public office. Drawing on extensive interviews with women legislators and civil society leaders in Namibia and Uganda, Clayton investigates how electoral systems and related candidate selection processes facilitate or impede the formation of meaningful, institutionalized alliances among women MPs. While Uganda has an active women’s parliamentary caucus that supports women MPs and pushes for legislation on issues of particular concern for women, cross-party cooperation among Namibian women is rare and the women’s caucus moribund. Consequently, women’s civil society organizations in Uganda find important allies in parliament, while women’s groups in Namibia do not.

Representing Women’s Interests in Japan’s Civil Society

Japan has witnessed marginalization and underrepresentation of women in its civil society. This study examines its extent. It also explores who in Japan’s civil society represent women’s interests by using survey data from civil society organizations. This study reveals that civil society organizations are generally led by male leaders, and around half of their staff are male. It also indicates that the number of organizations representing women’s interests is limited, with only 2.2% representing women’s interests. Interestingly, the central actors representing women’s interests include economic and business groups, political groups, labor groups, and civic groups including women’s groups.

Pendampingan Penerapan Protokol Kesehatan Di Masa Era New Normal Pada Kumpulan Pengajian Kelompok Wanita Tani Di Desa Saronggi

Background: In 2020, Indonesia experienced a pandemic period, during which the corona virus spread. Close contact is a factor in the transmission of the covid 19 virus. Applying health protocols is considered important to reduce the incidence of the increase in the covid 19 virus. Methods: The basic purpose of this service is to provide training and assistance in implementing health protocols for community groups, especially the recitation group for farmer women's groups in the village of Saronggi. The main purpose of this service is to suppress the spread of the corona virus in the community. Results: The results showed that the counseling and mentoring process at the Women's Farmer's Association in Saronggi village went smoothly and as expected. This can be seen from the enthusiasm of all members when listening to counseling and changes in the behavior or habits of members in implementing health protocols when carrying out activities Conclusions Suggestions that we can hope for are to remain disciplined with health protocols so that they can really suppress the spread of the virus and break the chain of the Corona Virus.