THEME: When social conditions are favourable, women may participate even if they have not been specifically targeted. IFAD experience in China in 1995 provided several interesting lessons in the targeting of women:
The economic condition of women in Hebei has continued to improve over the years. In 1992, women made up 45% of the labour force of the province, and more than 90% of Hebei women were able to find employment. The range of women’s economic activities has also broadened significantly. An increasing number of women work in off-farm enterprises. Many township enterprises are now being managed by women who formerly worked only in the fields. IFAD has also learned lessons in targeting credit to women. In China, the demand for rural credit is met through both formal and informal sectors. Generally, richer and more accessible villages also have better access to credit. As in many countries, women are at a disadvantage in the formal sector because of constraints such as lack of collateral, the size of the loans they request, their lack of education and their inexperience in dealing with formal institutions. While several IFAD loans have made provisions for providing small loans to poor rural women, it is usually difficult for women to obtain loans in their own name. Although there is no discrimination against women per se, the loan application tends to be made in the name of the head of the household, who is usually male. Because loan applications are invariably signed by men, it is difficult to determine the extent of women’s indirect access. Other indicators under an IFAD-assisted project in Shandong Province suggest that perhaps one third of the loans signed by men are destined to women’s activities. This indirect access is culturally appropriate and probably psychologically easier for women, who have family support for repayment. What these experiences show is that women in China may participate in project activities, even when they have not been specifically targeted, as long as the activities meet the specific demands and cater to the interests of women. The women may also benefit, when it appears they do not. But it should not be assumed that this will happen under every project or circumstance. Adapted from: IFAD. 1995. The Status of Rural Women in China. Rome: IFAD. (Other sources are as cited in this publication.)
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One of the earliest
IFAD-supported agricultural development projects in two of the
poorest counties in Hebei Province illustrates the point. No specific
provisions were made for supporting women’s activities. Albeit, women
were actively involved from the beginning. Part of the reason may have
been the fact that during the slow months in agriculture (October to mid-March),
many men there emigrated in search of wage labour. Therefore, it was the
women who became heavily involved in the project’s slack season activities
such as planting trees, building earth works, digging wells and leveling
land, in spite of the obvious physical demands of these activities. An
increasing number of women also took up livestock-raising and off-farm
enterprises. Two textile factories were established under the project.
Fully 90% of their workers were women.