Gender Issues in Cooperatives

Abstract

Empowerment has always been fundamental to the cooperative idea where people get together to achieve goals that they would not be able to achieve on their own. The goals are decided by the members themselves and, since cooperatives are organized on the principle of one person - one vote, the cooperative form of enterprise provides women with the opportunity of participating on equal terms with men. Cooperative enterprises can take on different forms: They can be set up by a group of enterprises or by individual entrepreneurs wishing to benefit from shared services, cheaper goods, easier access to markets or higher prices for their products. But what they all have in common is that, as a group, members are able to create economies of scale and increase their influence and bargaining power. In many developing countries women work individually, often isolated, in the informal economy, operating at a low level of activity and reaping marginal income. Joining forces in small-scale cooperatives can provide them with the economic, social and political leverage they need. A good example of this can be seen in the achievements of SEWA in India (see Box overleaf). For the member entrepreneurs, cooperatives provide the setting for collective problem-solving and the articulation of strategic and basic needs. The support and mutual encouragement that a group of entrepreneurs can give each other can also be crucial in helping to maintain or boost their self-confidence. Solidarity, social responsibility, equality and caring for others are among the core values on which genuine cooperatives are based. But are women able to fully utilize the potential that the cooperative method of doing business represents? And do the traditional cooperatives recognize and make full use of the potential that women members and employees represent?