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Browsing by Author "Momsen, Janet H."

Now showing 1 - 12 of 12
  • Backlash: Or how to snatch failure from the jaws of success in gender and development
    Momsen, Janet H. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications USA, 2001)
    The article argues that backlash against women is the result of women's economic achievements. These achievements are often ignored because they occur after the development 'expert' has left the project, and on a family and community level. The author affirms that developmental projects have not only benefited women, but have harmed them as well. The article presents examples of these backlashes in three continents. Women's participation is complex and dynamic; conflicts arise among women, between women and men and between women and other agencies. Women's economic success generates different reactions among their husbands; either supporting them due to the new acquired status, or by employing traditional ways to regain power. Among women surges is the creation of classes because women who can afford it, pay other women to fulfill their duties in the fields. Backlashes occur because projects disturb the balance of social groups within the community.
  • From the kitchen and the field: Gender and maize diversity in the Bajío region of Mexico
    Chambers, K. J.; Momsen, Janet H. (2007)
    Research on women and biodiversity has highlighted the importance of women's knowledge in plant domestication and biodiversity conservation. The data here presented is the result of a gendered knowledge case study in four villages the Bajio region of Mexico. The paper argues the need to include both men's and women's knowledge in research and denounces the lack of gender focus on previous research. Differences of knowledge come from the gender division of labour both at home and in the different farming plots. For this reason it is equally important to include both in research. Case studies on Mali, Swaziland and Venezuela see the shift from food crops (crop diversity) to cash crop production (fewer crops) as the reason that agriculture became male-dominated. Most recently, economic pressures drive men away from their plots increasing the workload of the elderly, children, and women. Due to men's absence, women have to assume responsibility for most agricultural activities, and this is creating a shift in gender roles.
  • Gender and agrobiodiversity: Introduction to special issue
    Momsen, Janet H. (Blackwell Publishing, 2007)
    The author argues that one needs to understand the connections between gender and local knowledge systems in order to the protect agrobiodiversity, which is a fundamental step to achieve food security and environmental conservation. Women's knowledge is passed informally between generations, and it is contextual. Women are also the majority of seed custodians, herbalists, plant breeders, plant gathers, users and plant managers. Home gardens are seen as essential for plant genetic conservation. Women trade in local markets. This and kin networks maintain the market for landrace crops. The gender knowledge gap is increasing over time.
  • Gender and biodiversity: A new approach to linking environment and development
    Momsen, Janet H. (Blackwell Publishing, 2007)
    This article argues that gender roles, gendered knowledge, and gendered spaces have to be considered in the discussion to understand decision making for biodiversity at the grassroots. Women's roles in seed selection, traditional plant use, and bioconservation are changing and being influenced by culture, global trade networks, and geographical contexts. The paper also discusses the two main approaches to biodiversity conservation; the top-down classic approach, and the neoliberal approach. The role of diverse groups of people including indigenous peoples, whose knowledge is perceived to be threatened by globalization and Western science, is also discussed in this paper. Biodiversity is declining due to habitat destruction, over-harvesting, pollution, the inappropriate introduction and dominance of higher-yielding varieties of staple food crops.
  • Gender and Environment
    Momsen, Janet H. (Routledge, 2010)
    The author argues that Ecofeminism has a variety of positions including cultural, liberal, social and socialist stances. There have been a variety of critiques of the essentialist nature of ecofeminism. From these critiques, alternative approaches to feminist political ecology have developed. Furthermore the author explains that the use of natural resources can be gendered and the privatization of common resources impacts women's access. Women are more vulnerable to natural hazards, like water pollution, natural disaster and lack of fuel wood, due to cultural restrictions and social status.
  • Gender and the environment: Women's time use as a measure of environmental change
    Awumbila, M.; Momsen, Janet H. (Elsevier Ltd., 1995)
    This paper uses time as a measure of change in gender roles under environmental stress. Whether women are perceived as having a natural "affinity" with the environment or as contributing to the depletion of natural resources, no one can deny that women play an important role in environmental conservation. Research should take the factor of gender into consideration. In order to illustrate the interaction between changes in gender roles and environmental stress the paper gives examples from several case studies. These case studies were carried out in areas with low agriculture, and where structural adjustments and migrations destabilize the traditional gender patterns, often resulting in a heavier burden on rural women. In dryland communities, women tend to be the most affected by environmental degradation. Using time as a measure one can see how changes affect women and men differently at different stages. For example, during the dry season (when there is enough food for two meals a day) women's food preparation and cooking time increases. Women tend to walk further to collect resources such as water or fuel, carry heavier loads each time, the quality of the woods also decreases, and to save fuel women move to indoor cooking (ill ventilated kitchens cause high exposure to smoke). One can also say that these strains can allow for some opportunities too. The paper explains that due to the scarcity of resources families are using alternative cooking methods and greater numbers of men are becoming more involved.
  • Gender in Rural Areas
    Momsen, Janet H. (Routledge, 2010)
    This chapter argues that women play a significant role in agriculture in developing countries that is not properly addressed or fully recognized. Culture and changing technologies affect the roles assigned to men and women. These roles and the gender divisions of labor in agriculture greatly affect gendered knowledge. Men and women spend their time differently; oftentimes, women have more work because they are in charge of reproductive work as well as contributing to productive income-earning activities for the family. It is important for agricultural development programs to recognize the differences in men and women's knowledge and women's extensive contributions in order to be effective and benefit men and women alike. They also must recognize the changing roles of men and women as new income-earning opportunities arise, and new technologies are adopted.
  • Globalization and Changing Patterns of Economic Activity
    Momsen, Janet H. (Routledge, 2010)
    The author argues that globalization has created new markets for female labor through the influences of transnational corporations, tourism, micro-finance and industry. Women's employment, however, varies from country to country more than men's does according to social expectations of women's roles. She uses micro-finance, tourism and industry work to flesh out the positive and negative impacts of these new types of employment for women.
  • Introduction: Gender Is a Development Issue
    Momsen, Janet H. (Routledge, 2010)
    The author is introducing the main theme of the book: gender and development. She argues that gender roles and identities are fluid and changing between space, time, location and culture. Economic changes and modernization effect men and women differently. Development strategies have changed to include new evaluations of women and men's roles in society.
  • Myth or math: The waxing and waning of the female-headed household
    Momsen, Janet H. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications USA, 2002)
    The paper calls for the need to re-evaluate the universally poverty label, which is often measured against Western family norms. It is important to demystify the image of women-headed households as the 'poorest of the poor'. Statistics are often incorrect as they ignore a number of factors such as human capital, power over allocation of resources within the family, and contributions of other family members. The paper also explains that distinctions should be considered between de facto female-headed households, where remittances from husbands or children can occur, to the de jure female-headed households, which are divorced, widowed, or single. De facto female-headed households are often better financially than male-headed households.
  • NGOs, gender and indigenous grassroots development
    Momsen, Janet H. (Wiley, 2002)
    This paper explores the issues of the unheard voices of even well organized indigenous communities. The paper presents the issues lived during a project development between two indigenous communities (in California and Mexico) and small NGOs headed or facilitated by women. The project was developed to attract tourism, protect the environment, and improve the living standards of the displaced indigenous communities. The projects were headed by male community leaders and the NGO. In Mexico the leaders agreed to share the profits among male headed- households. Men wanted to spend it on a road, women consulted wanted to improve the village clinic. Gender equity, in terms of gender differences in needs, aims and ability to participate were not considered but indigenous women were expected to donate their time and effort to the project, to perform as well as providing the crafts to be sold for visitors. The communities saw the tourist activities as a reclamation and reaffirmation of a culture that has been almost lost, rather than as an exercise in local economic development. Nevertheless the NGOs woman consultant failed to question if the men in charge spoke for the women's interests. In California the NGO also failed to comply with their requests, attempting to introduce unwanted economic activities.
  • Women and seed management: A study of two villages in Bangladesh
    Oakley, E.; Momsen, Janet H. (Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2007)
    This paper is the result of a study on women's roles in seed management both in the fields and home gardens. in two villages in Tangail District in Bangladesh. Agrobiodiversity research has been increasing its focus on seed management. The authors used a combination of qualitative methods to study 75 women to understand agrobiodiversity at three levels: the gendered divisions of labor in agriculture; seed saving; and seed management practices and techniques.