1. Gender Equality in Access to Rural Service Delivery: Governance at the Local Level Reflections from India Ghana and Ethiopia Gender and Governance Research Team

2. Page 2 Social and economic services and infrastructure in rural areas Health and education Rural roads Electricity Drinking water Agricultural extension Agricultural research

3. Background The poor receive poor services (WDR 2004) Service provision is particularly poor in rural areas. .. and particularly poor for rural women. Triple challenge: Market failure: Example: Extension for smallholder farmers State failure: Services in rural areas difficult to supervise Community failure: Elite capture and social exclusion Fourth challenge: Perception bias: “Women don’t farm.” Governance reforms to improve service provision Decentralization, public sector reforms Knowledge gap: What works where and why?

4. Gender and Governance in Rural Services Project Goal: Assess strategies for improving agricultural and rural service delivery with a focus on providing more equitable access to these services, especially for women Approach Comparative study in India, Ghana and Ethiopia All three countries underwent decentralization. Differences in political system, overall governance conditions, socio-economics and gender roles Mix of quantitative and qualitative methods

5. Research Team and Partner Organizations IFPRI: Afua B. Banful, Regina Birner (coordination), Peter Gaff, Tewodaj Mogues, Nethra Palaniswamy, Zelekawork Paulos, Katharina Raabe, Josee Randriamamonjy, Yan Sun Oxfam: Marc J. Cohen India K. G. Gayathridevi, Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore; Madhushree Sekher, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai Ghana Felix Asante, Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Legon, Ghana Ehtiopia Fanaye Tadesse, Economic Policy Research Institute (EEPRI) Mamusha Lemma Woldegiorgis, Poverty Action Network Ethiopia

6. Leah Horowitz † May 23, 2009

7. Conceptual FrameworkTypes of strategies to make rural service provision gender-responsive

8. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Political Parties (PP) Development Agencies / Advocacy NGOs (DA) Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

9. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Strategies to make service provision gender-responsive Political Parties (PP) Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

10. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Strategies to make service provision gender-sensitive Reserving seats for women in local councils Political Parties (PP) Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

12. Party quota

13. Women’s manifestos Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

14. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Political Parties (PP) Involving women groups in service delivery Quota in user organizations Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

15. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Political Parties (PP) Creating a gender machinery in the public administration Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

16. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Hiring female service providers, e.g., extension agents Political Parties (PP) Local Political Representatives (LP) Using gender-specific service delivery approaches Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

17. National / State-level Ministries (NM) National / State-level Political Representatives (NP) Research Approach Surveys (1) approx. 1,000 households (2) Local politicians (3) CBOs (4) Service providers Case studies Political Parties (PP) Local Political Representatives (LP) Long route Community-Based Organizations (CO) Household Members (HH) Short route Public Sector Service Providers (PS) NGO / Private service providers (NG) Services AccountabilityFramework based on World Bank (2004)

18. What strategies did the three countries use?And how effective were they?

19. India

20. Main strategy: Targeting local politicians33% reservation of seats in local councils

21. Reservation Policy: Potentials and Challenges Potentials Policy is enforced: Women have a “seat at the table” of political decision-making - Goal in its own right! Challenges Female representation in Gram Panchayats does not necessarily result in better service provision outcomes. Example: Public Works Program in Karnataka Gram panchayat council members have to bargain for the resources to be spent in the village they represent Villages represented by women from scheduled castes get significantly fewer resources Policy implication Find ways to increase bargaining power – or use formula

22. User organizations in service provision –How inclusive are they?

23. Ghana

24. Main Strategy: Gender Machinery in the Public Administration Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs District level gender focal point Ministry of Food and Agriculture -Women in Agricultural Development (WIAD) Directorate WIAD unit in every district agricultural office - typically headed by a female Extension agents required to provide gender disaggregated reports of farmer interactions Informal female quotas of 30 – 40% for some political appointments

25. Gender mainstreaming in public administration somewhat evident Gender composition of extension staff(% in sample) ISEC / ISSER / EEPRI - IFPRISurveys

26. Strategy has shown some success in reaching women Extension service example: Female frontline staff serve more female farmers

27. Strategy has shown some success in reaching women Female extension agents serve relatively more female farmers

28. Page 26 But … despite strategy women’s access to extension service is particularly low Access to agricultural extension (% interacting with agent during the past year) ISSER-IFPRI Survey, 2008

29. Policy implications for Ghana Extension agents need clear targets of number of farmers to reach. Targets should include female to male ratios for specific technologies and not just interactions. Female farmers more likely than men to receive advice on sanitation, water filtration, HIV/AIDS prevention from extension agents Increase proportion of female extension agents as they are more likely to serve women.

30. Ethiopia

31. Main Strategies in Ethiopia Gender machinery Ministry of Women’s Affairs—at federal, regional, and district levels Women’s affairs departments in sectoral ministries (e.g. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)—at three tiers of government Gender-specific design of service packages Quota to reach rural men and women with services

32. Strategy 1: Set quota to reach minimum percentage of women with services EEPRI-IFPRI Survey, 2009

33. Strategy 2: Tailor rural services to gender-specific needs “Women’s development package” Offered by extension agents Focuses on sheep, goats, poultry, home gardening, and beekeeping Inappropriate for many female household heads Often earn income by providing weeding services Often busy with sharecropping arrangements Perception bias influences program design

34. Perception Bias: “Women Don’t Farm”

35. Satisfaction with agricultural extension(percent of respondents)

36. Adoption of new technologies“During the past two years, did you start to use some farming practice for the first time, such as a new variety, new crop, new input, new cultivation technique, new breed, etc.?”

37. Strategy 3: Women in Leadership Positions in User/Service Associations All water committees include female members But: In three of four case study sites, water committee heads are men Receive limited technical training No training on “soft skills:” Community mobilization to maintain water systems and pay fees Community education and persuasion to use improved sources Limited technical and other support from district government

38. Policy Implications for Ethiopia Relatively ambitious directives through quota to reach men and women with extension Women’s access to extension rates relatively favorably Pilot innovative strategies (e.g. extension agents working through women’s associations); Increasing female extension staff Tailoring services to men’s and women’s needs Promising, but perception bias gets in the way of effectiveness Evaluating agricultural extension services High satisfaction rates in spite of low adoption rates Need for further methodology development, especially if satisfaction data are to be used for management purposes Making extension more demand-driven Balance better the trade-off between standardization (easier supervision) and local adaptation (services more relevant)

39. General Conclusions What is promising? Each country had at least one very promising strategy in place to make rural service provision gender-responsive Clear positive effects! What needs to be done? Adjust gender strategies to country-specific challenges Address general problems of rural service provision, which differ across countries Collect gender-disaggregated data on service delivery outcomes Find ways to create incentives to reward better outcomes for women