Gender Mainstreaming and Sustainable
Livelihood Approach
a Case Study from Sri Lanka
in a longitudinal lens
Colloquium on Poverty Research 2011-CEPA
Paper by Maneka Jayasinghe and
Rajith W.D. Lakshman
Research Problem
How far rural development interventions
which adopt gender sensitive approaches
have been able to promote gender
equality in the medium term?
 Rural development intervention: Gemidiriya Community
development and livelihood improvement project (12 years
project commenced in 2004 and c0mpleted the 1st phase in
2010 and is preparing for the 2nd phase)
 Whether the project uses a gender sensitive approach? Yes
Gemidiriya Community Development and
Livelihood Improvement Project
 Gender Concern: reduction of gender imbalances in rural
communities and thereby empowering women and mainstreaming
them in development
Gendered Targets of the Project:
 50% of the women in the village should hold managerial
positions in all committees
 All the village level decisions should be approved in the
general meeting of the village with more than 50% female
participation.
Gemidiriya Project Cont:
Gemidiriya Project
Infrastructure
Development
Credit and Savings Fund+
Onetime Grant
Livelihood
Improvement
Skill Development
Capacity Building
Innovative Seeds
Fund
Data and Methodology
Primary data [Survey (110 households) and in-depth interviews (10
household), Interviews with project officers, members of the Gemidiriya
village organization]
Secondary data [Baseline data collected by the project in 2004 (adjusted for
inflation), project specific and other literature]




Sample properties
457 individuals, 51 % male and 49 %
female
110 households, 12 % is female headed
and 88% is male headed
Marital status: 53 % is married, 42 % is
unmarried
Occupation distribution: 35 individual Mining , 34 -cultivation workers and 34laborers,15- garment factories, 10working in tea estates.
Data and Methodology cont:
 The data is gathered and analyzed both at the household level and
the individual level.
 The analytical framework we used is DIFD “Sustainable Livelihood
Framework”
 We examined how the development intervention has been able to
increase Financial , Social and Human Capital Ownership in the
asset pentagon.
Source: DFID Sustainable Livelihood Guidance Sheet, 1999
Research Findings
Financial Capital: Income Level
Table 1: Individual Level income by gender
Criteria
Mean income t Value
by gender
Sig. (2 tailed)
124
Before
the Male
project income
Female 29
Male
2.60
0.010 (151)
142
After the project Male
income
Female 40
Male
3.376
0.001 (180)
Number of
individuals
employed
4556
Female 3216
9958
Female 6875
Table 2: Household level income by gender of the head of the household
Criteria
t Value
Sig. (2 tailed)
Before the project income*
-1.159
0.249(108)
After the project income**
0.927
0.356(108)
Improvement in income
1.161
0.109
Source: * Baseline survey 2004 ** Household survey 2010
Research Findings cont:
Financial Capital: Savings Behavior
Number
of Minimum
Maximum
Mean
individuals
number
of number
of number
saved
years saved
years saved
of years
saved
overall
Female
Male
Median Std.
number Deviatio
of years n
saved
Before the
project*
19
6
20
12.63
10.00
4.549
After
the
project**
58
2
5
6.69
4.00
4.943
Before the
project*
5
6
16
11.20
10.00
4.604
After
the
project**
22
2
5
5.23
4.00
3.915
Before the
project*
14
8
20
13.14
12.50
4.58
After
the
project**
35
3
5
7.71
5.00
5.35
Source: * Base line survey 2004 ** Household survey 2010
Research Findings cont:
Financial Capital: Access to loans
Total
Financial
institutions
Number
people have
access
to
loans
overall
Female
Male
Before
project*
the
Individu Samurdhi
al Money
Lenders
Gemidiriy
a (VSCO)
25
9
3
13
-
After
the
project**
51
10
2
12
27
Before
project*
7
1
-
6
-
After
the
project**
23
2
0
6
15
Before
project*
18
8
3
7
-
28
8
2
6
12
the
the
After
the
project**
Source: * Baseline survey 2004 ** Household survey 2010
Research Findings cont:
Human Capital: Education
Education
Total
Cannot
Read or
Write
Gender
Total
Pearson Chi-Square
Male
Female
Value
7.126a
3
4
Grade 1-5 Grade 6-11
62
129
Grade 12- Diploma or
13
Degree
26
2
5
43
121
37
8
Df
105
250
63
5
222
211
7
433
Asymp. Sig. (2-sided)
0.129
Source: Household survey 2010
•Human Capital improvement through Skill development: 15 individuals (1
female and 14 male have been able to improve their livelihood skills under skills
development component
Social Capital: Female participation and
Leadership
Representation of women in Decision-Making
Village Organizations (Percentage)
Village Organization Officials
2007
Board of Director
56
Finance Committee
60
Procurement Committee
60
Social Audit Committee
60
Village Savings and Credit Committee 100
(VSCO)
Positions of
2010
66
60
60
80
100
Source: 2007: Our Village SAARC village, Gemidiriya 2007
2010: Calculated by the author using West Mudunkotuwa Gemidiriya field office
committee report
Conclusion
 Research findings show mixed results
Overall achievements:
 Development interventions increases Financial Capital Ownership, Social
Capital Ownership and Human Capital Ownership of the community
Impact on reducing Gender Imbalances
 Where there is well defined targets, it is more likely to achieve those
However,
 Where there is no targets, the achievements are not substantial
 The persistence of medium term gender disparity in livelihoods and hence
the income levels leads to question the sustainability of these gendered
initiatives.
Recommendations
 Set up well defined targets to reduce imbalances
in the ownership of financial and human capital
• 1: Eliminate gender inequality in access to employment
opportunities
• 2: Eliminating disparities in livelihood skills
Thank you
Q&A