Women And Cooperatives

Women's empowerment is seen as an entry point for women's integration into development. Majority of women in India need income for survival. Both in rural and urban areas, more females than males are reported as marginal workers, who form a substantial proportion in all age groups among females. In this context, this book attempts to improve the status of women through cooperative sector of economy. The book identifies major thrust areas where women have god entrepreneurship quality and which cooperatives can explore for the development of women. This book also presents status of women's cooperatives vis-à-vis men's cooperatives in order to assess who among them are the potential stakeholders in economic development. The book has necessitated the organisation of women's cooperatives around their occupational tasks and measures for facilitating credited facilities to them for their empowerment.

"FAO Türkiye’s Women-led cooperatives support programme" booklet offers a multi-faceted look into the role of cooperatives in women’s economic, social, and cultural empowerment. The document is an illuminating exposition on the intersection of gender equality, sustainable development, and agricultural development cooperatives. The booklet dives into FAO's Global Strategy on Women-led Cooperatives, detailing success stories that underscore the transformative power of these cooperatives in rural Turkish communities. The narrative weaves through the framework of FAO's Strategic Objectives, demonstrating how cooperatives serve as a platform for rural women’s empowerment, offering both economic opportunities and a platform for social and cultural engagement. Furthermore, ten of these cooperatives jointly initiated the establishment of a new e-commerce platform, hepyerinden.coop, under the guidance of FAO Türkiye. Hepyerinden.coop aims to enhance market opportunities and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the cooperatives by enabling them to reach a broader customer base by digitalization. This comprehensive resource is designed to appeal to a broad audience, from global development actors to local stakeholders including policymakers, researchers, practitioners in the field of gender and agricultural development, and anyone interested in the intersection of gender equality and sustainable agriculture by illuminating the cooperative model as a force for transformative change. It serves as an educational tool, offering insights into the practical aspects of running and sustaining women-led cooperatives, while also addressing broader themes such as women's rights, economic development, and social justice in the context of Türkiye's evolving cooperative movement. Through its detailed analysis and compelling case studies, the document underscores the vital role of cooperatives in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector.

Provides an overview of the status of women's participation in cooperatives in East Africa, assesses the factors affecting it, analyses its benefits, and reviews the emerging good practices in this field. Highlights practical steps for the development of a more gender-equitable model of cooperative development that advances women's empowerment.

With new markets opening up for goods produced by artisans from all parts of the world, craft commercialization and craft industries have become key components of local economies. Now with the emergence of the Fair Trade movement and public opposition to sweatshop labor, many people are demanding that artisans in third world countries not be exploited for their labor. Bringing together case studies from the Americas and Asia, this timely collection of articles addresses the interplay among subsistence activities, craft production, and the global market. It contributes to current debates on economic inequality by offering practical examples of the political, economic, and cultural issues surrounding artisan production as an expressive vehicle of ethnic and gender identity. Striking a balance between economic and ethnographic analyses, the contributors observe what has worked and what hasn't in a range of craft cooperatives and show how some artisans have expanded their entrepreneurial role by marketing crafts in addition to producing them. Among the topics discussed are the accommodation of craft traditions in the global market, fair trade issues, and the emerging role of the anthropologist as a proactive agent for artisan groups. As the gap between rich and poor widens, the fate of subsistence economies seems more and more uncertain. The artisans in this book show that people can and do employ innovative opportunities to develop their talents, and in the process strengthen their ethnic identities. Contents Introduction: Facing the Challenges of Artisan Production in the Global Market / Kimberly M. Grimes and B. Lynne Milgram Democratizing International Production and Trade: North American Alternative Trading Organizations / Kimberly M. Grimes Building on Local Strengths: Nepalese Fair Trade Textiles / Rachel MacHenry "That They Be in the Middle, Lord": Women, Weaving, and Cultural Survival in Highland Chiapas, Mexico / Christine E. Eber The International Craft Market: A Double-Edged Sword for Guatemalan Maya Women / Martha Lynd Of Women, Hope, and Angels: Fair Trade and Artisan Production in a Squatter Settlement in Guatemala City / Brenda Rosenbaum Reorganizing Textile Production for the Global Market: WomenÕs Craft Cooperatives in Ifugao, Upland Philippines / B. Lynne Milgram Textile Production in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico, and the Complexities of the Global Market for Handmade Crafts / Jeffrey H. Cohen "Part-Time for Pin Money": The Legacy of Navajo WomenÕs Craft Production / Kathy MÕCloskey The Hard Sell: Anthropologists as Brokers of Crafts in the Global Marketplace / Andrew Causey Postscript: To Market, To Market / June Nash