Progress 06/01/20 to 05/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, entrepreneurs, local government officials, activists, and other community members from rural communities across the world are conscious of the myriad complex challenges that can undermine the viable, sustainable, and profitable development of their communities. In the midst of these challenges, researchers, extension professionals, students, and non-profit organizations are engaging with community members to identify innovative approaches and interventions that can transform rural communities and livelihoods. As such, the 2021 Women and Gender in Development Conference targeted researchers, educators, university students, and practitioners who have the potential to improve their work by integrating attention to gender, youth, and vulnerable groups into their work on agricultural development and extension, food security, and related efforts. Key target demographics were students from inside the US and from regions outside of the US where key presenters and Virginia Tech's WGD program work, namely Sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, and the Caribbean. In addition, practitioners from those regions were also targeted to facilitate the exchange of practical experience and academic knowledge. The conference organizing committee, which included Virginia Tech faculty as well as practitioners and thought leaders from Promundo, Cultural Practice, LLC, and Technoserve played a key role in identifying and inviting presenters and attendees. Organizers carefully curated keynote speaker and panel presenter invitations so as to include relevant experts in academia and the private sector who brought significant years of experience and leadership related to advancing equitable agricultural and rural development. For 2021, thanks to funding from NIFA, the conference also focused on building a dialogue between researchers, practitioners, and extension professionals from the Global North and Global South and share lessons learned. Invitations highlighted the interactive nature of the conference and offered participants multiple venues for engaging with each other, including a community conversation center, with the conference integrating synchronous training workshops, question and answer sessions, and panels and asynchronous activities into a concise agenda that included something for everyone, from the most senior academics and practitioners to master's students beginning to find their path forward in research and practice. The conference offered accommodations to ensure a welcoming environment for all who were targeted, including simultaneous captioning, visual storyboards that used graphics and words to visually organize sessions' main takeaways and themes, recording and Zoom controls that allowed the conference organizers to control the visual and audio of participants and answer questions in the chat. The organizing team used both a targeted and snowball recruitment approach to recruit participants from its audience via international partners in agricultural development, relevant listservs (e.g., the Women Gender and Development listserv at Virginia Tech, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Sociology Graduate Students, Cornell University's Advancing Women in Agriculture through Research and Education newsletter, the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association's Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics (CWAE) newsletter, postings through several Association of American Geographers Specialty Groups, personal communications, and social media (e.g., Facebook, LInkedIn, Twitter). In addition, the conference organizing committee mobilized the networks of the Center for Food Systems and Community Transformation at Virginia Tech, the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension's Women's Agricultural Network, Penn State's Women's Agricultural Network, the Association of Public Land Grant Universities (APLU), and Virginia Cooperative Extension to encourage participation. While only a relatively small percentage of registered participants (37%) reported that they learned about the conference through these media; 50% of attendees noted that they heard about the conference via a word of mouth which suggests that the conference's communication plan was successful in indirectly communicating information about the conference to the desired audience. Changes/Problems:Given the ongoing impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Women and Gender in International Development Conference was transitioned to a completely virtual event. The award winning Whova platform was utilized to facilitate networking amongst conference attendees; assist attendees with navigating the conference's asynchronous presentations and sessions; and host several informal and formal networking events and conference meet-ups. Network. Despite the challenges of hosting a virtual event, an overwhelming number of conference attendees (88%) indicated that it was helpful to use Whova during the conference. Further, 92% of respondents from the conference's post-event survey noted that Whova was easy to access and use and 90% of attendees noted that they had sufficient access to the internet to participate in the conference. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Conference organizers emphasized sharing approaches and tools to improve the accessibility of theory in designing field research and practical interventions, and promoted experiential learning through brainstorming, exercises, and the use of collaborative apps, such as jamboards and Zoom- and Whova-based polling. In addition to speakers, poster presenters developed presentations that exemplified valuable tools and approaches, including household surveys, time-use studies and other quantitative measurement tools as well as qualitative data collection and the utilization of participant-led data collection and the application of gender-based analytic tools such as the community conversations approach piloted by Catholic Relief Services with USAID funding. The overwhelming majority--90% of respondents to the post-event survey--reported enhancement of their understanding of tools or approaches to utilize in addressing gender issues at work. The Reach-Benefit-Empower Framework, created by IFPRI, was a centerpiece of the conference. It was borne out of the intersection of theory and practice. This framework, discussed along with the supporting theories of women's empowerment and intersectionality that participants could integrate into their research, extension, and agricultural development project designs. Presenters focused on describing how it applied to gender-transformative programming, which according to Dr. Njuki's, is programming that 1) fosters critical examination of inequalities and gender roles, norms and dynamics, 2) recognizes and strengthens positive norms that support equality and an enabling environment, 3) promotes the relative position of women, girls and marginalized groups, and transforming the underlying social structures, policies and broadly held social norms that perpetuate gender inequalities. World Café presenters highlighted their experiences linking theory and practice in short videos. Their presentations considered and discussed methods and practices for engaging in gender transformative research and programming in agriculture: Improving our own practices: A critical reflection of fieldwork. Dr. Mary T. Rodriquez, College of Food, Agricultural, And Environmental Sciences (CFAES), Ohio State University. described her experience conducting research and navigating channels to disseminate information, especially via gender-transformative research practices. Towards More Gender-Responsive Agricultural Research: Lessons Learned in Implementing Programs to Empower Young Women in Agricultural Sciences. Carmen N. Benson, Michigan State University, GRAIN Program. Project staff discussed the benefits of the USAID-funded research internship and GRAIN Women in Agricultural Research Mentorship programs, which engage undergraduate and graduate students in six to 12-month programs that offer research and soft skill building, career exploration, one-on-one mentorship and coaching. Using Skits to Encourage Male Engagement in Exclusive Breast Feeding in Mozambique. Dr. Sofia Costa, Universidade Lúrio, Mozambique. Students filmed skits supported by One Student One Family, where students are paired with households in the communities to deliver health and nutrition counselling throughout their studies. From intentions to outcomes: How to ensure that agricultural development projects empower women? Dr. Hazel Malapit, CGIAR Gender Platform reviewed the Reach-Benefit-Empower framework, developed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), clearly distinguishes between approaches that reach women as participants, those that benefit women, and those that empower women. Our Development, Our Right: A Gender Approach Towards Adolescent Girls Development in Blantyre and Chikwawa. Judith Pangani, Centre for Alternatives for Victimized Women and Children (CAVWOC). CAVWOC , described implementation of the Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) project, which aimed at understanding the development of gender norms in early adolescence that predispose young people to subsequent sexual health risks (unwanted pregnancy, STIs, sexual violence). A Time-use Study: An Unexpected Opportunity to Address Gender-Based Violence. Abigail Spangler, ACDI/VOCA described the benefits of time-use research, which can generate invaluable information to understand household dynamics between men and women. ACDI/VOCA's USAID- funded NAFAKA II program carried out a time-use study of its mechanization grants that allowed it to identify and address gender-based violence. Reaching Women in Agriculture Value Chains: TechnoServe's Experience in the Benin Cashew Sector. Ella Wama, TechnoServe described the activities and critical partnerships that the Cashew Integration and Acceleration Program (BeninCajú), implemented by TechnoServe in partnership with Catholic Relief Services and funded by the USDA pursued to ensure that women are able to participate in and benefit from a growing cashew sector. Pre-conference workshops were key knowledge-sharing venues that allowed participants to add to their toolkit and discuss practical challenges and opportunities for engaging women and girls of all ages. In the post-event survey, 80% of respondents rated the amount of new information that they learned as Excellent and Good. Bringing theory and the field into the college classroom: Developing gender-forward curricula. Assistant Professor Amanda Crump, Professor at the University of California Davis and Professor Leif Jensen, Penn State. This session encouraged participants with teaching roles in academia to consider how they integrate and foreground agricultural development, gender equity, and critical theory into agricultural curricula, inventory common challenges, strategies and ideas for doing so, and collaborate on strengthening participants' teaching practices. Gender and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning - Data Needs for Documenting the Gendered Impacts. Dr. Jennifer Himmelstein, Director of Corporate Analysis & Technical Assurance , Monitoring & Evaluation, ACDI/VOCA and Daniel Sumner, Assistant Director, Women and Gender in International Development. Virginia Tech. Attendees learned how to utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to understand complex household decision-making dynamics, and how to implement gender-sensitive monitoring & evaluation. Positive Youth Development in Senegal: Growing the Next Generation of More Inclusive Agriculture. Bineta Guisse, National Director, Feed the Future Senegal Youth in Agriculture, Fatimata Kane, PhD Student, Virginia Tech, and Thomas Archibald, Associate Professor, Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education, Virginia Tech; Director, Feed the Future Senegal Youth in Agriculture. Participants learned PYD principles and their application, developed context-specific and culturally responsive strategies to garner support for advancing girls' and young women's equity in agriculture, and constructed a plan to use youth participatory action approaches to foster decolonizing and inclusive learning and development Silence is not always golden: Reciprocal peer interviews as a method to engage vulnerable populations in discussion on sensitive topics. Dr. Becky Williams, Visiting Assistant Professor, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida.As a part of her methodology, Dr. Williams piloted reciprocal peer interviews, which involved participants acting as the interviewer and interviewee in a dyad to overcome fears of speaking freely with authenticity and honesty with outside interviewers Careers and Mentoring Conversation. Takeaways included the importance of mentorship in the development of a student's future career, openness to new experiences and possibilities, an intellectual and moral investment in our work matter and make a difference, and to have perseverance and have grace with ourselves. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Via Whova, which awarded conference organizers with the most proficient Whova customer in February 2021 as our attendee engagement was rated as extremely high. Attendees, including speakers, organizers, committee members, and presenters, participated in online synchronous sessions, accessed asynchronous content (e.g., poster and video presentations), shared and downloaded resources and chatting with presenters and other participants. Recordings of the conference's presentations (Keynote Addresses, Panel Presentations, 4-Minute Student Flashtalks, and World Cafe Presentations) and a link to the Virtual Poster Hall are available on the conference's web pages - https://wgdconf.org/wgd-conference-21archive and https://cired.vt.edu/women-and-gender-in-international-development/women-and-gender-in-development-conference-2019/2021.html and all presentations are available directly through the Women, Gender, and Development Program's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJAEOswv3Ak-9b3cv_A1vgA. "Students learn skills to become better scientific storytellers." Virginia Tech published a pre-conference news story on the 4-Minute Flashtalk finalists' participation in a workshop on communicating science, facilitated by the director of the Center for Communicating Science, a faculty member in the Virginia Tech's School for Performing Arts. The article provided information on participants' research and detailed the interactive training: "through a variety of creatively interactive exercises, the facilitator helped the students explore how to craft stories about their own experiences to explain complex research. "There's this thing that happens when we tell each other stories called 'narrative transportation.' This allows us to remember details and facts that we wouldn't remember had they not been embedded in a story," she said." Finally, the article provided information on the upcoming conference and urged Virginia Tech students to register. https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2021/02/outreach-wgdconference.html The conference was able to attract the participation of several gender researchers and specialists that are currently engaged on projects funded through the United States Agency of International Development's Feed the Future Innovation Labs - including the Integrated Pest Management Innovation, Fish Innovation Lab, Reduction of Post-Harvest Loss Innovation Lab, and the Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab. They will share lessons learned and best practices discussed with colleagues executing extension- and agricultural-development related projects around the world, including via the USAID-funded Agrilinks portal. "Women and Gender in Development Conference: Lessons Learned." Feed the Future Integrated Pest Management Innovation Lab published an article on Agrilinks discussing collaborators' experiences during the conference and important concepts or approaches that they plan to apply at work, in particular highlighting their experiences considering how women and men conduct agriculture different from each other and in comparison to other women and men in different regions and cultures. For example a International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) scientist and IPM Innovation Lab collaborator in Cambodia shared that "One of the speakers talked about how linking women from small diversified vegetable production to the market had some unforeseen negative consequences. This is striking for me, because that is exactly the vision we posit for diversifying crops under IPM (e.g., ecological engineering, where bund crops are added to the rice crop for both pest management and benefits to the household). We imagine later on they can sell those as well and get income. I learned that we have to navigate that carefully and continue to assess how/where women can benefit." Associate Dean and director of research at Virginia State University and IPM Innovation Lab collaborator on Parthenium in East Africa noted that "One of the difficulties of incorporating gender in the implementation of project objectives is establishing contact with women in the household who are actually doing most of the agricultural work, including weeding, harvesting and marketing, especially horticultural crops. This is because when one tries to work with farmers, access is largely to men in the household. I believe this may change as extension personnel who work with farmers in rural areas are trained in gender issues and are required to work with female farmers. In addition, as new female development/extension agents are trained and start to work with farmers, they can help to reduce the current situation of largely contacting male members of the household." https://www.agrilinks.org/post/women-and-gender-development-conference-lessons-learned What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Virginia Tech's Center for International Research, Education, and Development (CIRED) hosted the virtual 2021 Women and Gender in Development Conference Out of the theory & into the field, which ran from February 23-26. Synchronous and asynchronous content was delivered online to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, extension professionals-agents and specialists- and agriculture and agribusiness practitioners and researchers in the US and globally. 333 individuals registered for the conference, with attendees joining from 22 different countries and 35 US states, with 147 students registered for the conference (119 graduate students and 28 undergraduate students). Of those registered, 102 faculty members attended along with 79 agricultural extension professionals (20 US/Canada-focused and 59 focused outside of the US. Students joined from 48 different universities. The top five universities sending students to the conference were: 1) University of Florida - 30 ; 2) Bucknell University - 22; 3) Penn State University - 12; 4) Virginia Tech - 10; and 5) University of California Davis - eight students. The total number of scholarships awarded was 106--18 full and 22 half scholarships for students, six for CIRED faculty, 27 for speakers, 12 for committee members, and 21 for volunteers. Presenters fulfilled the conference's primary objective by discussing the ways gender-related inequalities (e.g., land inheritance laws and customs that favor sons) can facilitate or constrain agricultural and rural development and participants learned about different tools, methodologies and approaches they could apply in their work to address these factors and had the opportunity to discuss and practice them. Several spaces highlighting analysis of research in practice facilitated engagement in critical conversations about masculinities, race, and colonialism as did the posters and post-conference networking session. By designing the conference as an asynchronous and synchronous online event that would allow the target audience to participate in conference sessions and events from any location and with respect to their classes and work, the COVID-19 edition of the conference included a broad array of session types. The conference space in the event-hosting platform Whova provided a space to share the conference agenda, which contained the date and time, description, and Zoom link for each of the sessions. Participants viewed the agenda 2289 times, and 219 (68%) of them set up a personal agenda with their sessions of interest. Participants could join synchronous Zoom panels, presentations, and conversations and view pre-recorded content on their computers and via installing the Whova app on their smartphones. In addition to real-time presentations and question and answers, asynchronous content was also made available through Whova. Participants were able to view recorded videos, poster presentations, and other content via exhibitor profiles that included contact information and featured a chat function. Building upon lessons learned from the first WGD Conference in 2019 additional opportunities were provided for students and early career researchers to present their research and outreach activities. In 2021, students were invited to present in the conference's virtual poster hall and the 4-Minute Student Flashtalks (i.e., recorded 4-minute presentations designed to engage listeners and disseminate research findings) and were eligible for recognition via small monetary awards. Early career faculty and practitioners were also invited to submit posters as were select US Government-funded projects such as those funded by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Pest Management, which is housed at Virginia Tech. As a complement, university faculty and practitioners with a track record of engagement in agricultural development and gender integration were invited to share their experiences in the career and mentoring panel as well as share their bio and answers to a career questionnaire via an exhibitor profile. Organizations were also invited to host participants at the World Café, which involved posting videos about their application of theory in practice. Of all registrants 147 students and 62 young professionals (a combined 63% of all attendees) came together to highlight their current research and practice as well as attended expert keynotes, panels, networking, and other sessions. They engaged in the scavenger hunt by following a trail of clues in the agenda, community board, and exhibitor showcase as well as the contest for most prolific tweeter sharing learnings from the conference. Attendees submitted 47 posters for inclusion in the virtual poster hall and were available to discuss posters via Whova's exhibitor center. There were 13 entries in the Student Poster Competition. The majority of posters focused on the gendered dimensions of agriculture and rural development in the Global South, with 5% of posters focused on exploring gender issues linked to agriculture and rural development in the United States and/or other countries in the Global North. The secondary aim of raising awareness among students, faculty, and extension professionals--including agents and specialists in the private and public sectors about how gender and gender-related social factors can facilitate or constrain agricultural and rural development in the US and in a global context was addressed by presenters' interactive discussions of gender-related inequalities and how they have impacted agriculture, agricultural extension, agricultural development, food security, and youth development in the US and internationally. Synchronous sessions enabled real-time interactive discussion, with the Big Picture and Big Questions conversations in particular drawing participants into collective brainstorming during which they analyzed learnings and formulated questions to help reframe their research and practice going forward. Results from the post-event survey, noted that 90% of respondents indicated an increased awareness of gender issues in agricultural development. Qualitative data obtained through the post-event survey, the conference Q&A sessions, and the conference's facilitated discussion highlighted key themes related to participants' enhanced awareness of gender-transformative approaches; constructive approaches to engaging men and boys; and intersectional approaches to advance inclusive development. Sessions highlighted food security, women's participation in agriculture and agribusiness, and associated issues of entrenched gender discrimination in laws and customs as well as norms for women or men in the farming community and agricultural value chain that participants can address in their work. In addition, presenters and participants together considered the impacts of COVID-19 related coping mechanisms, including lockdowns and the impact on food systems. In compliance with the conference's third goal, presenters and co-participants shared approaches and tools that they can utilize to address gender issues in the context of their own work. For example, the first Keynote with Jemimah Njuki from IFPRI started the main conference off with an exploration of structural and institutional barriers to gender equality in food systems. Dr. Njuki described how interventions must critically examine gender norms and their dynamics. She identified three approaches to contributing the necessary research for developing a gender-transformative food systems: Understanding and addressing norms and structural inequality, conceptualizing and measuring empowerment, and taking an intersectional approach at the individual and systemic levels and all interactions in between, and in formal and informal settings in the context of resources, rules and policies, social norms and deep structure, and consciousness and capabilities.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
"Women and Gender in Development Virtual Conference 2021: Out of the theory & into the field -- A dialogue on gendered approaches to inclusive rural development"
February 23-26, 2021 - Virginia Tech
WORLD CAF� PRESENTERS
Dr. Hazel Malapit gender.cgiar.org/empower
Abigail Spangler https://youtu.be/fI1o_8o9PzM
Judith Pangani https://youtu.be/uDoJ6-zEpjQ
Dr. Mary T. Rodriguez https://youtu.be/FjEVjqHr6vQ
Carmen Benson https://youtu.be/kD2IVj7bnuU
Ella Wama https://youtu.be/C1uKt9Aikbo
Dr. Sofia Costa - & Dr. Jessica Agnew https://youtu.be/UlMHgbsTpmo
4MINUTE FLASHTALK PRESENTERS
Ana Espada https://youtu.be/c__U6LmQ6x0
Fikriyah Winata https://youtu.be/M9W79Vqk8_8
Jessica Rae Spence https://youtu.be/k3gujTa3RXk
Ruchi Upadhyay https://youtu.be/E9cEJHC5q9c
Sumac Elisa Cardenas Oleas https://youtu.be/U2IxGc4EyA8
POSTER PRESENTERS
Link to all posters:https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO8_FU9qhYhnHs-jFzDItCvINkD9SsNKBNyMIciy1S1JUUnsdOGpEmkodJlIzjw5g?key=M0dKT0l4cmNfeUJSVWpHMnoxanMwcGtJUEVwNmhR
A total of 13 presenters participated in the poster competition:
Sumac Elisa C�rdenas Oleas
Stephanie Cadaval
Anna Calasanti
Marcela Carvajal
Maja Jeranko
Jennifer Johnson
Angeline Letourneau
Maria Okyere Addo
Rafael Quijada Landaverde
Hannah Toombs
Ruchi Upadhyay
Anna Violato Espada
Jessica Wallach
Additionally, a total of 28 poster presenters exhibited their research projects:
Robert Barnes
Allison Caine
Priscilla Corbett
Lindsay Daken
Patrick Drohan
Rica Joy Flor
Elisabeth Garner
Maria Veronica Gottret
Philip Grabowski
Sara Hendery
John Ignosh
Danette Philpot
Caroline Maua
Erin McGuire
Caitilin McMillan
Wondi Mersie
Vedavati Patwardhan
Kathleen Ragsdale
Mary Read-Wahidi
Valeska Rodriguez
Smriti Saini
Mou Rani Sarker
Kelsey Schreiber
Anna Snider
Anita Spring
Kelly Wilson
Kayla Yurco
Anna Zepeda
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
"Women and Gender in Development Virtual Conference 2021: Out of the theory & into the field -- A dialogue on gendered approaches to inclusive rural development"
February 23-26, 2021 - Virginia Tech
KEYNOTE SPEAKER PRESENTERS
Jemimah Njuki - Africa Director, IFPRI. Gender Transformative Food Systems: Addressing structural and institutional barriers to gender equality in food systems, https://youtu.be/gH91i5RtlFc
Carolyn Sachs - Professor Emerita, Pennsylvania State University. Feminist food justice: Overcoming intersectional inequities in U.S. and international food systems, https://youtu.be/6yp8-k0pjpI
PANEL PRESENTERS
Dr. Hazel Malapit - Senior Research Coordinator, IFPRI & Mary Peabody - Community Economic Development Specialist, University of Vermont. Food systems crisis: Strengthening gender equality and resiliency, https://youtu.be/0JJZmoZhuqg
Dr. Gary Barker - President and CEO, Promundo & Laxman Belbase, M. Sc. - Global Co-Director, MenEngage. Masculinities and engaging men in conversations on gender equality and women's empowerment, https://youtu.be/NgEtJVv25xE
Angie Carter - Board Member, Women, Food and Agriculture Network & Gabrielle Roesch-McNally ⿿ Director, Women for the Land Initiative, American Farmland Trust. Women, land, and power: How does gender intersect with agricultural decision-making and conservation in the U.S.? https://youtu.be/DBIlphJLgy8
Tami Navarro - Associate Director, Barnard Center for Research on Women & Halimah DeShong - Senior Lecturer & Head, Institute for Gender & Development Studies, The University of The West Indies. The colonial development experiment nexus and its gender, race and class impacts in the Caribbean, https://youtu.be/Lm-Vj_vIfQc
Deborah Rubin - Co-Director and Owner, Cultural Practice, LLC. Big Questions, https://youtu.be/wnoL4jZ0pKI
Amanda Crump - Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis; Batamaka Some - West Africa Regional Representative, McKnight Foundation; Daniel Sumner - Assistant Director, WGD, CIRED, VT; Halimah DeShong - The University of The West Indies; Beth Holtzman - Coordinator, WAgN; & Laura Zseleczky - Communications Specialist, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Fish, University of Vermont Extension. Mentoring/Careers Conversation, https://youtu.be/3E6vSkbm8Zk
|