Addressing gendered constraints to women’s empowerment and restrictive gender norms: The case of engaging women and men in pig-related business activities in Uganda

Work package three of the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition, and Gender Inclusion (SAPLING) aims to generate evidence on best practices and approaches to empowering women and youth through livestock development.

Gender accommodative approaches (GAA) and gender transformative approaches (GTA) have been used to support women’s empowerment over the years. GAA recognize gender constraints but seeks to work ‘around’ these constraints to engage women rather than challenging the barriers that limit women’s participation in or capacities to derive benefits from value chains. On the other hand, GTA aims to engage with and reduce or overcome gender-based constraints, not merely work around them, according to the Interagency Gender Working Group report of 2017[1]. In essence, GAA focuses on adapting to existing gender norms, while GTA aims to change these norms.

In Uganda, ILRI conducted two gender studies in 2021 and 2023 in Mukono and Masaka districts to explore the status of women’s empowerment as well as social and gender norms around women’s engagement in pig-related production and businesses. These studies utilized the Women Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI) for livestock producers and the Women Empowerment in Livestock Business Index (WELBI) for women in livestock business beyond production to measure the level of empowerment and the specific areas where women in the livestock sector face challenges. These indices were used in conjunction with the gender norms exploration tool, which aimed to identify gender norms restricting women’s engagement in both pig production and pig-related businesses.

In 2024, ILRI engaged with stakeholders drawn from both the public and private sectors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with livestock communities from the two intervention districts to validate the findings on empowerment and norms identified in the 2021 and 2023 studies. Interventions to address the constraints and restrictive norms were also identified.

During this validation, four key findings were discussed: 1. women farmers and agripreneurs in pig-related businesses lacked the confidence needed to bargain good prices for the pigs or animal services that they sold. 2. Women farmers (and pig farmers generally) felt cheated by pig traders because they could not estimate the weights of their pigs and get paid fairly. 3. Women involved in non-feminine tasks, such as pig AI service providers and aggregators, were seen as engaging in activities considered taboo and were, therefore, not respected within the community. They were sometimes offered very low prices for their services and lacked the confidence to bargain upwards. Generally, all AI service providers face a limited market for their services, which are still new in the counties; demand for these services from women, however, is even lower given the gender norms that classify this as an activity exclusively for men. 4 women were despised if engaged in pig aggregation and butchery because local perceptions deem it inappropriate for women to appear dirty, yet pig aggregation, particularly selling pork, results in blood-stained clothes.

Based on this validation, Ripple Effect, an NGO based in Uganda, was identified to support the implementation of interventions to alleviate gendered selected constraints to women’s empowerment and restrictive norms in pig-related production and business activities. Ripple Effect engaged with the stakeholders who had validated our findings to identify the best interventions. 

Gender accommodative interventions: Opportunities for engaging women and men

Following community validation workshops, a set of interventions was selected to address the constraints that women in pig-related production and businesses face. To address the constraint that women pig farmers and agri-preneurs needed more confidence in bargaining for higher payments, women farmers were taken through confidence-building sessions. The constraint that women could not estimate the weight of their pigs and get paid accordingly was addressed by providing farmer's groups with weigh bands. Both men and women pig farmers could use the weigh bands and bargain for prices commensurate with their pigs' weights, which are often much higher than what pig traders offer when farmers are ignorant of their pigs' weights. 

ILRI, together with Makerere University, trained both men and women animal health workers in AI service provision techniques to slowly increase the demand for AI services, which remains very low in the communities. To support women AI service providers, in particular, who lagged behind men in terms of customers, the interventions, together with confidence-building sessions, aimed to signal to the communities that the women were as well trained as the male service providers. Therefore, both men and women AI service providers were provided with branded lab coats and badges to signify that they had been trained and certified. 

To support women aggregators and butchers against the norm that women should be clean and therefore not engage in this lucrative activity, the intervention offered white butcher aprons, head wraps and boots to keep their clothes stain-free; the women were also encouraged to wash and change these items frequently.

All these activities were accommodative because they did not target ‘changing the norms’ behind the disadvantage but, rather, found solutions to work around these norms.

Gender transformative interventions: Radio talk shows and community conversations engaging both men and women

The stakeholder engagements also identified transformative activities to directly address the gender norms that limit women's participation in and benefit from livestock-related enterprises. Radio talk shows and community dialogues were used to sensitize selected communities on the presence of well-trained women AI service providers, pig aggregators and large-scale pig farmers. Three radio talk shows were held at two major radio stations, and their reach includes the target communities in Mukono and Masaka.

During the radio talk shows, a panel comprising a gender officer from Ripple Effect, the district community development officer (CDO), a supportive male (to women in targeted non-feminine tasks) and women in the selected non-feminine tasks were hosted on-air. The district community development officer (CDO) spoke about gender norms, how they affect women in pig-related businesses and the role of all stakeholders in supporting these women. Some women engaging in non-feminine tasks such as AI provision or large-scale pig farming shared their experiences and challenges; Men supportive of such women shared why and how they supported their wife or a female relative engaged in tasks considered non-feminine and called on other men to do likewise.

‘People in the community think women cannot inseminate, yet they go through the same syllabus as their male counterparts. A woman trained in the community is an example of how women can do what men do,’ said Ms Maria Nagawa, CDO Masaka

‘Butcher women are disrespected in the community, but the business is profitable, and these women boost family income.’ a woman pig farmer and aggregator said.

‘My wife rears pigs in large numbers, and I help her look for market. When I travel, I bring her feeds. When a woman earns an income, her husband is relieved financially; an empowered woman is a responsible woman. A home without money is unhappy. Piggery projects are family enterprises. Children also emulate their parents,’ said local leader and supportive man, Mr Kalema Silas.

Ripple Effect also organized community dialogues and in-person meetings comprising up to 50 diverse community members. During these sessions, parts of the recordings from the radio talk shows were used to kick-start reflections in plenary. More homogenous subgroups were formed for conversations and reflections about women’s engagement in traditionally non-feminine activities in pig production and business. Within the groups, community members had the opportunity to reflect, ask questions, get responses and share experiences.

The goal of the sessions was to encourage acceptance of women’s engagement within some of these emerging opportunities in pig-related enterprises in their communities and, therefore, reduce the severity of sanctions.

Case studies of successful women in pig-related businesses (women aggregators, AI service providers, and pig farmers) were presented, and conversations were held about the restrictive norms addressed.

Discussions highlighted that communities were becoming increasingly more accepting of women in these ‘traditionally male roles’. Communities were also increasingly aware of the presence and potential of women and their contribution to family income from pig-related business activities. Men acknowledged that women who engaged in these businesses contributed to household income and supported basic needs, shelter improvement, education and household nutrition. This highlighted how restrictive gender norms affecting women also negatively affected men. Women were encouraged to be open with their husbands in order to reduce incidences of intimate partner violence within the households. Women also acknowledged that they needed men’s support, either morally or financially, in whatever enterprise they engaged in.

There is a need for flexibility, reflection, learning and engagement with key stakeholders to achieve the desired outcomes. Pilot testing such interventions will provide lessons on nuances needed to engage men and women for gender equity and social inclusion.

For further reading, see here and here.