Women in cooperatives

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Women and children pick green beans at the Dodicha Vegetable Cooperative in Ethiopia. The beans will be sold to a local exporter, who will sell them to supermarkets in Europe. Harvesting beans (5762966966).jpg
Women and children pick green beans at the Dodicha Vegetable Cooperative in Ethiopia. The beans will be sold to a local exporter, who will sell them to supermarkets in Europe.

A cooperative ("co-op") is an autonomous association of persons who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual, social, economic, and cultural benefit through a mutually owned and democratically run enterprise. [1] Cooperatives include non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use their services (consumer cooperatives) or by the people who work there (worker cooperatives) and take on a variety of forms, ranging from officially registered cooperatives to loosely organized groups of neighbors, family, and kin networks. Cooperatives are based on values like self-help, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. [2] These values, among other aspects of cooperatives, are particularly useful in empowering women through membership. [3] In statements in advance of International Women's Day in early 2013, President of the International Cooperative Alliance, Dame Pauline Green, said, "Cooperative businesses have done so much to help women onto the ladder of economic activity. With that comes community respect, political legitimacy and influence." [4] Cooperatives allow women who might have been isolated and working individually to band together and create economies of scale as well as increase their own bargaining power in the market. [3]

Contents

However, despite the supposed democratic structure and the values and benefits shared by cooperative members, particularly women, due to gender norms and other instilled cultural practices, women suffer a disproportionately low representation in cooperative membership around the world. Representation of women through active membership (showing up to meetings and voting), as well as in leadership and managerial positions is even lower. [3] Women's cooperatives, run by and composed entirely of women, may be structured in a way that makes it easier for women to participate.

Benefits of cooperatives to women

Rachel MacHenry argues that cooperatives have several common features that are particularly beneficial to women, including "ensuring a fair return on work, support for members, safe working conditions, availability of pooled or purchased raw materials, and access to viable markets." [5] Furthermore, she says that they serve as a "crucial link" between Western markets and local kin-based structures in developing countries. [5] In the same collection of essays, Brenda Rosebaum says that a cooperative can go beyond simply providing an income for the poor women members involved or stimulating the larger community in which it is located, cooperatives have "empowered" women, "enhanced their dignity, and greatly improved their quality of life." [6]

Ugandan women from the Hope Again cooperative socializing as they work making necklaces FMSC MarketPlace - Hope Again Women Ugandan Necklace (7029881575).jpg
Ugandan women from the Hope Again cooperative socializing as they work making necklaces

In a study of a Nepalese women's cooperative, Rachel MacHenry found that social barriers among women were broken down due to the inclusion of women of different classes, castes, and ethnicities. Moreover, these women often bonded over common experiences and similar motivations for participation in the cooperative. Other shifts occurred in women's independence, including reports of increased physical mobility, including more confidence walking alone as well as riding public transportation. Women also benefited from an increased self-worth and more confidence in interactions with family members and upper class people. Some women weavers felt that they had gained more bargaining power in the eyes of business people who had previously exploited them; other women claimed that they had gained a larger sense of their value and overall contribution to their own households. [7]

Another principal benefits of cooperative work is that it allows women the opportunity to gain a decent wage while still leaving time and freedom for other responsibilities important to them such as caring for children and families. [8] Furthermore, benefits often trickle down to the children of women engaged in cooperatives. In the case of the cooperative UPAVIM in Guatemala, a strong emphasis was placed on savings for children's education. [8]

Alternative/complement to microcredit

Much controversy surrounds microcredit loans in regards to empowering women, Karim argues, based on a 1999 ethnographic study, that microcredit nongovernmental organizations have too much power over the lives of rural people, which has a particularly detrimental effect on women. Karim highlights the negative tactics often used in loan recovery, in which group responsibility plays a large role and women's honor is publicly shamed if they default. [9] Similarly, after conducting a 2008 study of small women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Jahiruddin et al. deduct that microcredit can even worsen poverty of borrowers in certain conditions. One-fourth of cases from a survey, spanning 35 villages and including 320 microcredit borrowers, showed no improvement in economic status of the borrowers, and in 6% of the cases poverty actually worsened due to various reasons like investment in activities that are slow to start generating revenue or encountering emergency circumstances that led to the use of the loan for other purposes. [10]

Cooperatives offer a way out of these negatives situations that microcredit puts women in due to the communal net and support that they provide through rough times. Furthermore, they allow women, who might have been isolated and working individually in the informal economy, to avoid loan defaults because they are able to join with other members to create economies of scale and increase their influence and bargaining power in the market. [3]

Organizational Structures

Women's cooperatives are often built on ideas of sisterhood, equality, and strength from unity. Consequently, many have rejected hierarchical organizational structures in favor of more democratic participation where every member's input counts equally. Some cooperatives require consensus (instead of compromise or majority approval) for decision-making. Equal participation relies on individuals verbally articulating their opinions to the group; this in itself can be unequal since more experienced and articulate members can dominate discussions. Unlike in profit-oriented organizations, outcomes can be measured in terms of politics and policy, cultural outcomes, mobilization, and self-development. [11]

Sectors

Agricultural sector

A farmer at the women's agricultural cooperative of Walikaly village in Siguiri Prefecture, Guinea Guinea Siguiri farmer woman.jpg
A farmer at the women's agricultural cooperative of Walikaly village in Siguiri Prefecture, Guinea

In Africa, though women account for roughly 80% of food production, they receive less than 10% of credit offered to small-scale farmers and only 7% of agricultural extension services. They own less than 1% of all land. [12] By permitting women farmers to join as a cooperative, individuals are better able to acquire inputs, production services, and marketing for their produce. This enhances productive capacity and opens access to markets that would not be possible for an individual operating alone. Furthermore, there is “solid evidence” that membership in a cooperative enhances productivity, income, and quality of life for the person involved, as well as the greater community. [13]

Care work sector

Women are over-represented in paid care work the world over, and care work is oftentimes undervalued and underpaid. Those performing it have low levels of collective organization, low bargaining power, inadequate working conditions, as well as low access to business inputs that are needed in the care sector like in any other. [12] Women also have gender-specific health needs regarding reproduction, and "are major (potential) consumers of health and care services, such as maternal health and maternity protection, HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation, or child or elderly care services." [12]

Cooperatives contribute to a positive change for working women both as providers and recipients of health care services. In Africa, where cooperatively organized care provision has in many cultural contexts been an intrinsic part of the social fabric, it is today gaining visibility, and increasing in the range of services provided and level of formality. For example, the Soweto Home-Based Care Givers Co-operative, which was set up in 2001, provides "nursing care, counseling, hospital transport and food parcel distribution to people living with HIV/AIDS". [12] In other regions of the world, examples abound of women working in the care sector improving their working conditions and accessing much-needed services. For instance, the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India runs cooperatively operated childcare centres and maternity benefits via an insurance cooperative as part of a holistic response to the needs of women. [12]

Craft and artisan sector

Women in a Ugandan artisan cooperative, Hope Again, making necklaces FMSC MarketPlace - Hope Again Women Ugandan Necklace (7029881509).jpg
Women in a Ugandan artisan cooperative, Hope Again, making necklaces

By engaging in artisan cooperatives, women can gain new skills and training, access higher quality raw materials, and get paid for finished work directly upon delivery at the cooperative marketplace. In addition, they often have access to benefit programs for cooperative product producers. In a Nepalese textile cooperative, this included such things as, "a savings and loan system, retirement fund, bonus program, girl-child education fund, health services, peer counseling, legal counseling, and a fair price shop." [14] Cooperatives also secure connections with alternative trade organizations (ATOs) that help connect members with buyers, obtain orders, and export the artisan work to markets around the world. [15]

Financial sector

Savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) are much more accessible to women than standard banks, especially in rural areas, due to the fact that they are “locality-based,” making them more culturally sensitive and less intimidating. [12] Moreover, they tend to offer a wider range of loan sizes, allowing women to find suitable loan conditions, such as smaller sizes to fit their business, health, or educational needs. [12]

Conflict areas

Conflicts are rampant in the Middle East and cooperatives are thus able to make huge strides for women. Participation by women in these areas is especially limited and usually confined to small, women-only cooperatives, mainly because overall number of cooperatives equals less than 1 percent of employment opportunities in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, and Iraq combined. Women's land ownership and employment rates are also extremely low in these areas, with women holding less than one-fourth of all jobs. [16]

During times of conflict, cooperatives may be most advantageous because they enable members to accumulate savings, pool resources, access credit, and share risks. By combining the power of rural women in conflict states who would have achieved very little by themselves, cooperatives provide a functional tool for empowerment and economic independence, in addition to providing a “long-term sustainable socioeconomic recovery” following conflict. [16]

Barriers to women's participation

A study carried out by the ILO found that cooperative laws are "gender neutral" and do not directly discriminate against women. However, in reality laws intended to protect women are ignored in favor of cultural norms or are maneuvered around. [17] Most legal barriers to women's cooperative membership are largely indirect and written into cooperative bylaws, such as rules that only one member per family can have membership when the cultural norm encourages male membership as a first choice. [18] In agricultural cooperatives, it is often the case that membership requires land ownership, and since women are severely underrepresented in land ownership the world over, this serves to inhibit women from joining. [17]

Traditional role of women

In many developing countries there is a "prevalent misconception" that reproductive and domestic roles should be a woman's most important job. [3] When women attempt to add an income-earning job on top of other roles, pressure to uphold the unequal division of labor and care work in the household severely restricts their job choices, even putting them on the outside circle in cooperatives because there is little time left for mandatory meeting attendance and other tasks. [3]

In Latin America, machismo ideology permeates the culture and gives women virtually all the responsibility in child care, domestic work, and other subsistence activities. Furthermore, these domestic obligations inhibit women from accessing jobs that are better paid because they require uninterrupted work for long hours. [19] Brenda Rosenbaum says that, "However hard they work, women at this level of poverty find it difficult to overcome the gender constraints imposed on them." [20] Many women get trapped by pressures and criticism from family members and neighbors that believe the independence cooperatives encourage is "immodest" or too "forward," even to the extent of fathers or husbands forbidding involvement. [21]

Access to resources

Lack of access to resources inhibits women from creating new cooperatives and affects their roles in existing ones. Because women often lack their own independent assets, it is more difficult for them to invest in cooperatives on their own. Moreover, many women in developing countries suffer a disparity in levels of education, both overall and in relation to men, especially in regards to business experience and knowledge. [3] Women's absence in land ownership on a large scale has also prevented their involvement in many agricultural cooperatives. [3]

Women's lack of access to finance, due to a variety of factors such as absence of collateral and negotiating power, is one of the main barriers to improving the productive capacity of women workers. [12] The large majority of microfinance institutes view rural women as “[ostensibly] a credit risk.” [22] When women are approved for loans, they are often faced with unmanageably high interest rates, averaging 10% per month, which can deplete savings quickly. Although savings and credit cooperatives exist in developing countries to avoid dealing with microfinance institutions and are often the recipients of support services from the government, many are still male-dominated and discourage women from joining. [22] For example, in Kenya, only 3% of women have access to the formal financial sector, as opposed to 44% of men. [12]

Funding and opportunities from government and other institutions may be limited depending on how cooperatives label themselves (“agricultural co-op” versus “women’s co-op,” for example). [23] Women's cooperatives are sometimes dismissed as radical political groups, especially if the organization is new. This was the case for Saheli, a Mumbai-based cooperative for sex workers and victims of sex trafficking. [23]

Encouraging women's participation

International level

Since the early 1990s the promotion of gender equality has been a focus of the international cooperative movement. In 1995, the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) passed a resolution called "Gender Equality in Cooperatives" in which gender equality was named a global priority by members. The ICA has also been involved in the development of training materials on gender and cooperatives in various languages including French, English and Spanish, as well as leadership development manuals made especially for women in cooperatives. [24]

In 2002, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released Recommendation No. 193 on the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation that explicitly states: "special consideration should be given to increasing women's participation in the cooperative movement at all levels, particularly at management and leadership level". [25] Despite this and all of the benefits to women, as a reflection of larger society, women tend to be shut out of leadership and decision-making positions in mixed-gender cooperatives, and often do not benefit to the same extent as their male counterparts. [16]

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) in hopes of spotlighting the contribution of cooperatives to economic development and social development, especially their effects on "poverty reduction, employment generation, and social integration." [26]

Cooperative level

Board members stand in front of their 'thrift cooperative' in Mulukanoor, Andhra Pradesh. Credit Union in Warangal, India.JPG
Board members stand in front of their 'thrift cooperative' in Mulukanoor, Andhra Pradesh.

A. Nippierd argues that on a more micro or local level, sensitizing managers and leaders of cooperatives to gender issues is a key starting point towards increasing gender equality. It is only with a full understanding of the issues and a strong decision to methodically address them that proactive measures begin to be enforced. [27] This essential step should be partnered with other legal means such as "mainstreaming" gender equality into all cooperative policies, bylaws, statements, initiatives, and programs, etc. [24] Gender analysis can also be utilized to pinpoint problem areas in policy or culture. [24]

Capacity-building of individual women should also be a focus for improving gender equality in cooperatives, especially due to the education gap and subsequent occupation gap commonly suffered by women in many developing countries. Special care should be taken to ensure that women represent an equal proportion in training and educational programs. Furthermore, these programs should be particularly sensitive to the needs of women, even going to the extent of specific designs where necessary, and should also include confidence-building measures. [24]

Identifying women as potential leaders and encouraging and supporting them through advanced training, mentoring, and coaching has also been identified as a successful policy. In countries where women are particularly disadvantaged under the laws, Nippierd argues that cooperatives should join in "national coalitions and alliances with gender advocacy organizations and other civil society organizations to lobby governments for equal rights (especially in property and asset ownership) and an effective legal framework and institutions that foster gender equality." [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair trade</span> Sustainable and equitable trade

Fair trade is a term for an arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships. The fair trade movement combines the payment of higher prices to exporters with improved social and environmental standards. The movement focuses in particular on commodities, or products that are typically exported from developing countries to developed countries but is also used in domestic markets, most notably for handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, wine, sugar, fruit, flowers and gold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Informal economy</span> Economic activity unregulated by government

An informal economy is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government. Although the informal sector makes up a significant portion of the economies in developing countries, it is sometimes stigmatized as troublesome and unmanageable. However, the informal sector provides critical economic opportunities for the poor and has been expanding rapidly since the 1960s. Integrating the informal economy into the formal sector is an important policy challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooperative</span> Autonomous association of persons or organizations

A cooperative is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise". Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. Cooperatives may include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microcredit</span> Small loans to impoverished borrowers

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, or a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microfinance</span> Provision of microloans to poor entrepreneurs and small businesses

Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other services. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient. ID Ghana is an example of a microfinance institution.

An alternative trading organization (ATO) is usually a non-governmental organization (NGO) or mission-driven business aligned with the Fair trade movement, aiming "to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in developing regions of the world by establishing a system of trade that allows marginalized producers in developing regions to gain access to developed markets".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self Employed Women's Association</span> Indian non-governmental organisation

Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), meaning "service" in several Indian languages, is a trade union based in Ahmedabad, India, that promotes the rights of low-income, independently employed female workers. Nearly 2 million workers are members of the Self-Employed Women’s Association across 8 states in India. Self-employed women are defined as those who do not have a fixed employer-employee relationship and do not receive a fixed salary and social protection like that of formally-employed workers and therefore have a more precarious income and life. SEWA organises around the goal of full employment in which a woman secures work, income, food, and social security like health care, child care, insurance, pension and shelter. The principles behind accomplishing these goals are struggle and development, meaning negotiating with stakeholders and providing services, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty reduction</span> Measures to reduce poverty permanently

Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) is a non-governmental cooperative organization founded in 1895 to unite, represent and serve cooperatives worldwide. The ICA is the custodian of the internationally recognised definition, values and principles of a cooperative in the ICA Statement on the Cooperative Identity. The ICA represents 315 co-operative federation and organisations in 107 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decent work</span>

Decent work is employment that "respects the fundamental rights of the human person as well as the rights of workers in terms of conditions of work safety and remuneration. ... respect for the physical and mental integrity of the worker in the exercise of his/her employment."

A micro-enterprise is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount. The terms microenterprise and microbusiness have the same meaning, though traditionally when referring to a small business financed by microcredit the term microenterprise is often used. Similarly, when referring to a small, usually legal business that is not financed by microcredit, the term microbusiness is often used. Internationally, most microenterprises are family businesses employing one or two persons. Most microenterprise owners are primarily interested in earning a living to support themselves and their families. They only grow the business when something in their lives changes and they need to generate a larger income. According to information found on the Census.gov website, microenterprises make up 95% of the 28 million US companies tracked by the census.

The fair trade movement has undergone several important changes like the operation for ten thousand villages to open their businesses since early days following World War II. Fair trade, first seen as a form of charity advocated by religious organizations, has radically changed in structure, philosophy and approach. The past fifty years have witnessed massive changes in the diversity of fair trade proponents, the products traded and their distribution networks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labor relations</span> Study of work and workers

Labor relations is a field of study that can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. In an international context, it is a subfield of labor history that studies the human relations with regard to work in its broadest sense and how this connects to questions of social inequality. It explicitly encompasses unregulated, historical, and non-Western forms of labor. Here, labor relations define "for or with whom one works and under what rules. These rules determine the type of work, type and amount of remuneration, working hours, degrees of physical and psychological strain, as well as the degree of freedom and autonomy associated with the work." More specifically in a North American and strictly modern context, labor relations is the study and practice of managing unionized employment situations. In academia, labor relations is frequently a sub-area within industrial relations, though scholars from many disciplines including economics, sociology, history, law, and political science also study labor unions and labor movements. In practice, labor relations is frequently a subarea within human resource management. Courses in labor relations typically cover labor history, labor law, union organizing, bargaining, contract administration, and important contemporary topics.

Solidarity economy or Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) refers to a wide range of economic activities that aim to prioritize social profitability instead of purely financial profits. A key feature that distinguishes solidarity economy entities from private and public enterprises is the participatory and democratic nature of governance in decision-making processes as one of the main principles of the SSE sector. Active participation of all people involved in decision-making procedures contributes to their empowerment as active political subjects. However, different SSE organizational structures reflect variations in democratic governance and inclusive participation. Ultimately, SSE represents a crucial tool in guaranteeing that social justice ideals are upheld and that the wellbeing of the most vulnerable populations is paid attention to during the planning processes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordic model</span> Social and economic model in Nordic countries

The Nordic model comprises the economic and social policies as well as typical cultural practices common to the Nordic countries. This includes a comprehensive welfare state and multi-level collective bargaining based on the economic foundations of social corporatism, and a commitment to private ownership within a market-based mixed economy — with Norway being a partial exception due to a large number of state-owned enterprises and state ownership in publicly listed firms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of International Labor Affairs</span>

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) is an operating unit of the United States Department of Labor which manages the department's international responsibilities. According to its mission statement:

Gender and development is an interdisciplinary field of research and applied study that implements a feminist approach to understanding and addressing the disparate impact that economic development and globalization have on people based upon their location, gender, class background, and other socio-political identities. A strictly economic approach to development views a country's development in quantitative terms such as job creation, inflation control, and high employment – all of which aim to improve the ‘economic wellbeing’ of a country and the subsequent quality of life for its people. In terms of economic development, quality of life is defined as access to necessary rights and resources including but not limited to quality education, medical facilities, affordable housing, clean environments, and low crime rate. Gender and development considers many of these same factors; however, gender and development emphasizes efforts towards understanding how multifaceted these issues are in the entangled context of culture, government, and globalization. Accounting for this need, gender and development implements ethnographic research, research that studies a specific culture or group of people by physically immersing the researcher into the environment and daily routine of those being studied, in order to comprehensively understand how development policy and practices affect the everyday life of targeted groups or areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair trade cocoa</span> Cocoa harvested under a certified process

Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.

Women migrant workers from developing countries engage in paid employment in countries where they are not citizens. While women have traditionally been considered companions to their husbands in the migratory process, most adult migrant women today are employed in their own right. In 2017, of the 168 million migrant workers, over 68 million were women. The increase in proportion of women migrant workers since the early twentieth century is often referred to as the "feminization of migration".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's empowerment</span> Giving rights, freedom to take decisions and strengthening women to stand on their own

Women's empowerment may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training. Women's empowerment equips and allows women to make life-determining decisions through the different societal problems. They may have the opportunity to re-define gender roles or other such roles, which allow them more freedom to pursue desired goals.

References

  1. ↑ Statement on the Cooperative Identity. Archived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine International Cooperative Alliance.
  2. ↑ "What is a Cooperative?". Archived from the original on 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nippierd, A. (2002). "Gender issues in cooperatives." Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization
  4. ↑ "Movement can give a strong voice to women | ICA".
  5. 1 2 MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.). Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 29.
  6. ↑ Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 85-106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 102
  7. ↑ MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.). Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 32-33.
  8. 1 2 Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (pp. 85–106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 102.
  9. ↑ Karim, L. (2008). De-mystifying micro-credit: The Grameen Bank, NGOs, and Neoliberalism in Bangladesh. Cultural Dynamics, 20(5), p. 5-29.
  10. ↑ Jahiruddin, ATM, Short, P., Dressler, W., Khan, M. A. (2011). Can microcredit worsen poverty? Cases of exacerbated poverty in Bangladesh. Development in Practice, 21(8), p. 1109-1121.
  11. ↑ Desouza, Shaila (2012). "The Strength of Collective Processes: An 'Outcome Analysis' of Women's Collectives in India". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 19(3): 373–392 – via SAGE.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Promising Practices: How cooperatives work for working women in Africa" (PDF). International Labour Organization. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  13. ↑ "Promising Practices: How cooperatives work for working women in Africa" (PDF). International Labour Organization. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  14. ↑ MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.), Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 29.
  15. ↑ MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.), Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., pp. 29–30.
  16. 1 2 3 Tep, Ratha (2012-12-21). "The Benefits of Women-Led Co-ops in Arab States". Stories.coop. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  17. 1 2 Nippierd, A. (2002). "Gender issues in cooperatives." Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization, p. 2
  18. ↑ ILO, Legal Constraints to Women's Participation in Cooperatives, ILO Cooperative Branch, Geneva, 2002.
  19. ↑ Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 85-106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., pp. 88–89.
  20. ↑ Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (pp. 85–106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 89.
  21. ↑ MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.), Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (pp. 25–44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 32.
  22. 1 2 Mshiu, Sam (2012-10-26). "Empowering women through their own SACCOS". Stories.coop. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  23. 1 2 Bonnan-White, Jess; Hightower, Andrea; Issa, Ameena (2013-09-01). "Of couscous and occupation: a case study of women's motivations to join and participate in Palestinian fair trade cooperatives". Agriculture and Human Values. 30 (3): 337–350. doi:10.1007/s10460-012-9405-7. ISSN 0889-048X.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Nippierd, A. (2002). "Gender issues in cooperatives." Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization, p.5
  25. ↑ "R193 - Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193)". International Labour Organization. 20 June 2002. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  26. ↑ United Nations, General Assembly (2012). Cooperatives in social development [A/RES/64/136]. New York City, NY. Retrieved from http://social.un.org/index/Cooperatives/InternationalYearofCooperatives2012.aspx
  27. ↑ Nippierd, A. (2002). "Gender issues in cooperatives." Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization, p. 5
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