Rethinking gender in agriculture innovation from an innovation system's perspective
Abstract
Very few scholarly materials have considered gender debates from an innovation systems perspective or even considered the impact of innovation on gender. The purpose of this brief is to reflect on the opportunities that a systems understanding of innovation provides for addressing gender issues and what this means for policy and practice in agricultural development. The brief looks at how men and women, as well as socially-excluded groups of agricultural innovators, are represented in innovation. It also considers why gender issues are important in innovation debates. It is based on the understanding that women and men have different potentials and capabilities to influence economic change. The discussion advanced takes cognizance of the diversity of innovation in terms of actors and their roles, as well as the context in which it takes place, including the political and policy environment. It also recognizes the complexity of the task of trying to analyze the gender-innovation interface, considering the underlying debates that relate to both.
This policy brief is based on RIU discussion paper 6.
Citation
Kingiri, A.; Wakhungu, J.; Hall, A. Rethinking gender in agriculture innovation from an innovation system’s perspective. African Centre for Technology Studies, Nairobi, Kenya (2011) 8 pp.
Links