Economic developments have changed farming profoundly. This project investigates changes in gender relations and intergenerational relations and examines the factors that foster the emergence of new, more egalitarian family forms. The findings will be compared to studies on other small family businesses.
Background
In the last 30 years radical changes in the political and economic framework of agriculture have changed the (re)production conditions of farms. Agricultural policy and legal regulations have had different effects on women and men and on the images of masculinity and femininity. The production and reproduction sphere in the agricultural sector show various forms of organisation with regard to the different roles of women and men and also the different roles of generations.
Aim
The researchers are focussing on three levels: First, they will take stock of government agricultural policies and the corresponding legal regulations of the last 30 years and investigate whether the issue of equal opportunity was considered and to what extent this is reflected in the distribution of public funds. They will examine whether and how regulations in inheritance law, criteria for the granting of direct payments and the possibility of attending retraining courses and programmes have affected women and men differently.
At the second level, the researchers will examine farms and how they organise the production and reproduction areas. They will focus on the division of labour between men and women and between generations and identify special features of the change in gender roles. At the same time, they will investigate femininity and masculinity concepts and how they differ.
At the third level, the researchers will study the different ways of life and social practices on farms in a period of radical change. They will identify factors that foster the rise of new and perhaps more egalitarian relations between women and men and different generations.
Significance
The research group wants to firmly integrate gender research within farming research. At the same time, the analysis of the different ways in which women and men and generations live together is also applicable to other areas in Swiss society. It thus opens up new perspectives in government equality policy. The study will deliver findings on the role of government measures in transforming gender relations and in the development of new ways of living together for men and women and the generations.
Original title: Genre, générations et égalité en agriculture: transformations des configurations familiales et des représentations de la masculinité et de la féminité
Grant: CHF 258’036.-
Duration: 36 months
Project leaders
- Dr. Yvan Droz, Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID), Geneva
- Dr. Fenneke Reysoo, Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID), Geneva
- Valérie Miéville-Ott, Association suisse pour le développement de l'agriculture et de l'espace rural (AGRIDEA), Lausanne
- Ruth Rossier, Forschungsanstalt Agroscope, Reckenholz-Tänikon
- Nadine Boucherin, Institut de Hautes Études Internationales et du Développement (IHEID)
- Federica Manfredi, Développement de l’Agriculture et l’Espace Rurale (AGRIDEA)