A cooperative ("co-op") is an autonomous, people-centred organization grounded in democratic governance and social equity that can serve as a vehicle for women's economic empowerment and inclusion. Cooperatives are based on 6 core values; self-help, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. The cooperative model includes non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use their services, such as, consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Co-ops can take on a variety of forms, ranging from officially registered cooperatives to loosely organized groups of neighbours, family, and kin networks. While cooperatives were early adopters in giving women equal voting and membership rights, recent efforts have shifted from focusing on numerical presence to ensuring women have influence over decision-making, finance, and strategic direction. Women participate in cooperatives across many sectors, including agriculture, care work, and craft and artisan production, allowing them to gain fairer wages, training, access to markets and financial services. Cooperatives and credit cooperatives are often described as a communal alternative or complement to microcredit, and federated models like Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), have helped women move from informal economy to the formal economy. More recent areas of activity include efforts to bridge the digital gender divide through platform cooperativism and low technology tools, and the role of women-led cooperatives in environmental sustainability and a just transition. Despite cooperatives' democratic structures, gender norms and cultural practices contribute to women's disproportionately low representation in cooperative membership around the world, and lower still in leadership and management positions. Women also face barriers such as limited access to land, finance, and education. Since the 1990s, international bodies including the International Cooperative Alliance and the International Labour Organization have promoted gender equality in the cooperative moment. Women's cooperatives, run by and composed entirely of women, may be structured to make participation easier.
Economic and social empowerment 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." Furthermore, she says that they serve as a "crucial link" between Western markets and local kin-based structures in developing countries. 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."
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. 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. 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.
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.
Sectors
Agricultural sector
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. 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.
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