Researching women’s leadership in Asia and the Pacific – reflections on feminist research approaches in design and in practice

ABSTRACT

This article explores how the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) and partners have navigated the complexities and, sometimes competing, priorities, of feminist research methodology and values, in our practice. It demonstrates how, ultimately, decision-making processes along the way have been guided by the feminist values that underpin the research designs and the assertion that the process is as important as the outcome. We reflect in particular on the design and practice of two research projects undertaken by IWDA with partner women’s rights organisations in Asia Pacific. Under the Women’s Action for Voice and Empowerment programme, the projects – the Women’s Leadership Pathways research project and the Public Perceptions of Women as Leaders research project – explore the enablers and barriers to women’s leadership, from both public and private perspectives. The designs of both projects are mindful of hierarchies of authority and knowledge within the research processes that reinforce the status quo and power dynamics between the ‘expert’ and the ‘subject’ of the research. They also challenge the dynamics of power around the production and ownership of knowledge in academic spaces. They do this through collaborative designs that are locally led and owned, and through a strong valuing of women’s voices in research.

Cet article examine la manière dont l’International Women’s Development Agency (Agence internationale de développement pour les femmes - IWDA) et ses partenaires se sont frayé un chemin parmi les complexités et priorités parfois en concurrence de la méthodologie et des valeurs de la recherche féministe, dans notre pratique. Il montre qu’en fin de compte, les processus de prise de décisions rencontrés en cours de route ont été orientés par les valeurs féministes qui étayent les conceptions des travaux de recherche et l’affirmation selon laquelle le processus est aussi important que le résultat. Nous nous penchons en particulier sur la conception et la pratique de deux projets de recherche entrepris par l’IWDA avec des organisations partenaires de défense des droits de la femme dans la région Asie et Pacifique. Dans le cadre du programme Women’s Action for Voice and Empowerment, ces projets - le projet de recherche Women’s Leadership Pathways et le projet de recherche Public Perceptions of Women as Leaders – examinent les facteurs favorables et les barrières qui entravent le leadership féminin, tant du point de vue public que privé. Les conceptions des deux projets tiennent compte des hiérarchies d’autorité et de connaissances au sein des processus de recherche qui renforcent le statu quo et la dynamique de pouvoir entre l’« expert » et le « sujet » des recherches. Elles mettent par ailleurs en question la dynamique du pouvoir autour de la production et de l’appropriation des connaissances dans le monde universitaire. Elles le font à travers des conceptions collaboratives qui sont dirigées par des entités locales et qui leur appartiennent, et à travers une forte valorisation des voix des femmes dans les recherches.

El presente artículo se propone explorar cómo la Agencia Internacional de Desarrollo de la Mujer (iwda) y sus socios sortearon las complejidades y las, a veces, encontradas prioridades existentes entre la metodología y los valores de la investigación feminista que hallamos en nuestra práctica. El artículo da cuenta de cómo, en última instancia y sobre la marcha, los procesos de toma de decisiones fueron guiados por valores feministas que sustentan los diseños de investigación y por la afirmación de que el proceso es tan importante como el resultado. Reflexionamos en particular sobre el diseño y la puesta en práctica de dos proyectos de investigación llevados a cabo por iwda con organizaciones asociadas de derechos de las mujeres en la región Asia Pacífico. En el marco del programa Acción de las Mujeres para [Potenciar] su Voz y su Empoderamiento, los proyectos de investigación —“Rutas de Liderazgo de las Mujeres” y “Percepciones Públicas de las Mujeres como Líderes”— analizan las condiciones que facilitan su liderazgo y las barreras que lo dificultan, tanto desde la perspectiva pública como desde la privada. El diseño de ambos proyectos tomó en cuenta las jerarquías de autoridad y conocimiento dentro del proceso de investigación, que refuerzan el statu quo, así como la dinámica de poder que se establece entre el "experto" y el "sujeto" de la investigación. Además, dichos proyectos cuestionan la dinámica del poder en torno a la producción y la propiedad del conocimiento en espacios académicos, haciéndolo a través de diseños colaborativos liderados y asumidos localmente, y de una fuerte valoración de las voces de las mujeres en la investigación.

KEYWORDS:

• Women’s leadership
• Asia Pacific
• feminist research
• feminist methodology and practice
• international development

Notes on contributors

Sophie Purdue was formerly the Program Coordinator (Timor-Leste) with the International Women’s Development Agency and was on the steering group for the Women’s Leadership Pathways research project. She is currently based in Hanoi on assignment with the Australian Volunteers Program, working with Plan International Vietnam in the role of Program Development and Quality Assurance Officer. Postal address: c/o The Editor, Gender & Development, Oxfam GB, John Smith Drive, Oxford OX4 2JY, UK. Email: [email protected]

Alejandra Pineda was formerly the Program Coordinator (Myanmar) with the International Women’s Development Agency and was on the steering group for the Women’s Leadership Pathways research project. She is currently working with UN Women-Migration Unit in the Regional Office for Asia Pacific, supporting the design and implementation of the unit’s economic empowerment programmes in the region. Email: [email protected]

Notes

1 The design and methodology of this research is based on research previously conducted by IWDA and Fiji Women’s Forum in Fiji.

2 For more information on WAVE, see https://iwda.org.au/what-we-do/wave/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

3 For more information on the Alola Foundation, see www.alolafoundation.org/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

4 For more information on SWAN, see https://iwda.org.au/shan-womens-action-network/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

5 For more information on GADC, see www.gadc.org.kh/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

6 For more information on Amara, see https://iwda.org.au/amara/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

7 For more information on Banteay Srei, see http://banteaysrei.info/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

8 For more information on United Sisterhood, see www.unitedsisterhood.org/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

9 For more information on WRAM, see https://iwda.org.au/womens-rights-action-movement/ (last checked 1 September 2019).

10 Temporary special measures is affirmative action aimed at accelerating the improvement of the position of women with a view to achieve substantive equality with men, e.g. quotas to establish a minimum level for women’s representation in parliament. They are viewed as a temporary but necessary means in order to address structural inequalities and entrenched biases.

11 ‘Do no harm’ is an IWDA partnership principle that states: ‘We will do no harm. We will respect our partners’ political, social, economic and cultural situations. We will seek to avoid detrimental impacts on partners, by showing sensitivity and a commitment to learning and understanding contexts and partnerships’ (IWDA 2015).

12 These findings were taken from the WLP Year 2 learning and findings internal report, Baastel.