Gender relations and gender-based analysis
at the resource development/traditional
economy interface
Project update
Sheena Kennedy Dalseg, Suzanne Mills, Rauna
Kuokkanen, Deborah Simmons, Emilie Cameron
September 30th, 2014
Sahtú Settlement Area.
Nunavut
Research Assistant
Deborah Simmons
Emilie Cameron
Nunatsiavut
Sheena Kennedy Dalseg
Rauna Kuokkanen
Suzanne Mills
Background
• Gender roles and relations are
influenced by economic change
• Resource development alters
balance between traditional and
capitalist economic activities
Previous research focused on impacts of development on
women
Less research on:
•
How institutions involved in resource development decision-making take
gender into account
•
How gender roles relations are connected to the shifting
traditional/capitalist economy interface
Research objectives
Conduct a gendered analysis of resource development decisionmaking in three jurisdictions of Indigenous governance:
Nunatsiavut, Nunavut, and the Sahtú Settlement Area.
a) determine how existing institutions and policies guiding
decision-making, implementation and monitoring of resource
development are gendered;
b) understand how changing participation in the mixed economy
influence gender relations, as understood by northern
Indigenous women; and
c) help develop relevant gender-based analysis materials and
tools for use in northern communities.
Research plan
Phase 1: Institutional analysis
Comparison of EAs for three projects:
• Meadowbank Gold Project (2003-2007)
• Mackenzie Gas Project (2003-2009)
• Voisey’s Bay Mine and Mill (1997-1999)
Examined interventions made by women and women’s groups
Gendered analysis of EA documents and guidelines
Key informant interviews:
• Conducted in Sahtú settlement region
• To be conducted in Nunatsiavut and Nunavut
Focus group: Sahtú Settlement Area (Kuokkanen & Simmons):
• In conjunction with SSHRC-funded research project on
gendered dimensions of Indigenous self-governance.
• Focus group with women in Tulít’a in June, 2014 outcome was
desire to work with youth – youth gatherings
• Collection of
documents pertaining
to gender and
governance
• Analysis ongoing
Focus group: Nunavut (Cameron)
• In conjunction with Community Readiness Initiative in
Kugluktuk
• Focus group with eight women on 28 April 2014
• Included women from life stages so that they could speak to
the very rapid changes that have unfolded over the last
decades, as well as women with varying experiences and
relationships to resource development and the traditional
economy.
• Analysis ongoing
Preliminary results: Analysis of environmental
decision-making documents
Voisey’s Bay Mine and Mill:
- Two women were on the review panel
- Six women’s organizations participated
Scoping hearings and hearings on
draft EIS
Meadowbank Gold Project:
- Two women on Nunavut Impact Review Board
- No women’s groups or organizations participated
- Women did participate in the NIRB hearings as citizens and
representatives of community organizations
Mackenzie Gas Project:
• Multiple review boards (focus on MVEIRB and JRP)
– One woman on each board
• Only 1 women’s organization participated, the NWT Status of Women
Council
• Participated in the JRP hearings on the EIS, not the MVEIRB hearings
Environmental review bodies
Common concerns raised by women across
jurisdictions
Impacts on family and
community
Traditional economic
activities
Observations concerning how gender was considered
in the review process
Narrow approach to assessment of pre-existing economic
conditions and benefits
• The characterization of women as victims
• Women’s traditional knowledge not included
• Over-emphasis on employment
Observations concerning how gender was considered
in the review process
Environmental review bodies
• The importance of methods used in environmental impact
statements – limits of disaggregating by gender
• The role of review boards in setting the tone of environmental
assessments – greater flexibility allowed for more
involvement from women
Observations concerning how gender was considered
in the review process
Institutional embeddedness
• The role of women’s organizations and access to funding
• The role of regional decision-making culture and structures
Conclusions
To be continued…