Transforming communicative spaces: the rhythm of gender in meetings in rural Solomon Islands

Michelle Dyer

doi:10.5751/es-09866-230117

Abstract

Women's lack of participation in important decision making is noted as an obstacle to sustainable development in many parts of the world. An initial issue for gender equity in environmental decision making in many developing country contexts is not only women's inclusion but also their substantive participation in decision-making forums. In this article I examine the power structures embedded in the public communicative spaces in a village in the Western Province of Solomon Islands using empirical data in conjunction with ethnographic understanding of gendered meeting styles. The data reveal some reasons why women may be silenced as public political actors. It also raises the potential for development actors to create conceptual space for specific women's ways of meeting and validating women's meeting styles. These findings have implications for encouraging transformative communicative spaces and formats that allow transcendence of socially embedded power structures.

Highlights

In this article I explore the gendered social space of community meetings in rural Solomon Islands
In this article I examine the power structures embedded in the public communicative spaces in a village in the Western Province of Solomon Islands using empirical data in conjunction with ethnographic understanding of gendered meeting styles
This research was prompted by my repeated experience with village women in Solomon Islands remaining silent at mixed gender meetings, in which they were always the majority of attendees, while engaging in robust discussion and debate in allwomen meeting settings

Summary

Introduction

In this article I explore the gendered social space of community meetings in rural Solomon Islands. The research reveals how forms of meeting practice may embed the disjuncture between gender parity (i.e., equal numbers of men and women) and gender equality (i.e., equal influence), by showing how some styles of meeting, which are explicitly gendered, are considered more valid than others. It relates to transformation of communicative practices suggesting that transformative pathways may lie in validating alternate communication formats that are gendered and culturally specific. The original methodology used provides a model for analysis of gender differences in public contexts, which is discussed in the conclusion

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Conclusion