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throughout history women have played important social and environmental roles,
and their political positions have had a great transforming power. For this reason,
conservation of natural resources should also consider the division of gender work
in order to achieve greater equity in the management of natural resources, which has
a clear and differential relationship between men and women (Melero and Solís
2012). This could be possible as long as the participation of women in environmental management is conditioned to access, control, and decision-making as PNUD
mentioned in 2011.
1
Female Leadership
Traditionally, leadership has been associated with the male gender. This is observed
in managerial positions or representatives of projects that are usually characterized
with properties generally attributed to men as authority, control, and competitiveness. This characterization makes attributes considered to be more feminine, such as
orientation or concern for others, not necessarily apt to be a leader; this has fomented
biases against women in participation and access to leadership positions (Lupano
and Castro 2011).
This work analyzes a successful example of female leadership in the group
“Women with Wings” (Mujeres con Alas) to promote community and regional
development in a Protected Natural Area. “Women with Wings” developed, through
dialogue and collective action, supporting actions towards other social actors to
understand the complexity of the socio-ecological systems and to build new ideas
based on shared mental models and identities.
In addition to the construction of female leadership, the joint work of the
CONANP
2
officials, academy members (UABC,
3
UV,
4
and UC Irvine), and “Women
with Wings” represents an effort to implement the transdisciplinary collaboration
for sustainability (Merçon et al. 2018) that responds to the need to get involved in
bird conservation activities within the protected area.
For this study, ethnography was made with semi-structured interviews and focal
groups to document and explore the role of female leadership in environmental
management through the experience of the group “Women with Wings.” The group’s
strengths, obstacles, and areas of opportunity were identified in the conservation
activities.
1 https://www.undp.org/content/undp/es/home/librarypage/hdr/human_developmentreport2011.
html.
2 Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas.
3 Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.
4 Universidad Veracruzana.
11 “Women with Wings”: An Experience of Participatory Monitoring in a Natural…
throughout history women have played important social and environmental roles,
and their political positions have had a great transforming power. For this reason,
conservation of natural resources should also consider the division of gender work
in order to achieve greater equity in the management of natural resources, which has
a clear and differential relationship between men and women (Melero and Solís
2012). This could be possible as long as the participation of women in environmental management is conditioned to access, control, and decision-making as PNUD
mentioned in 2011.
1
Female Leadership
Traditionally, leadership has been associated with the male gender. This is observed
in managerial positions or representatives of projects that are usually characterized
with properties generally attributed to men as authority, control, and competitiveness. This characterization makes attributes considered to be more feminine, such as
orientation or concern for others, not necessarily apt to be a leader; this has fomented
biases against women in participation and access to leadership positions (Lupano
and Castro 2011).
This work analyzes a successful example of female leadership in the group
“Women with Wings” (Mujeres con Alas) to promote community and regional
development in a Protected Natural Area. “Women with Wings” developed, through
dialogue and collective action, supporting actions towards other social actors to
understand the complexity of the socio-ecological systems and to build new ideas
based on shared mental models and identities.
In addition to the construction of female leadership, the joint work of the
CONANP
2
officials, academy members (UABC,
3
UV,
4
and UC Irvine), and “Women
with Wings” represents an effort to implement the transdisciplinary collaboration
for sustainability (Merçon et al. 2018) that responds to the need to get involved in
bird conservation activities within the protected area.
For this study, ethnography was made with semi-structured interviews and focal
groups to document and explore the role of female leadership in environmental
management through the experience of the group “Women with Wings.” The group’s
strengths, obstacles, and areas of opportunity were identified in the conservation
activities.
1 https://www.undp.org/content/undp/es/home/librarypage/hdr/human_developmentreport2011.
html.
2 Comisión Nacional de Areas Naturales Protegidas.
3 Universidad Autónoma de Baja California.
4 Universidad Veracruzana.
11 “Women with Wings”: An Experience of Participatory Monitoring in a Natural…