06/08/2026
Building stronger organizations through gender-responsive policies. ๐๐ด
On July 22โ23, the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) and the Kilusang Kababaihan ng Marinduque (KKM) convened 26 leaders and members representing 13 organizational members for a two-day Policy Integration Workshop, the third activity in a learning journey that began with gender and care awareness sessions and participatory documentation of women's care experiences. As part of the WEE Connect Microgrant, PRRM is supporting KKM in institutionalizing policies that advance women's economic empowerment (WEE), recognize unpaid care and domestic work (UCDW), and promote more gender-responsive enterprise practices.
Rather than relying on generic policy templates, the workshop drew from the realities, priorities, and aspirations of KKM members, ensuring that the resulting policies reflected their lived experiences as women farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. The workshop culminated in KKM's commitment to integrate into its By-laws provisions that uphold gender equality, advance women's economic empowerment, and help address the burden of unpaid care and domestic work. Participants also drafted priority organizational policies on gender-based violence prevention and response, disaster resilience, leaves and flexible work arrangements, and equal pay and equal opportunities. These policies are intended not only to guide KKM's own operations but also to serve as models that can eventually be adopted and adapted by its member cooperatives and people's organizations across Marinduque.
Beyond policy development, participants conducted a gender assessment of KKM's priority value chains including stingless bee production, copra, pasteurized coconut juice, bagoong, and vegetable production and developed corresponding WEE Action Plans. These identified practical actions to address gender gaps and care-related challenges while strengthening women's participation, leadership, and economic opportunities across the value chains.
KKM is a women-led organization with more than 100 women and men members from farming and fishing communities across the five municipalities of Marinduque. Through its social enterprises, including bagoong and patis production, vegetable gardening, seed banking, organic fertilizer production, and support for community enterprises such as handwoven nito products, KKM has long demonstrated the power of collective action in building resilient rural livelihoods.
The Policy Integration Workshop was facilitated by PRRM in partnership with the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) and Oxfam Pilipinas. The activity forms part of EmpowerHer, a project jointly implemented by ISEA and Oxfam Pilipinas with support from Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government. It supports members of the WEE Connect Community of Practice (CoP), including PRRM, in building more inclusive and resilient agricultural value chains.
By investing in policies rooted in local realities, PRRM and KKM are laying the foundation for organizations where gender equality, care, and women's economic empowerment are embedded not only in programs, but also in governance, workplace practices, and enterprise development.
