A cooperative ("co-op") is an autonomous, people-centred organization grounded in democratic governance and social equity that can serve as a vehicle for women's economic empowerment and inclusion. Cooperatives are based on 6 core values; self-help, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity. The cooperative model includes non-profit community organizations and businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use their services, such as, consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Co-ops can take on a variety of forms, ranging from officially registered cooperatives to loosely organized groups of neighbours, family, and kin networks. While cooperatives were early adopters in giving women equal voting and membership rights, recent efforts have shifted from focusing on numerical presence to ensuring women have influence over decision-making, finance, and strategic direction.

Women participate in cooperatives across many sectors, including agriculture, care work, and craft and artisan production, allowing them to gain fairer wages, training, access to markets and financial services. Cooperatives and credit cooperatives are often described as a communal alternative or complement to microcredit, and federated models like Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), have helped women move from informal economy to the formal economy. More recent areas of activity include efforts to bridge the digital gender divide through platform cooperativism and low technology tools, and the role of women-led cooperatives in environmental sustainability and a just transition.

Despite cooperatives' democratic structures, gender norms and cultural practices contribute to women's disproportionately low representation in cooperative membership around the world, and lower still in leadership and management positions. Women also face barriers such as limited access to land, finance, and education. Since the 1990s, international bodies including the International Cooperative Alliance and the International Labour Organization have promoted gender equality in the cooperative moment. Women's cooperatives, run by and composed entirely of women, may be structured to make participation easier.

Economic and social empowerment Rachel MacHenry argues that cooperatives have several common features that are particularly beneficial to women, including "ensuring a fair return on work, support for members, safe working conditions, availability of pooled or purchased raw materials, and access to viable markets."MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.). Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 29. Furthermore, she says that they serve as a "crucial link" between Western markets and local kin-based structures in developing countries. In the same collection of essays, Brenda Rosebaum says that a cooperative can go beyond simply providing an income for the poor women members involved or stimulating the larger community in which it is located, cooperatives have "empowered" women, "enhanced their dignity, and greatly improved their quality of life."Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 85-106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 102

In a study of a Nepalese women's cooperative, Rachel MacHenry found that social barriers among women were broken down due to the inclusion of women of different classes, castes, and ethnicities. Moreover, these women often bonded over common experiences and similar motivations for participation in the cooperative. Other shifts occurred in women's independence, including reports of increased physical mobility, including more confidence walking alone as well as riding public transportation. Women also benefited from an increased self-worth and more confidence in interactions with family members and upper class people. Some women weavers felt that they had gained more bargaining power in the eyes of business people who had previously exploited them; other women claimed that they had gained a larger sense of their value and overall contribution to their own households.MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.). Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 32-33.

Another principal benefits of cooperative work is that it allows women the opportunity to gain a decent wage while still leaving time and freedom for other responsibilities important to them such as caring for children and families.Rosenbaum, B. (2000). "Of women, hope, and angels: Fair trade and artisan production in a squatter settlement in Guatemala City." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.)., Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (pp. 85–106). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 102. Furthermore, benefits often trickle down to the children of women engaged in cooperatives. In the case of the cooperative UPAVIM in Guatemala, a strong emphasis was placed on savings for children's education.

Organizational structures Women's cooperatives are often built on ideas of sisterhood, equality, and strength from unity. Consequently, many have rejected hierarchical organizational structures in favor of more democratic participation where every member's input counts equally. Some cooperatives require consensus (instead of compromise or majority approval) for decision-making. Equal participation relies on individuals verbally articulating their opinions to the group; this in itself can be unequal since more experienced and articulate members can dominate discussions. Unlike in profit-oriented organizations, outcomes can be measured in terms of politics and policy, cultural outcomes, mobilization, and self-development.Desouza, Shaila (2012). "The Strength of Collective Processes: An 'Outcome Analysis' of Women's Collectives in India". Indian Journal of Gender Studies. 19(3): 373–392 – via SAGE.

Sectors

Agricultural sector

In Africa, though women account for roughly 80% of food production, they receive less than 10% of credit offered to small-scale farmers and only 7% of agricultural extension services. They own less than 1% of all land. By permitting women farmers to join as a cooperative, individuals are better able to acquire inputs, production services, and marketing for their produce. This enhances productive capacity and opens access to markets that would not be possible for an individual operating alone. Furthermore, there is “solid evidence” that membership in a cooperative enhances productivity, income, and quality of life for the person involved, as well as the greater community.

Care work sector Women are over-represented in paid care work the world over, and care work is oftentimes undervalued and underpaid. Those performing it have low levels of collective organization, low bargaining power, inadequate working conditions, as well as low access to business inputs that are needed in the care sector like in any other. Women also have gender-specific health needs regarding reproduction, and "are major (potential) consumers of health and care services, such as maternal health and maternity protection, HIV/AIDS prevention and mitigation, or child or elderly care services."

Cooperatives contribute to a positive change for working women both as providers and recipients of health care services. In Africa, where cooperatively organized care provision has in many cultural contexts been an intrinsic part of the social fabric, it is today gaining visibility, and increasing in the range of services provided and level of formality. For example, the Soweto Home-Based Care Givers Co-operative, which was set up in 2001, provides "nursing care, counseling, hospital transport and food parcel distribution to people living with HIV/AIDS". In other regions of the world, examples abound of women working in the care sector improving their working conditions and accessing much-needed services. For instance, the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India runs cooperatively operated childcare centres and maternity benefits via an insurance cooperative as part of a holistic response to the needs of women.

Craft and artisan sector

By engaging in artisan cooperatives, women can gain new skills and training, access higher quality raw materials, and get paid for finished work directly upon delivery at the cooperative marketplace. In addition, they often have access to benefit programs for cooperative product producers. In a Nepalese textile cooperative, this included such things as, "a savings and loan system, retirement fund, bonus program, girl-child education fund, health services, peer counseling, legal counseling, and a fair price shop."MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.), Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., p. 29. Cooperatives also secure connections with alternative trade organizations (ATOs) that help connect members with buyers, obtain orders, and export the artisan work to markets around the world.MacHenry, R. (2000). "Building on local strategies: Nepalese fair trade textiles." In K. M. Grimes & B. L. Milgram (Eds.), Artisans and cooperatives: Developing alternative trade for the global economy (p. 25-44). Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press., pp. 29–30.

Global and regional policy frameworks

Legal constraints A study carried out by the ILO found that cooperative laws are "gender neutral" and do not directly discriminate against women. However, in reality laws intended to protect women are ignored in favor of cultural norms or are maneuvered around.Nippierd, A. (2002). "Gender issues in cooperatives." Geneva, Switzerland: International Labour Organization, p. 2 Most legal barriers to women's cooperative membership are largely indirect and written into cooperative bylaws, such as rules that only one member per family can have membership when the cultural norm encourages male membership as a first choice.ILO, Legal Constraints to Women's Participation in Cooperatives, ILO Cooperative Branch, Geneva, 2002. In agricultural cooperatives, it is often the case that membership requires land ownership, and since women are severely underrepresented in land ownership the world over, this serves to inhibit women from joining.

Conflict areas Conflicts are rampant in the Middle East and cooperatives are thus able to make huge strides for women. Participation by women in these areas is especially limited and usually confined to small, women-only cooperatives, mainly because overall number of cooperatives equals less than 1 percent of employment opportunities in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, and Iraq combined. Women's land ownership and employment rates are also extremely low in these areas, with women holding less than one-fourth of all jobs.

During times of conflict, cooperatives may be most advantageous because they enable members to accumulate savings, pool resources, access credit, and share risks. By combining the power of rural women in conflict states who would have achieved very little by themselves, cooperatives provide a functional tool for empowerment and economic independence, in addition to providing a “long-term sustainable socioeconomic recovery” following conflict.

Financial inclusion and cooperative banking

Alternative/complement to microcredit