Classification of gender roles into four categories Gender roles can be classified into four roles as follows: 1. Reproductive roles: These are roles fulfilled by women and men and include all work linked to childbearing and child-rearing responsibilities, as well as domestic chores. The reproductive role is crucial to human survival, yet is seldom considered real work. In poor communities, the reproductive role comprises, for the most part, intensive manual labour and is time-consuming. It is always the responsibility of women and girls. 2. Productive roles: These roles entail work done for money or in kind. Both men and women can be involved in productive work, but, for the most part, their functions and responsibilities will differ according to gender division of labour. What differs is what they get out of it. Women’s productive work is less visible and less valued than men’s. 3. Community managerial roles: These roles comprise community work and are an extension of reproductive work; hence such roles are dominated by women. This is work that involves the collective organisation of: social events and services; ceremonies and celebrations; community-improvement activities; participation in groups and organisations; and local political activities. This type of work is seldom considered to have economic benefits for the community. 4. Constituency-based political roles: These are made up of the political and decisionmaking roles fulfilled at community, local and national levels. Men tend to hold the majority of leadership positions. Gender and power relations Society determines who does what, when and where in terms of sex, age, social status, etc. Gender roles are the socially, culturally and economically determined relations between women and men. These roles also encompass the various types of relationships between them. Factors that influence power relations between men and women are the following: • Access: The opportunity to make use of something; • Control: The ability to determine or decide who, when and where someone can do something and to be able to impose this on others, such as the use of resources and food allocation; • Resources: Productive or economic resources such as land, equipment, tools, money, credit and skills; • Political resources: Include such aspects as leadership, education, information, prestige and self-esteem; • Time: That is available for various activities such as productive, reproductive and community labour; and • Physical strength: Whether real or imagined. Benefits enjoyed by men as a result of unequal power relations include: • More educational opportunities; • More employment opportunities; • Greater access to resources; • The control of resources; • The power to make decisions; and • Freedom of movement and association. 70 Community Healing: A training manual for Zimbabwe