| Definition |
A women's component incorporates separate activites for women -- much like women-specific projects -- within a larger general project. In most cases, specific financial support and project staff have been designated for these activities. |
| This approach may be particularly appropriate where: |
- cultural traditions do not allow women and men to work together
- women want to be trained or undertake other activities separately, in an effort to ensure that they occupy decision-making position roles within the project and also retain control over project outputs
- an objective is to allow for awareness-raising among women on their rights and to build their self confidence
- the eligibility criteria for the general project may otherwise limit women's participation, for e.g., heavy collateral requirements for credit projects might reduce women's participation, as might a requirement of volunteer labour during plantation or harvest seasons
- women have had less formal education than men, and thus often need additional remedial training to participate as equal partners
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| Some advantages of incorporating a women's component into a general project include: |
- women have guaranteed access to project resources -- both qualified personnel and financial
- women have equal access with men to the general project's main activities, whether these include training or employment. At the same time special arrangements can be made for women who may need separate training
- the possibility that the women's component will share with the rest of the project, greater visibility and attention from planners
- increased opportunities for phasing some or all aspects of the women's component into the general project as appropriate and desired
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| Some disadvantages of incorporating a women's component into a general project include: |
- if poorly designed or managed, could lead to marginalization of women's activities from the main project
- the danger that the component will be suit to satisfy government, donor or development agency requirements for including women without actually offering the same resources and skills as the rest of the project receives. The danger also exists that the staff of the larger project will ignore the women's component or use it to justify that women are not given the opportunity to participate in the larger project
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| In designing a women's component in a general project it is important to ensure that: |
- the same priority is given to women's activities; otherwise there is a risk that women will be marginalized within the project
- data disaggregated by sex and indicators are incorporated as much as possible into the project document at its preparatory stage. This information makes it possible to later assess how the project served women and its positive and negative impacts
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