International Labour Organization

SEAPAT

South-East Asia and the Pacific Multidisciplinary Advisory Team

Table of Contents

• A. Defining the issues/problems
• B. Formulating the strategy
• C. Identifying the target group
• D. Setting up the institutional work
• E. Specifying the objectives and indicators for success
• F. Defining outputs, activities and inputs
• G. Specifying monitoring and evaluation procedures

A. Defining the issues

• Consider the different roles, needs and interests of men and women at the earlier stages of the programming cycle and the highest levels of policy formulation.
• Collect and analyse information on gender roles and needs, on the nature and extent of direct and indirect gender-based discrimination and on possible barriers to women’s participation in and benefits from the programme/project.
• Ensure that, as far as possible, data are broken down not just by sex but also by geographical area and social stratification.
• Undertake gender analysis (see annex I and II).
• In undertaking the gender analysis, determine what assumptions have been made explicitly or implicitly about the roles and needs of women and whether these are stereotyped or factual and relevant to the particular context.
• Involve both men and women participants whenever possible at this stage: make sure that women have the opportunity to articulate their needs, constraints and priorities.
  • Ensure the active participation of women and women’s organisations in programme or project design (including identification of priorities) and implementation, so as to enhance the effectiveness of activities undertaken.
  • Involve counterparts experienced in dealing with gender concerns and needs in the country, e.g., the national focal point on women, NGOs, women’s action groups.
  • If the above information is not available, indicate how it will be collected and taken into account in the design of the programme. If preparatory activities are needed to make the programme gender-responsive, describe clearly whether these activities will form part of the proposed programme (as a first phase, for example) or whether they will be undertaken as a separately funded activity prior to its start.

B. Formulating the strategy

• Address equality concerns in all mainstream programmes or projects and develop strategies that benefit both men and women.
• Where women are currently seriously disadvantaged relative to men or are especially vulnerable, consider the design of women-specific activities and/or positive action measures.
• Ensure that the outcome of the gender analysis is used when developing the strategy, i.e. undertake gender planning (for the various design options, see annex II):
  • Identify how men and women can equally participate in and benefit from the programme (mainstreaming strategies). Develop specific interventions and organisational arrangements needed for the promotion of gender equality, for example: do women need additional training because they have received less education? Can women participants be effectively reached by male extension workers or is it necessary to reach them through female extension workers?
  • If imbalances exist between the position of men and women and where women are in especially vulnerable positions, consider whether women-specific activities and/or positive action are necessary in order to allow women to participate and benefit from the programme on an equal footing with men.
  • The type of strategies to be developed will depend on the scope of the programme. However, a series of general principles and practical measures have proven to effectively contribute towards the promotion of equality between men and women in employment:
    • Avoid linguistic biases and gender stereotyping.
    • Apply a multidisciplinary, integrated and holistic approach.
    • Include measures which address both practical and strategic gender needs.
    • Give explicit attention to awareness raising/advocacy and gender sensitisation.
    • Foster the necessary institutional and group structures, including the active participation and mobilisation of women and their organisations.
    • Give attention to sustainability of efforts.
    • Allocate adequate human and material resources.
  • Ensure that the programme is in conformity with international labour standards, in particular, those on basic human rights and on the relevant technical fields. A number of standards explicitly address basic women’s rights and should be respected and promoted. These standards deal with equal remuneration, equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment, workers with family responsibilities and maternity protection.

C. Identifying the target group

• When specifying the target groups, avoid general terms such as "informal sector workers" and the "rural poor". These terms often implicitly refer to men, even if women form a large part of these groups. Make sure that the immediate objectives explicitly refer to the men and women intended participants.
• Describe the key characteristics of the intended men and women participants in terms of sex, occupation/employment status, economic sectors, socio-economic status, ethnic and social origin, and age (as identified in the gender analysis).
• Assess the extent to which the intended men and women participants are a homogenous group and highlight the differentials among the participants themselves.
• Ensure that the programme benefits such as training opportunities, provision of credit and other services are distributed according to the existing male/female proportion. If women have so far been under-represented and/or benefited less than men, determine to what extent more programmes benefits should be made available to them.
• Show that even where the direct participants of a programme or project are intended to be women, indirectly men and children in the families and communities will also benefit.

D. Setting up the institutional framework

• Assess the capacity of intermediary governmental and non-governmental organisations to address the needs of men and women and to promote gender equality in employment and, where required, provide for strengthening and capacity building of local institutions.
• It is necessary to assess the capacity of the institution(s) concerned in addressing the needs of men and women and promoting gender equality. Analyse the following issues:
  • Type or organisation, major areas of intervention and general capacity to plan and implement activities.
  • Nature and extent of policies on, and activities and experience with women workers’ issues.
  • The organisational structure to address women workers’ issues.
  • The "gender openness" within the institution. Indicators may be: the proportion of male-female staff, the levels and specific occupations of men and women within the organisation, facilities and support systems to workers with family responsibilities.
  • Perceptions on gender issues among the staff at the various levels of the organisation and how these affect their work.
• Identify and solicit the cooperation of all relevant agencies to ensure the necessary support and inputs for meeting women’s multi-faceted needs. Particular attention should be given to encourage tripartite cooperation and collaboration. The establishment of an advisory or steering committee for the programme or project involving the various agencies, including representatives of women’ organisations, is one practical measure worth considering.
• Given that many representatives of partner organisations - the majority of which are men - may not have sufficient expertise in gender issues, it is important that they are informed about and agree on the promotion of gender equality through the programme.
• Undertake information sessions on the promotion of gender equality with policy makers and senior management of the partner organisations involved.
• Undertake job-related gender training with the staff to be involved in implementation.

E. Specifying the objectives and indicators for success

• Be gender-specific and explicit and ensure that the objectives reflect women’s priority concerns.
• In institutional development (components of) programmes: if the organisation to be strengthened needs to build up a specific capacity (by undertaking specific measures or by setting up new organisational arrangements) in order to ensure that women will be reached and that they will benefit from the services provided, formulate a separate immediate objective for this purpose.
• In direct support (components of) programmes: if specific measures or organisational arrangements are needed to ensure that women will be reached and that they will benefit from the services to be provided, formulate a separate immediate objective for this purpose.
• Develop indicators to enable the measurement of progress made under the programme towards the promotion of equality and opportunity of treatment between men and women workers.
• Develop indicators to enable the measurement of thenature and extent of the benefits accruing to men and women under the programme.
• Consider whether it is necessary to establish gender-specific baseline data prior to or at the start of the programme or project to enable the comparison between the pre-programme and the end-of-programme situation.
• Ensure the systematic collection of data which is necessary to assess the impact of the programme on men and women.
• Analyse and follow-up on the differential impact of programme or project interventions on women and men at the monitoring and evaluation stages of the programming cycle.

F. Defining outputs, activities and inputs

• In defining the OUTPUTS, be precise and gender specific:
  • State clearly how many men and women will participate in the programme and in what way, and also how women and men will participate in each activity.
  • In institutional development (components of) programmes: specify the men/women proportion among the clients of the institution and ensure that both men and women intended participants are reached. Consider whether explicit provisions need to be made to ensure that men and women will benefit equally from the planned interventions. Determine the measures necessary to develop the institutional capacity towards the promotion of gender equality.
  • In direct assistance (components of) programmes: specify the men/women proportion among the intended participants. Consider whether explicit provisions need to be made to ensure that men and women will benefit equally from the planned interventions. Determine the need for organising information or advocacy sessions in the communities or at the workplace to ensure that the rationale for the promotion of gender equality is understood and accepted by men and women. Use communication channels that are accessible to women participants.
  • In research (components of) programmes: disaggregate data by sex; explicit information should become available about the specific situation, constraints and opportunities of both men and women, in particular the most vulnerable.
  • In training (components of) programmes/projects: state explicitly how many men and women among the intended participants and/or direct recipients will be trained, in what subject(s) and to what level(s). Consider whether women trainees need additional training, for example, because of lower educational levels or lack of confidence. Ensure that training materials do not contain gender stereotypes or linguistic biases. Consider also whether women need other support services, such as child care, to be able to avail themselves of the training opportunities.
  • In policy advice: ensure that women’s role, needs and participation, as well as specific constraints are explicitly taken into consideration. Consider whether additional measures are needed to provide the enabling environment for women’s equal participation, for instance, by removing legal or socio-cultural barriers.
• In organising ACTIVITIES, ensure that women participants and/or direct recipients are able to participate equally with men:
  • Consider the timing, location and duration of activities. Due to women’s double workload (household responsibilities and other duties) they generally have less free time than men and cannot be absent from the household for long periods.
  • If women cannot (freely) speak in mixed groups, organise separate meetings or training for them and arrange for women staff to communicate with them.
  • Organise physical arrangements (duration of training, travel arrangements, accommodation and sanitary facilities) in such a way that women can (get permission to) participate.
  • Given that women participants and/or direct recipients are often responsible for young children, arrange where appropriate, for child care facilities at the training venue.
  • Seize any opportunity to demonstrate that the integration of women in development activities is not a zero sum game and that men, families and communities can benefit (include sensitisation/awareness raising/advocacy activities).
  • Consider social sustainability: i.e., whether upon completion of the project activities, women will continue to be able to participate in and benefit from the interventions introduced (the more women are empowered by the project activities in terms of increasing their autonomy and self-reliance, the more they will be able to help themselves in the longer term).
• In identifying INPUTS:
  • Ensure that sufficient human and financial resources are allocated for the gender specific components of the programme or project.
  • Determine whether specific quotas should be set for men’s and women’s access to resources (sometimes, it may be necessary to earmark funds by sex).
  • Verify whether gender expertise is required in personnel inputs. If so, be explicit and include reference to gender issues/Gender and Development expertise in job descriptions or term of reference of consultants.
  • Allocate responsibility for the promotion of gender equality to all staff in the programme or project. Include the responsibility for the promotion of gender equality in job descriptions of personnel and terms of reference of consultants.
  • If women participants cannot be effectively reached by male staff, determine the number of female staff required. As far as possible, encourage an equal balance among male and female staff, and provide equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value.
  • Identify and use communication channels that will most effectively reach women to publicise programme opportunities and benefits and to encourage their participation.

G. Specifying monitoring and reporting procedures

• Indicate that all data to be gathered have to be disaggregated by sex as part of the routine reporting, monitoring and evaluation procedures.
• Ensure that there are indicators specified to reflect the contributions of and benefits to women.

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Created by SF. Approved by WRB. Last updated on 31 August 1999.