International Labour Organization
SEAPAT
South-East Asia and the Pacific Multidisciplinary Advisory Team

What is gender analysis?

Tool: Participatory Exercise in Gender Analysis: Understanding the Decision-making Process

The following tool is a participatory exercise that may be used when conducting gender analysis with the participation of client communities. It helps analyse gender differences in power and patterns of decision-making.

Purpose: To encourage and stimulate people to understand and evaluate the decision-making process and their participation in it.

Time: 1 to 1.5 hours

Audience: Primarily community members; also useful for trainers, project staff and field workers.

Materials needed:

• Five large cards (an outside official, a village official, a village or water committee, a community woman, and a community man).
• Twelve smaller cards depicting key decision points or factors within a water supply project, such as: site selection, construction, planning, design, fee collection maintenance, technology choices.

1. Place the large cards on the ground, and explain that each represents a person or group that has influence on how projected decisions are made. The exercise can be simplified by reducing the number of decision-makers.
1. Pass out to the participants the smaller cards of project decision points, and ask them to suggest what each card represents. Misconceptions should be clarified before proceeding.
1. Ask the participants to discuss who determined the decision at each of these points or on each of these issues. Initiate a free-flowing discussion about the decision-making process touching on key issues, such as:

• Is there a system in place for decision-making and who participates in it?
• Who makes the decision about undertaking repairs? Who determines the amount of monthly contributions?
• How were technology choices made?
• Who gets water first and who determines that?
• Who controls the valves that are used?
• Who is responsible for repairs, and are they paid for their services?
• How is conflict resolved?

4. When consensus is reached, have the participants place the cards with the picture of the key decision-maker. If there is no consensus, note the differences and proceed with the process.
1. If people are not satisfied with their role in decision-making, this becomes clear and the discussion can then focus on what changes the community would like to see. Gender differences also become clear and can be discussed.

Module Homepage

For further information, please contact the South-East Asia and the Pacific Multidisciplinary
Advisory Team (SEAPAT) at Tel: +63.2.815.2354 or Fax: +63.2.812.6143
E-mail: seapat@ilo.org