Unit 3: How to mainstream gender in ILO operations
Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation
CIDA’s Guide to Gender-Sensitive Indicators
What are gender-sensitive indicators?
The CIDA Guide defines an indicator as summarising a large amount of information in a single figure in such a way as to give an indication of change over time. Gender-sensitive indicators use quantitative and qualitative data to capture gender-related changes in society over time. They provide "direct evidence of the status of women, relative to some agreed normative standard or explicit reference group."
Why should they be used?
The Guide answers that their usefulness lies in their ability to point to changes in the status and roles of men and women over time, and therefore to measure whether gender equity is being achieved. Because use of indicators and other relevant evaluation techniques will lead to a better understanding of how results can be achieved, using gender-sensitive indicators will also feed into more effective future planning and programme delivery.
[For further details and copies of CIDA’s Guide to Gender-Sensitive Indicators, please contact:
Ms. Marnie Girvan, Director, Women in Development and Gender Equity, CIDA
200, Promenade du Portage, Hull, Quebec, Canada K1A OG4
Ph: 819-994-3256; Fax: 819-953-6356]