Women are the main target population and participants in a women-specific project.

This approach may be particularly appropriate where...

• cultural traditions do not allow women and men to work together
• cultural traditions inhibit women from speaking out or contradicting opinions expressed by men in the community
• male emigration has created new roles and responsibilities for women
• already established autonomous women’s groups have proven their effectiveness as mobilisers and organisers and can collaborate in project implementation
• women have had less formal education than men, and thus may need remedial training to participate as equal partners

Some advantages of the women-specific approach include...

• increased flexibility and responsiveness to women’s needs, particularly for types of training required to encourage and enhance women’s participation
• more decision-making opportunities and leadership roles for women, which can translate into improved self-esteem and respect for women within the community
• the opportunity for women to take initiatives generally considered outside their domain. Project success may change societal perceptions about women’s roles, abilities and economic contribution
• the possibility of creating stronger and enduring women’s institutions which may eventually play catalytic and supportive roles for women’s initiatives

Some disadvantages of the women-specific approach include...

• the risk that it will contribute to continued isolation of women from mainstream development activities
• the danger of these projects being used as token indicators of efforts on behalf of women, without any strong policy commitment to integrating gender concerns into the overall development process
• the tendency to incorporate a strong welfare orientation, rather than elements that promote women’s empowerment

In designing women-specific projects it is important to ensure that...

• the project is placed in a ministry or organisation that has the necessary time, resources and technical expertise. For example, women’s projects placed in Ministries of Social Affairs or Women’s Concerns may prohibit access to technical skills and resources, unless co-ordination with other ministries is pre-arranged
• the project design takes into account the specific realities of women’s. For example, hiring women extension workers in areas where women are the primary beneficiaries is a positive step. Avoid requiring volunteer labour or other non-remunerated inputs from community women who are already overburdened by domestic and/or agricultural responsibilities

An example:

Many factors influence the success of women-specific projects. Intermediary organisations can play a critical role. The roles played by a women’s intermediary organisation during a women’s wasteland development project in India provides some insights into effective approaches.

A project in India worked through rural women’s organisations to achieve the combined objectives of creating access to land for rural women and improving environmental conditions in areas suffering from severe deforestation.

The intermediary group initially played a catalytic role in bringing rural women together and helping identify community problems. Once the analytic process started, the rural women increasingly gained skills in linking up to resources available in the area and identifying viable economic activities.

The intermediary group constantly reviewed its own role in the project and was able to hand over management functions to the women as local administrative capabilities developed. The intermediary group was responsive to the need to equip women with the appropriate skills for making a transition from being wage labourers to owning and working in their own enterprise. Because the intermediary organisation used a combined process of participatory research ands activism, women in the community also collaborated and learned how to undertake their own research.

In addition to its advisory functions, the intermediary organisation also played an advocacy role, initiating a dialogue between the rural women’s groups and policymaking bodies at state and local level.

A women’s component incorporates separate activities for women¾ much like women-specific projects¾ 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 decisionmaking 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 example, 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

Some advantages of incorporating a women’s component into a general project include...

• women have guaranteed access to project resources¾ 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

Some disadvantages of incorporating a women’s component into a general project include...

• if poorly designed or managed, could lead to marginalisation of women’s activities from the main project
• the danger that the component will be sued 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

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 as to other activities; otherwise there is a risk that women will be marginalised 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

An example:

The following were some of the results of an evaluation undertaken four years after the start of a women’s component of a general worker’s education project in Zambia:

"Today, as awareness exists among trade union leaders about the special needs and organising approaches for women... One of the visible results of this awareness is the fact that so far 12 national unions have established a women’s advisory committees and two more are about to. When the project started, there were only three such committees...

...(the project) is likely to have inspired more women to become active trade union members. Indication that this is the case could be shown by the fact that more women are now contesting for leadership positions and requests for new seminars are now coming from the rank and file members."

General projects with gender mainstreamed aim at giving equal opportunities to both men and women as participants and beneficiaries.

This approach may be particularly appropriate where...

• a large number of women fit the criteria (level of education, income level, physical capabilities, etc.) for participation in the project
• a precedent for shared participation among men and women in projects has already been established
• cultural traditions encourage women and men to work together
• the publicity and other forms of information outreach will reach both men and women

Some advantages of implementing general projects with gender mainstreamed include...

• the possibility that women can take full advantage of the resources and high priority that general projects have
• women’s potentially increased access to and influence on decisionmakers
• opportunity for men to work with and share responsibilities with women in the context of the project

Some disadvantages of implementing general projects with gender mainstreamed include...

• the creation of competition between men and women for scarce project resources. Women may lose out because of their lack of experience in negotiating in mixed groups, because of low self-esteem of confidence, or because of distance form informal information networks
• the danger that, if information on women’s role within the project is not identified at the design stage, the project will inadvertently exclude women through choices of promotion mechanisms, location, timing of project, etc.
• the possibility that women will be excluded from employment or training opportunities if male participants have expressed an interest

In designing general projects with gender mainstreamed it is important to ensure that...

• project documents clearly delineate specifically how women will participate in and benefit form each activity
• project design facilitates women’s participation in accordance with their needs and responsibilities
• training and employment opportunities in the project are scheduled to ensure that women can participate equally with men
• continuous monitoring is undertaken, through progress reports and other mechanisms, to allow for assessment of how women have participated in and benefited from project activities

An example:

A well-qualified gender consultant can highlight gender issues that can result in a project’s increased chances of success and better opportunities for women to participate. Below is an example of recommendations made by a team that, for the first time, included a local gender consultant in reviewing a district road improvement project in Botswana:

The participation of nursing mothers as casual labourers was given special attention by the review team. Although there had been no complaint about the productivity of nursing mothers, a concern was raised by the team in order to:

• establish standards related to the working conditions of nursing mothers that would presence their rights to participate in the project
• protect productive roles of women with family responsibilities
• ensure the legitimate right of the child to be fed

The review therefore recommended that guidelines be established to set aside time for feeding babies during working hours.

Participation of a gender consultant also had an effect on improving recruitment policies. At an early stage, the general guidelines for all project sites required that at least 20-25 percent of employed workers in field operations be women. However, the reality was that in some districts, this requirement resulted in discrimination, because the percentage of women that turned up for recruitment was significantly higher than the percentage required. The review therefore recommended that to secure opportunity for women and men on the employment programme, the percentage of women recruited should correspond to the percentage of women responding to the call for employment. The recommendations about breastfeeding and securing of equal opportunities for women were both incorporated into the project’s next phase.