Unit 3: How to mainstream gender in ILO operations

Gender-responsive monitoring and evaluation

Tool: ILO’s Checklist of Gender Considerations in Terms of Reference (TORs) for Independent Evaluation Missions

1. Purpose and scope
2. Concept and design of the programme
3. Programme implementation
4. Programme performance
5. International labour standards
6. Composition of the evaluation mission
7. Sources and consultations in the field
8. Findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned

[Note: This checklist is adapted from ILO’s "Guidelines for the Integration of Gender Issues into the Design, Monitoring and Evaluation of ILO Programmes and Projects", PROG/EVAL, ILO, January 1995, Geneva.]

The terms of reference (TORs) for independent evaluation missions should explicitly request the evaluation team members to assess the effects of the programme on men and women among the target group, and to identify whether the programme has actively sought to promote equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women workers. If the programme document and subsequent progress review and self-evaluation reports are not gender specific, there is a high chance that women have not participated in and benefited from the programme on an equal footing with men.

1. Purpose and scope

• Indicate whether there were imbalances in the position of men and women within the target groups and whether the programme has explicitly sought to redress these imbalances.

• Specify the different needs of men and women and to what extent the needs of both groups have been addressed.

• Describe the effects of the programme on men and women. Describe whether women have participated and benefited equally from the programme.

• Describe the action undertaken to minimise negative effects and maximise positive effects on the promotion of equality in employment.

2. Concept and design of the programme

• Describe whether the programme document provided adequate guidance on how to address the relevant gender issues.

3. Programme implementation

• Identify whether progress review and self-evaluation reports provided information on the participation rates of men and women in the programme.

• If such data are not available, the evaluation team should assess how many men and women have participated in the programme and in what way.

• If the proportion of women who participated in and benefited from the programme is low, identify the reasons and take remedial action.

• In such cases one or more of the following constraints may have to be addressed:
  • a low level of gender awareness among the staff of the programme and/or the partner organisations at the policy making and/or implementation levels. This results in incorrect assumptions on women’s roles and needs which are not based on factual information, make women’s work invisible and neglect women’s potential to participate in and benefit from the programme.
  • lack of gender specificity in the programme document.
  • insufficient representation of women and women’s organisations in the programme’s steering or advisory committee(s).
  • a low level of gender awareness among the target population.
  • existence of socio-cultural norms or legal barriers which may prohibit or inhibit women’s participation in the programme.
  • low commitment or interest among women because the programme does not address their needs or increases their workload.
  • lower educational levels of women.
  • organisational arrangements such as the timing, location or duration of programme activities which may form a barrier to women’s participation.
  • use of communication channels which are not accessible to women.

4. Programme performance

1. Effectiveness

• Assess the effectiveness of the programme, i.e. the degree of the achievement of the objectives and the effects of the programme on the target groups.

• Describe the intended beneficiaries/participants. What are the differences between men and women and/or between women in the:
  • division of labour, their roles and participation patterns in the socio-economic sector(s) concerned
  • access to and control over resources and benefits
  • needs
  • constraints and/or opportunities in the economic, demographic, social, cultural, political, legal and institutional environment for the promotion of gender equality.

• If the programme is geared towards institutional development, describe the capacity of the direct recipients to address the needs of men and women and to promote gender equality. Describe:
  • the type of organisation, major areas of intervention and general capacity to plan and implement activities for women workers
  • the nature and extent of gender specific policies and activities, and experience with women workers’ issues
  • the organisational structure for addressing women workers’ issues
  • the concern with gender equality within the organisation and the perceptions on gender issues among the staff at various levels of the organisation and how these affect their work.

  Indicators of the above may be:

  • the type and scope of policies and programmes on women and gender issues
  • the proportion of male/female staff
  • the levels and occupations of men and women within the organisation
  • facilities and support systems for workers with family responsibilities.

• If imbalances exist between the position of men and women, have women-specific activities and/or positive action measures been designed and implemented to enable women to participate in and benefit equally from the programme?

• Describe the effects of the programme on the situation of men and women within the target groups. Describe whether men and women participate in and benefit equally from the programme.

• Describe any unanticipated positive and/or negative effects on the situation of men and women within the targeted groups.

• Describe any internal and/or external factors which have positively or negatively influenced the programme’s effects on the situation of men and women within the target groups.

• Describe ways to improve the effectiveness of the programme in addressing the needs of men and women, and promoting gender equality.

2. Relevance

• Assess the relevance of the programme, i.e. the usefulness of the programme’s results and its success in meeting the needs of the target groups.

• Describe whether the different needs of men and women have been identified and determine whether these needs still exist.

• Describe whether the programme addresses practical and strategic gender needs.

• Indicate the views of women and women’s organisations on the usefulness of the programme in meeting their needs.

• Describe alternative ways of meeting the needs of men and women within the target groups.

3. Efficiency

• Assess the efficiency of the programme, i.e. compare the allocated resources with the results obtained.

• Explain whether the programme has fully utilised and developed both men and women’s potential.

• Assess whether there are alternative ways of promoting gender equality in the programme.

4. Sustainability

• Assess the sustainability of the programme, i.e. its longer-term impact after withdrawal of external support.

• Identify the long-term commitment and the technical and financial capacity of local/national institutions and the target groups to continue the promotion of gender equality.

• Ensure that the required human and material resources will be made available to continue and further develop activities for the promotion of gender equality.

5. International labour standards

• Review whether the programme conforms with international labour standards, in particular those on human rights and the relevant technical fields.

• A number of standards specifically address subjects where many women workers face constraints. They explicitly address basic women’s rights and should be applied and promoted in all ILO programmes. These standards deal with:
  • equal remuneration
  • equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in employment
  • workers with family responsibilities
  • maternity protection

6. Composition of the evaluation mission

• Assign responsibility for assessing gender issues within the programme to the whole evaluation team.

• If the programme contains a substantive gender specific component or if it has not been gender specific while a considerable degree of gender inequality is known or expected to exist, at least one of the team members should be a gender specialist in the sector(s) or technical field(s) covered by the programme.

• If prevalent norms preclude contact between men and women, at least one of the team members should be a woman to enable consultations with women of the target group.

• Ensure that the job descriptions of the evaluation team members are stated in gender neutral terms and avoid linguistic biases.

• Encourage an equal balance among men and women staff.

• Provide equal remuneration to men and women for work of equal value.

7. Sources and consultations in the field

• The evaluation team members should be given the opportunity to speak with women from the target groups and to consult with gender specialists.

8. Findings, conclusions, recommendations and lessons learned

• List the main accomplishments and/or drawbacks of the programme in addressing the needs of men and women and promoting gender equality.

• Provide guidance for planning and implementation of the ongoing programme and for future programme design.

Module Homepage