Background Paper Series

UNICEF Gender Policy and Action Plan 2022-2025

Gender-Transformative Programming
Rachel Marcus, Fiona Samuels, Shoubo Jalal, and Helen Belachew

Abstract

1. Background
(a) What constitutes a gender-transformative approach?
(b) Transforming what?
 Table 1: Approaches and concepts
 Figure 1: Gender integration continuum

2. Strategies
(a) Key change strategies
(b) Gender-transformative programming across sectors
 Table 2: Gender-transformative outcomes
 Figure 2: Strategies to achieve results

3. Recommendations
(a) Programming
(b) Institutional change

4. References

5. Annexes
Annex 1: Gender-transformative programming: Definitions and elements
Annex 2: Measurement
Annex 3: Gender integration continuum
Annex 4: GenderPro

1
Abstract
This paper describes key components and qualities of gender-transformational approaches to programming. There is
an increasing recognition of gender inequality as a key obstacle to the realization of children’s rights and lasting
improvements to their health and well-being.

Gender-transformative approaches address root causes to redress gender inequalities, remove structural barriers, and
empower disadvantaged populations by making changes in law and policy; adapting and improving systems and
services; distribution of resources, and changing negative or harmful norms and beliefs (including stereotypes),
behaviours, and practices.

1. Background

(a) What constitutes a gender-transformative approach?1, 2

At their core, transformative approaches address root causes to achieve lasting change.3 Gender-transformative
approaches thus aim to address the structural and social root causes of gender inequality and thereby promote more
equitable outcomes for children in all their diversity. In so doing, they aim both to change overall structures that
underpin gender inequality and to contribute to lasting change in individuals’ lives. The most popular definition comes
from the Inter-agency Working Group for gender equality:

A transformative approach promotes gender equality by:

 fostering critical examination of inequalities and gender roles, norms and dynamics
 recognizing and strengthening positive norms that support equality and an enabling environment
 promoting the relative position of women, girls and marginalized groups
 and transforming the underlying social structures, policies, systems and broadly held social norms that
perpetuate and legitimize gender inequalities.4

(b) Transforming what?

A gender-transformative approach is concerned with redressing gender inequalities, removing structural barriers, such
as unequal roles and rights5 and empowering disadvantaged populations. In practice, as we detail in Section 2, this
means working for change in: laws and policies; systems and services; distribution of resources; norms, beliefs and
stereotypes; and behaviour and practices.

Related concepts
Table 1 outlines how different gender equality concepts and terminology relate to a gender-transformative approach.
Clarity about these concepts is essential for effective gender analysis and can help build a strong theory of change for
future gender-transformative work.

1 UNICEF. 2019. Realizing Potential: Evaluation of UNICEF’s Gender Action Plans. Final Report. New York, NY: UNICEF.
2 Not all organizations with a gender equality mandate frame their objectives this way. The terminology of gender transformation is
more common in organizations undertaking or funding direct activities (programming) – for example, Plan International, Save the
Children, USAID, and BGMF. Organizations whose primary focus is supporting feminist movements tend to frame their goals in
terms of gender justice, or women’s empowerment. These include Gender at Work, AWID, and GADN.
3 Save the Children. 2014. Engendering Transformational Change: Save the Children Gender Equality Program Guidance & Toolkit.

Ontario: Save the Children.

4 Interagency Gender Working Group. 2017. The Gender Integration Continuum. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.
5 There are many ways to conceptualise structural barriers and ways to address them. The GRASSP conceptual framework suggests

that they operate through three “gender inequality pathways”: Unequal gender roles in the reproductive and economic domains;
unequal power relations, and exclusion from rights, entitlements and opportunities. (UNICEF. 2020. “Gender-Responsive Age-
Sensitive Social Protection: A Conceptual Framework,” Innocenti Working Papers no. 2020-10. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research
– Innocenti.).

2
Table 1: Gender-transformative approaches and related concepts

Concept Definitions and relationship to gender-transformative approach

Empowerment There are many, varied definitions of empowerment. UNICEF’s Technical Note on adolescent
empowerment (also applicable to adults and younger children) defines it as a “personal journey
during which an adolescent (age 10-19), through increased assets and critical awareness develops
a clear and evolving understanding of themselves, their rights and opportunities in the world
around them, and through increased agency, and voice and participation, have the power to make
personal and public choices for the improvement of their lives and their world.”6

The Technical Note also argues that supporting empowerment requires efforts to ‘transform the
structures, institutions and dynamics which reinforce and perpetuate inequity and barriers’.
Promoting the empowerment of women, girls and people of diverse gender identities is a core
aspect of gender-transformative programming.

Feminist Feminist approaches seek to transform patriarchal power structures and to empower those
approach disadvantaged by them: most often girls and women, but in some cases, also men and boys and
people of non-conforming gender identities.7 Feminist approaches are one of the key conceptual
foundations upon which gender-transformative approaches are built. Contemporary feminist
approaches are intersectional8 – they take into account the way people experience multiple forms
of discrimination and oppression based on different aspects of their identity (e.g. race, gender,
class, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity).

Gender equality Gender equality refers to equal outcomes for women, men, girls, boys and gender-diverse people.9
and equity Gender equity refers to fairness: the process of levelling the playing field to achieve gender
equality. Gender-transformative approaches are a way to operationalize gender equity, with the
goal of achieving gender equality through intentional and additional measures.

Gender A strategy for making the needs and interests of all genders an integral part of the design,
mainstreaming implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, policies and organizational processes,
so that everyone has the opportunity to benefit equally, and inequality is not perpetuated. 10 This is
a potential route to transforming gendered outcomes at all levels, but in practice, there is a risk of
it being reduced to a bureaucratic process, that avoids engaging with power inequalities. 11

Gender norms Informal social rules defining the expected behaviour of people of a particular gender. Gender
norms form part of structures that underpin gender inequality and are a key target of change in
gender-transformative approaches. Transforming gender norms requires change at all levels
(individual, family, community, systems and services, and policy).

6 UNICEF. 2020. Technical Note on Adolescent Empowerment. Draft under review. New York, NY: UNICEF. Each of these categories
encompasses or enables various other elements – for example, agency includes decision-making. Voice enables women and girls to
secure bodily integrity.
7 AWID’s website contains multiple resources on different aspects of feminism
8 Crenshaw, K. 1989. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine,

Feminist Theory and Antiracist politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum 1989(1): article 8.
9 Women’s Health West. 2019. “What is the difference between gender equity and gender equality. What does this have to do with

violence against women?” Melbourne: Women’s Health West.

10 UNICEF and Apolitical. 2020. How gender mainstreaming can help build back better from COVID-19. London: Apolitical.
11 Milward, K., Mukhopadhyay, M., and Wong, F.F. 2015. “Gender Mainstreaming Critiques: Signposts or Dead Ends?” IDS Bulletin,

27 July 2015. https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-5436.12160.

3
 Gender The process by which individuals internalize gender norms and roles as they interact with others.
socialization Positive gender socialization seeks to change negative gender norms, beliefs, policies and practices
which lead to inequitable outcomes. 12 This constitutes an important route to transformative
gender equality outcomes. Much potentially gender-transformative work in UNICEF – particularly
that focused on changing gender norms, stereotypes and inequitable behaviour through a life
course approach that starts from the early years - is considered part of the gender socialization
and norms portfolio.

Intersectionality A framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to
create different forms of discrimination and privilege. These identities include gender, race,
ethnicity, ability, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, and age among
other issues.

Structural Structural or systemic discrimination occurs when an entire network of rules and practices
discrimination disadvantages less empowered groups and serves to advantage the dominant groups.

Many organizations including UNICEF make use of the Gender Integration Continuum13 developed by the Inter-agency
Working Group to distinguish different levels of action to promote gender equality (Figure 1). Many organizations use
a variant of this continuum, but they use its terminology in various and different ways.14

Figure I. Gender integration continuum

Our consultations suggest that in practice, practitioners and project managers do not always find the continuum easy
to apply, given the number and fine-ness of its distinctions. We caution against too strong a focus on categorizing
where programmes fall on the continuum (which could become a rather technical and ‘tick-box’ exercise), rather than
the actions and strategies different parts of UNICEF could take to promote gender equality more effectively, discussed
in Section 2.

2. Strategies

12 UNICEF 2019.
13 The Gender Integration Continuum was developed by the Inter-agency Working Group and is used as a tool to help identify the
extent to which actions are likely to lead to change in the root causes of gender inequalities. Organisations using a variant of it
include ICRW, UNFPA, USAID, Save the Children US and World Vision. However, many organisations that aim to promote
transformative change towards gender equality do not centre their thinking around the Gender Integration Continuum. These
include: Action Aid Oxfam, CARE and World Vision, for example.
14 For example, VVOB’s description of gender-responsive pedagogy might be classified by others as gender transformative, since it

includes actively challenging gender biases in the classroom and broader institutional environment.
4
Various organizations, including UNICEF and its partners, working to promote gender equality have articulated the key
elements (change strategies) of gender-transformative programming. Annex 1, Table A2 provides further detail of how
different organizations operationalize a gender-transformative approach.

Below we identify key elements, tailoring them to resonate with UNICEF’s children’s rights mandate, and its work
across a large diversity of geographical and cultural contexts and programming areas.

(a) Key change strategies for a gender-transformative approach

 Work to challenge the structural barriers that uphold gender inequality. These include discriminatory
norms, stereotypes and values; unequal gender roles; inequalities in access to and control of resources;
discriminatory laws and policies, and unequal power.

 Build the individual and collective agency of women, girls and people of diverse gender identities through
targeted actions so that they are empowered with physical, social and financial assets to claim and exercise
their rights. This can be done through strengthening their knowledge, confidence, skills, decision-making
capacities, and access to and control over resources. Cultivating their agency and leadership as well as their
critical perspectives, including on gender and power, are also key aspects of building agency. This places
them at the centre of policy and programming efforts and ensures their needs and priorities area addressed.

 Ensure that girls and women in all their diversity and people of non-conforming gender identity, especially
marginalized groups have a voice in and can influence and/or lead programme implementation and
measurement and evaluation as contextually relevant.

 Work with boys and men to embrace gender equality and exercise positive and diverse masculinities.
Neglecting boys and men can create backlash and may lessen positive impacts and sustainable change. Boys
and men can be agents and champions in gender-transformative approaches and also key participants of
programmes, especially where they are particularly vulnerable. At the same time, it is also critical to keep in
mind that girls often bear the brunt of multiple vulnerabilities.

 Work intersectionally. This entails taking into account other intersecting factors which may also increase
vulnerabilities including those related to caste, class, religion, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, refugee or
migration status etc. Ignoring these intersections will likely lead to only partial success of programming and
policy and may in fact undermine/result in any positive change being short-lived.

 Take a life course and intergenerational perspective. Programming should focus on all periods of children’s
life course (from birth to adulthood) (also being aware of the critical differences as individuals move through
early childhood into early and late adolescence), to acknowledge and redress cumulative disadvantage, as
well as multiple entry points for potential change. Dialogue and communication between generations is also
critical as lack of this is often a stumbling block to addressing discriminatory practices/norms and for lasting
change.

 Work at all levels - policies and laws, systems, services, communities, families and individual. When gender
inequality is addressed at all these levels, actions can be mutually supportive, can contribute to impact at
scale and to sustainability. Figure 2 illustrates examples of gender-transformative programming outcomes
across the socio-ecological framework when addressing violence against children. All these actions are
complementary and support each other.

 Work at multi-sectoral and intersectoral levels. Action at two or more levels or across sectors often adds up
to more than the sum of its parts.

 Focus on approaches that will have an impact at scale. Too often approaches are small scale with short
lifespans. To achieve wider impact, it is important to focus on mainstreaming gender equality in key systems,
make use of mass communication approaches and build partnerships and collaborations, including working

5
 with social movements, feminist, women’s rights and youth-led movements, the private sector and with
institutions that have a large-scale reach (e.g., religious institutions).

Figure 2. Gender-transformative outcomes across the socio-ecological framework – violence against children15

(b) Gender-transformative programming across sectors

Table 2 provides an overview of gendered challenges, and potential gender-responsive and gender-transformative
approaches by sector (See also Annex 3 for further examples). It was not possible to find evaluated examples for all
areas – for these we use examples of work in progress, with gender-transformative intent.

Actions described as gender-responsive often make substantial contributions to gender equal outcomes. Actions
considered gender-transformative build on these outcomes and challenge the norms and stereotypes that uphold
inequalities.

A gender-transformative approach can amplify the effectiveness of other programmes. For example an initiative that
aims to reduce child mortality by increasing the use of bed nets would continue to support supply and distribution, while
simultaneously working to enhance women’s power to make independent decisions about the use and acquisition of
bed nets, the financial resources they need to buy them, and the independent mobility they need to do so.16

15 UNICEF. 2020. Gender Dimensions of Violence Against Children and Adolescents. New York, NY: UNICEF.
16 WHO. 2007. Gender, Health and Malaria. Geneva: WHO
6
Table 2. Strategies to achieve gender-transformative results in different sectors and programming areas

Sector/ Some key gendered challenges Gender-responsive approach Gender-transformative approach Example of gender-transformative initiatives
Thematic area

Early childhood Care of young children primarily seen Targeted support to mothers Strengthening enabling environments Radio series in Nepal and Tanzania (part of
development as a female responsibility (norm) that recognizes their traditional through family-friendly policies, with a UNICEF gender socialization portfolio) aiming to
caring role but does not focus on: parental leave, breastfeeding change norms around fathers’ involvement in
Stereotypes and cultural values that
challenge norms around who support, affordable accessible quality care of children and treating girls and boys
see boys as more valuable, deserving
should undertake care. childcare and child benefits. equally through edutainment.
of better care (emotional, food,
health), stronger and more capable Shifting norms around gender divisions Training health workers to change norms around
than girls. of labour in care of young children and gender roles and encourage shared care and
gender-equitable treatment of young fathers’ engagement in early childhood
children (feeding, health care, development in Kosovo, Nepal and Sri Lanka (part
interaction etc.). of UNICEF gender socialization portfolio)

UNICEF Tanzania: dialogue to strengthen gender

focus in national Responsible Parenting and
Family Care policy (under way)

With the International Labour Organization and

UN-Women guidance for employers on family-
friendly policies in the context of COVID-19.

Education and Girls’ educational participation levels Addressing gender inequalities Mainstreaming gender-sensitization in Integrate comprehensive analysis of intersecting
skills (enrolment, completion) lags behind in access through cash teacher training at all levels and gender inequalities into national education plans,
that of boys especially at primary transfers and fee gender equality in curricula and allocate budgets to actions and monitor gender
level, in poor households, low-income waivers/abolition; targeted learning materials; instituting ‘whole equality results.19 Emerging lessons from UNGEI &
countries, rural areas and contexts hardware and software support school’ approaches to end school- GPE pilot projects in eight countries.
affected by conflict. for remote learning; related gender-based violence; policy
Reform of curricula and learning materials
investments in improving the reform to address bottlenecks for girls’
In many middle-income and high-
quality of education, increasing access to quality learning and skills Whole school approaches to gender equality –
income countries, and especially at
learning and reducing dropout opportunities. with high priority given to gender equality in all
levels to enhance educational

19 UNGEI and GPE. 2019. Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning: A pathway to gender equality in education. Washington, DC: GPE.

7
 upper secondary and tertiary levels, outcomes for all and eliminate Challenging gender stereotypes about aspects of school organization, organization of
boys’ participation lags that of girls. gender inequalities.18 capacities to study and excel in learning, and changing norms and values to
particular subjects. eradicate school-related gender-based violence.
Gender inequalities in education Reduction of girl-specific
outcomes reflect diverse regional barriers to education, such as Create opportunities and support Community-level norm change campaigns to
patterns; girls continue to be under- menstruation management. education to work transitions through reduce gender inequalities in school enrolment,
represented in many science, effective private sector partnerships to attendance, time to study etc.
technology, engineering, and math address digital divides and generate
(see also adolescent empowerment below)
(STEM)17 subjects. employment / entrepreneurship
opportunities, addressing stereotypes,
mobility constraints and financial
barriers to marginalized girls’ and boys’
participation.

Health In some contexts, norms may prevent Employing sufficient female Fostering community norm change Reinvesting in Asia worked at various levels with
(including HIV girls and women from speaking to a health providers; opening times programmes (including work with different stakeholders to address barriers to
and mental male health provider or to suit different social groups media) to address issues related to maternal and child health, including norms
health) independently accessing health especially girls and women; women and girl’s independent around men’s engagement in child health, and
services. Women and girls may lack ensuring providers and mobility, decision-making power, value with communities to challenge barriers to
information, decision-making power materials are in appropriate of girls and boys and priority to seek women’s mobility.
or financial resources to seek health languages and accessible also health care.
Tackling the Taboo contains many examples of
care, resulting in delays/ lack of health to girls and women with lower
Provide training and sensitization of gender-transformative approaches to adolescent
care. levels of education; making
health workers to gender-biased and young people’s sexual and reproductive
services available closer to
In relation to sexual and reproductive behaviour and norms which can health. These emphasize opportunities for non-
population (mobile services).
health and rights, gendered influence who provides and how they judgmental learning and dialogue around
challenges include male control over Ensuring availability of family provide health services. sexuality, working with adolescent girls as agents
female bodies and sexuality, also planning services. of change, and with families, communities, men
Comprehensive sexuality education
manifested in harmful practices such and boys, grounding initiatives in local contexts,
with emphasis on gender norms and
as child marriage and female genital and taking intersectionality seriously. They also
addressing gendered power relations.
mutilation. emphasize the critical importance of well-trained,
Gender-transformative social reflective facilitators.
protection measures in support of
health outcomes for children and

17 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

18 Evans, D.K. and Yuan, F. 2019. What We Learn about Girls’ Education from Interventions that Do Not Focus on Girls. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.
8
 mothers are critical for vulnerable
populations in countries with high
maternal or child mortality (see Social
inclusion section below),

Nutrition Gender norms that value men and Distribution of food Behaviour and norm change initiatives United States Agency for International
boys above women and girls, that supplements e.g., Iron folate to focusing on who can eat what foods, Development (USAID) example: In Burkina Faso
reserve the most nutritious food for all women and girls at risk of who should have priority if certain and Vietnam, exclusive breastfeeding rates were
men and/or boys, and norms that anaemia. foods are scarce. May be combined higher in communities in which partners,
prohibit consumption of particular with group empowerment-focused mothers-in-law, and grandmothers received
Information and support
foods at certain times (e.g., when activities. information on the benefits of breastfeeding.
services targeted at mothers to
menstruating).
help them breastfeed and care Norm change and empowerment
Mothers often lack decision-making for infants. activities around mothers’ right to
power about infant care, which lies make decisions around breastfeeding
Emergency feeding
with spouses/ partners and in-laws. and infant care.
programmes that make efforts
Constraints on women’s mobility may to reach under-represented
limit their access to sources of groups if patterns of uptake are
nutritious food in emergencies. gender-biased.

In contexts with underlying

food insecurity, adopting
universal nutrition support
programmes or school nutrition
programmes, ensuring that any
gender-related barriers in
access are addressed.

Water and Women and girls’ health, education Education in menstrual Norm change activities to remove Standard Chartered’s Goal programme –
Sanitation for and social participation are hygiene; initiatives to increase restrictions on mobility, diet and social successfully changing norms about menstrual
Hygiene compromised by challenges in availability of menstrual mixing during menstruation restrictions through sport, life skills and parent
(WASH) managing menstruation including lack supplies; safe toilets and outreach in India.
Targeted menstrual health and
of affordable, safe water and adequate water supplies.
hygiene programmes that tackle
sanitation facilities.
taboos and stigma around menstrual

9
 In rural areas in low-income countries, health and improve girls’ access to Human rights and advocacy training for women
women and girls devote substantial learning. and girls to enable them to play a leadership role
time and energy to obtaining and in relation to water resources
Social and behaviour change
carrying water, lack of safe water and
communications; enhanced
sanitation facilities exposes girls and
implementation of laws against sexual
women to the risk of sexual violence
violence; strengthening support and
and in some cases, health risk from
response mechanisms.
only defecating or urinating at certain
times of day. In protracted humanitarian settings,
Cash for Work in the WASH sector or
supporting small businesses (soap,
sanitary pads, masks) can provide
economic opportunities for women.
These may be transformative in terms
of women’s social position as well as
their livelihood and health impacts.

Child Gender norms intersect with factors Development and enactment Community-based norm change SASA! and related interventions – started in
protection such as poverty, limited educational of protective laws and policies. processes around gender-based Uganda and now implemented in 20 countries
opportunities, and wider social norms violence; violence against children;
(includes Training of police, social Spotlight initiative and the Global Programme to
to contribute to violence, abuse and child, early, and forcible marriage; and
violence workforce and justice system End Child Marriage, which combine mass media,
exploitation of children. Some forms female genital mutilation. Mass media
against to understand and respond community-based life skills programmes with
of violence are gender-specific e.g., campaigns aimed at shifting norms of
children, sensitively to all forms of system and policy reform.
FGM or gender-biased sex selection; acceptable behaviour (perpetration of
gender-based violence, exploitation and
others affect girls and boys in violence and reporting/ intervening to MenEngage Alliance Nigeria advocating for
violence, child abuse.
different ways based on prevailing prevent violence). elimination of FGM and other gender-
marriage, FGM,
norms: these include physical, sexual discriminatory norms and harmful practices.
and child Initiatives mobilizing men and boys
and emotional violence, child
labour) against violence against women, Communities Care – South Sudan and Somalia –
marriage, hazardous and exploitative
female genital mutilation, and child combines community-level norm change with
child labour and trafficking.
marriage. system strengthening activities
Violence against women and children
Investment in girls’ secondary
are related: both are underpinned by
education and/or non-formal
norms that consider violence

10
 acceptable in certain circumstances; education and life skills programmes to
children who witness violence against reach out-of-school girls.
their mothers are more likely to grow
Support community-based child
up to perpetrate intimate-partner
protection mechanisms in
violence and violence against
developmental and emergency
children.
contexts that are sensitized to gender-
based rights violations.

Change discriminatory laws (e.g. age of

marriage).

Adolescent Age-related norms that expect Empowerment programmes Investment in high quality formal and Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial, in multiple Latin
empowerment adolescents to obey their elders are intended to be non-formal education that includes American countries
and intersect with gender norms that limit transformative – they have an “twenty-first century” skills: critical
Rupantaran life skills programme, Nepal, Bolivia,
participation girls’ voices and agency. explicit focus on changing thinking, communication, problem-
Brazil, Mexico, Dominican Republic and many
power relations. If facilitators solving, digital skills, and mainstreams
Marginalized adolescents of all other similar empowerment and life skills
are not fully on-board with gender (and other forms of) equality
genders are structurally programmes worldwide.
gender equality goals, or within curricula.
disadvantaged by poverty, poor
implementation limit impact, Girls’ leadership training programmes aiming to
quality services and discriminatory
they may achieve change but foster girls’ self-confidence and negotiation skills,
norms that limit their access to quality
fall short of transformation. and to normalize girls’ and young women’s
education and skill development
leadership e.g., Rise Up.
opportunities.

Social inclusion Gender norms that limit women’s Programmes providing support Social protection programmes that Promundo training of Bolsa Familia officials in
(primarily mobility, allocate primary to targeted groups of girls, encourage shared care, and/ or build Brazil to include discussions of gender norms and
social responsibility for care and domestic women, boys, or men in marginalized groups’ agency. care responsibilities as part of regular interaction
protection) work to men, limit women’s decision- recognition of existing gender with clients.
Initiatives that challenge norms around
making about use of resources. inequities (e.g., cash transfers
women’s mobility, paid work, and Cash Plus in Tanzania. offers skill-building training
or active labour-market
decision-making around use of to adolescents alongside cash transfers
programmes designed to
resources, and/or build ‘hard’ and
address poverty or exclusion
‘soft’ skills (including negotiation skills)
from the labour-market).
alongside cash transfers.

11
3. Recommendations

(a) Programming

 Gender analysis should be carried out at all stages of a programme from planning, design, implementation, M&E,
accountability and learning. This is vital to ensure activities are nuanced and tailored to context and are selected
for maximum impact. For example, in a humanitarian context, integrating a gender-transformative lens into
preparedness efforts, particularly in longer-term strategic planning may be more feasible than in phases of an
emergency where immediate needs have priority. Much guidance exists for doing gender analysis. Examples
include UNICEF ROSA,20 Save the Children,21 JHIEPO,22 and the GenderPro resource library and toolkit.

 Pay attention to different cultural/economic contexts as well as different geographies (rural, urban) different
religions, etc. so that concepts and activities are developed and implemented in ways that are relevant to local
realities. This is part of operationalizing an intersectional lens to ensure that gender-transformative activities
benefit the most marginalized groups.

 Develop intermediate objectives (and measures of results) to see pathways towards change and gender
transformation. While gender equality is an outcome in and of itself, intermediate results which measure
pathways towards change are also important. These could include changes in knowledge, in organizational
capacity etc. as building blocks for changes, attitudes, norms and outcomes. Annex 3 provides examples of
possible indicators from UNICEF programmes and other organizations.

 Tailor programming to starting points. For example, it may be necessary to start from scratch by bringing a
gender lens to programmes that have a limited focus on gender and start to move along the continuum. For other
programmes, it may be important to first support and strengthen gender-sensitive initiatives (e.g., non-
discriminatory provision of services to all) before developing transformative elements. Effective transformation
will often continue gender-sensitive elements while integrating additional elements that ‘push the needle’ further
towards deep-seated change. At the same time, it is important to ‘do no harm’, as, for example, a blanket
approach that is insensitive to context may lead to reasserting of negative gender stereotypes and harmful
mindsets.

 Programmes with a longer-term gender-transformative vision can run alongside those with short- or medium-
term time horizons. Gender norm change, a key component of gender-transformative programming, takes time
to develop, and often there are no immediate or medium-term results. Nevertheless awareness-raising activities
can be built into programmes (such as skills-building programmes for girls and women) with more immediate
benefits.

 Foster flexible, adaptive, and co-designed approaches. If an aspect of, or an intervention linked to, a gender-
transformative approach appears not to be working (e.g., there may be backlash, lack of uptake, the policy
environment may become hostile to the intervention, resources are suddenly reduced, etc.), it is important to be
able to change the intervention as it proceeds. Checks, including speaking to the programme participants, must
be built into the programme in order to review and, if necessary, adapt the intervention.

 Use human-centred design approaches and co-create with end users and others to improve programme uptake,
ownership, and sustainability.

 Pay attention to political contexts and dynamics. These have a critical impact on the feasibility of gender-
transformative programming, which, by its very nature, is highly political as it can threaten existing, often male-
dominated, power hierarchies and structures and generate backlash against the programme and girls, women,

20 UNICEF South Asia Regional Office. 2018. Gender Toolkit: Integrating Gender in Programming for Every Child in South Asia.
Kathmandu: UNICEF.
21 Save the Children 2014.
22 JHPIEGO. 2020. “Gender Analysis.” Gender Analysis Toolkit for Health Systems. Baltimore: JHPIEGO.

12
 and people with non-conforming gender identities. Programmers, therefore, need to identify supporters,
influencers, and champions of all genders, and bring them along the way.

 Build on a particular moment, either in time or policy development, as this can play a large role in galvanizing
interest and investment in a topic area. COVID-19 has raised the profile of gender inequalities in all realms of life.
As such, now would be a policy window and opportunity to further raise interest and resources to back up the
growing awareness of the need for gender-transformative programming.

(b) Institutional change

In this section we propose a number of strategies which can contribute to embedding gender-transformative
approaches into UNICEF’s work. These also draw on recommendations identified in the Evaluation of the Gender
Action Plans. Key audiences for these strategies would include UNICEF offices at different levels and external partners,
among which country governments are key.

 To institutionalize and build ownership at country and regional level, hold consultations. Such consultations
should discuss, among other things: how gender-transformative approaches fit into country plans/action plans,
priorities and contexts; whether there is political appetite and a window of opportunity within the country more
broadly for these kinds of approaches; and whether there are champions within government structures who
could be asked at an early stage to work alongside and partner UNICEF teams.

 Build capacity of UNICEF staff through training programmes at different levels. Make training on gender-
transformative programming a core component of all staff training (see annex 4 on the GenderPro training
course).

 Allocate specific resources and budget for gender-transformative approaches to be included in programming.
Without this resource commitment programmes will struggle to move this forward.

 Include key country level partners in the training programmes if possible so that everyone can be at the same
starting point. This would also ensure and allow for partnerships and collaborations to develop organically.

 Embed processes linked to gender-transformative programming into existing systems and structures. This
would include embedding programming into “key individual accountability and responsibility tools, including
representative and other management performance plans; and key organizational functions (human resources,
policy, field results, and monitoring and evaluation).”23

 Develop a set of indicators to monitor progress towards gender-transformative programming across the
organization and report these to governance or accountability entities on a regular basis. Gender markers or
scoring of activity are one way relatively common way of monitoring progress within large development
organizations (e.g., CARE, Plan International, BMGF) but there is no consolidated evidence yet as to how effective
this approach is in institutionalizing a more transformative approach.

 Establish a collaborative approach with both country governments as well as other organizations working on
these issues. There is potential overlap in mandates of certain UN organizations (UNICEF, UNFPA, UN-Women)
but also fertile ground for jointly delivering on gender transformation, e.g. Global Programme to End Child
Marriage and through the Spotlight initiative . UNICEF is well placed not only for spearheading and pushing
forward gender-transformative approaches and programming, but also to find common ground among different
stakeholders, ensuring all come together under the same agenda and to encourage national governments as well
as international donors to support these processes.

 Continue to consult with and build relationships with communities and social movements, including young
people as central constituents to this endeavour whose voices should have a stronger place in defining priorities
and whose perspectives should be integral to developing responses.

28 All programming RFPs, proposal documents, etc. should clearly specify gender-transformative expectations and requirements.

13
 Lead in developing new and strategic partnerships, including with national, regional and global
feminist/women’s rights organizations, leveraging expertise in different areas and non-traditional sectors and
identifying new funding modalities. These might include working with private and digital technology companies
who often have a comparative advantage in carrying out advocacy and communication campaigns.

Table 3 outlines some possible challenges associated with institutionalizing gender-transformative programming in
UNICEF and potential solutions to them.

Table 3. Challenges and potential solutions in institutionalizing a gender-transformative approach in UNICEF

Obstacle Solution
Lack of understanding of gender-transformative Make accessible and practical training at all levels
programming and how to operationalize it mandatory; training to include addressing prevailing
biases, mindsets, attitudes etc.
Perceptions that gender-transformative programming is In training and communications from the highest level,
not really a UNICEF mandate and/or that it competes make clear how gender-transformative approaches link
with other agendas to all programming within UNICEF. Carry out a gender
audit internally to understand ownership and/or its
absence and address it through a long-term process of
Human Resource Development.
Lack of momentum, interest and inertia to implement Build ownership and leadership from the start at all
such approaches levels (HQ, regional, country level) and within different
programmes.
Lack of institutional incentives to implement gender- Ensure resources are allocated to support gender-
transformative approaches transformative programming.
Lack of innovative/disruptive approaches and the tools Explore and build on approaches used in other sectors,
to implement them that can facilitate flexible, adaptable including the digital sector, e.g., co-design, human-
work centred approaches.
Change is slow and is not likely to be seen in the usual Some midterm/progress/intermediate
life cycles of programmes outcomes/indicators can be identified which point
towards change.
Scalability and replicability of such approaches are Work closely with government, civil society, and private
challenging sector partners to institutionalize gender-transformative
approaches at different levels.
Political commitment is necessary at different levels in Build ownership at all steps of the process, through
order to ensure its success early engagement of political leaders and champions,
especially at country level.

14
References

Crenshaw, K. 1989. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of
Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum
1989(1): article 8.

Evans, D.K. and Yuan, F. 2019. What We Learn about Girls’ Education from Interventions that Do Not Focus
on Girls. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development.

Interagency Gender Working Group. 2017. The Gender Integration Continuum. Washington, DC: Population
Reference Bureau.

JHPIEGO. 2020. “Gender Analysis.” Gender Analysis Toolkit for Health Systems. Baltimore: JHPIEGO.

Milward, K., Mukhopadhyay, M., and Wong, F.F. 2015. “Gender Mainstreaming Critiques: Signposts or Dead
Ends?” IDS Bulletin, 27 July 2015. https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-5436.12160.

Save the Children. 2014. Engendering Transformational Change: Save the Children Gender Equality Program
Guidance & Toolkit. Ontario: Save the Children.

UNGEI and GPE. 2019. Gender-Responsive Education Sector Planning: A pathway to gender equality in
education. Washington, DC: GPE.

UNICEF. 2020. Gender Dimensions of Violence Against Children and Adolescents. New York, NY: UNICEF.

UNICEF. 2020. “Gender-Responsive Age-Sensitive Social Protection: A Conceptual Framework,” Innocenti

Working Papers no. 2020-10. Florence: UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti.

UNICEF. 2020(b). Technical Note on Adolescent Empowerment. Draft under review. New York, NY: UNICEF.

UNICEF. 2019. Realizing Potential: Evaluation of UNICEF’s Gender Action Plans. Final Report. New York, NY:
UNICEF.

UNICEF South Asia Regional Office. 2018. Gender Toolkit: Integrating Gender in Programming for Every
Child in South Asia. Kathmandu: UNICEF.

UNICEF and Apolitical. 2020. How gender mainstreaming can help build back better from COVID-19.
London: Apolitical.

WHO. 2007. Gender, Health and Malaria. Geneva: WHO

Women’s Health West. 2019. “What is the difference between gender equity and gender equality. What
does this have to do with violence against women?” Melbourne: Women’s Health West.

15
Annex 1. Gender-transformative programming: definitions and elements

Table 1.1 Varied definitions within UNICEF

Section/ Source Definition

Inter-agency Working Group A transformative approach promotes gender equality by:
(2017) The Gender Integration  Fostering critical examination of inequalities and gender roles, norms and dynamics
Continuum  Recognizing and strengthening positive norms that support equality and an enabling environment
 Promoting the relative position of women, girls and marginalized groups
 Transforming the underlying social structures, policies and broadly held social norms that perpetuate and legitimize gender inequalities
UNICEF (2019) A gender-transformative approach addresses the causes of gender-based inequalities and works to transform harmful gender roles, norms, and
Technical Note on Gender- power imbalances. This involves:
Transformative Approaches In  Placing girls at the centre of programming, building their skills and agency
The Global Programme To End  Working with men and boys as champions
Child Marriage, Phase Ii: A  Promoting gender-responsive health and education services
Summary For Practitioners  Mobilizing actors at all levels (families, community, systems, policy)
 Building strong partnerships with government, CSOs and the private sector

UNICEF Gender Section (2020) Gender-transformative programming aspires to tackle to root causes of gender inequality and moves beyond self-improvement among girls and
women to redress power dynamics and structures that serve to reinforce gender inequalities.
What is gender-transformative
programming? Gender-transformative programming explicitly seeks to redress gender inequalities, remove structural barriers
PPT, Gender Section, PDHQ, and empower disadvantaged populations.
June 2020
UNICEF ROSA (2019) Gender-transformative programming is programming that addresses the causes of gender-based inequities to transform gender relations and
Immunization and Gender: a achieve gender equity.
practical guide to integrate a
gender lens into immunization
programmes

16
Table 1.2 Varied definitions and operationalization among external organizations24

Source and publication Definition Key Elements

The Bill and Melinda Investment is designed to reduce gender As funders BGMF distinguish three types of investment:
Gates Foundation gaps/barriers in agency or control over 1. Gender-unintentional (investment lacks a gender lens and does not target gendered gaps or
(BMGF) resources. This includes: barriers)
2. Gender-intentional (investment is designed to reduce gender gaps or barriers in access to
Gender Integration  A clear articulation of how underlying resources or to increase the evidence base around such gaps and barriers)
Guide (2020) gender power relations and gender gaps in 3. Gender-transformative (investment is designed to reduce gender gaps or barriers in agency or
control or agency over resources affect how control over resources).
people experience the problem and also
how addressing them may strengthen the Operationalizing gender intentional and transformative approaches involves:
investment  Setting outcomes and outputs that aim to increase women and girls’ empowerment
 Engaging local partners with experience working to transform unequal gender power relations
 An explicit intention to address underlying  Engaging decision makers and stakeholders at all levels to support the investment’s focus on
gender power relations and gender gaps in transforming gender power relations
agency over resources
BRAC BRAC’s integrated gender-transformative  Transforming sociocultural gender norms
approach strengthens the voice, choice and  Building capacity of staff and stakeholders
BRAC (N.d) Gender space for women and girls to combat violence  Creating a supportive working environment
Justice and Diversity and eliminate all forms of gender discrimination  Advocating for gender equality and justice at all levels through gender mainstreaming
Program with the active engagement of men and boys.
Child, Early and Forced Gender-transformative approaches encourage Key elements of gender-transformative approaches:
Marriage and Unions critical awareness of gender roles and norms;  Sexuality curricula: gender-sensitive, context-specific, flexible and relatable
and Sexuality Working promote equitable positions of girls and women  Centring girls as agents of change
Group (CEFMU) in society; challenge the distribution of resources  Working with men and boys to advance gender equality
and allocation of duties between men and  Careful selection, training and ongoing support of programme facilitators
Tackling the taboo women; and/or address the unequal power  Addressing intersectionality: understanding the complexities, reaching the most vulnerable
(2019) relationships between girls and women and  Grounding programmes in local contexts
others in the community, such as service  Activating families, communities and local stakeholders
providers or traditional leaders.  Innovative strategies for recruitment and retention
 Monitoring, evaluation and learning – mixed methods
The ultimate aim of a gender-transformative  Ensuring sustainability for social change
approach is to achieve gender equality,
empower women, girls and gender non-

24 This is not an exhaustive list. The organisations featured here are some of those that have identified generic definitions and elements (i.e. they are not based on one programme only).
17
 conforming young people, promote health, and
eliminate violence.
Plan International Gender-transformative programming aims to 1. Addressing gender norms throughout children’s life course (from birth to adulthood).
explicitly transform unequal gender power 2. Strengthening girls’ and young women’s agency by building their knowledge, confidence, skills
Architecture for relations. It addresses the root causes of gender and access to and control over resources.
gender-transformative inequality and promotes the value of women 3. Advancing both the condition (daily needs) and position (social status) of girls, young women,
programming and and girls. and adult women.
measurement: a primer 4. Working with boys, young men, and men to embrace gender equality and exercise positive
(2020) It goes beyond improving the condition of and diverse masculinities.
women and girls – it seeks to improve their 5. Responding to the needs and interests of girls and boys in all their diversity.
Getting it Right: A social position. A gender-transformative 6. Fostering an enabling environment for gender equality and girls’ rights
guidance note for program works at several levels at the same
gender-transformative time. Plan International’s approach encourages critical reflection, questioning and challenging of gender
programming and norms. It also challenges the distribution of resources and roles based on a person’s gender. It
influencing (2018) fosters an enabling policy, budgetary and institutional framework for gender equality, that
adequately protects girls’ and women’s rights, tackles the barriers they face and meets their
particular needs. It requires working at all levels (as individual, within, family and relationships, as
communities, institutions and societies) and across a person’s life course. It involves active
listening and continuous engagement with power holders, with girls, boys, women, and men, and
people of other gender identities.

Promundo “We believe that working with men and boys to  Promoting women’s economic empowerment by engaging men as allies in transforming
transform harmful gender norms and unequal harmful gender attitudes and behaviours
Promundo website power dynamics is a critical part of the solution  Engaging men and boys to reflect on impact of harmful gender norms
to achieving gender equality. For transformative,  Engaging men as full equitable partners in maternal, newborn, and child health
sustainable change, men and boys must see  Promoting men’s equal involvement in caregiving and equitable, nonviolent fatherhood
themselves as partners in the process.” practices.

Save the Children Use a simplified version of the gender Save the Children US has five organizational priorities for promoting gender equality:
integration continuum: gender exploitive,  Advance gender equality within the organization
Gender Equality gender unaware, gender-sensitive, gender-  Strengthen staff capacity to mainstream gender across the organization and programmes
Strategy (2019) transformative – where interventions utilize a  Expand programmes, advocacy and research focused on gender equality outcomes
gender-sensitive approach and promote gender  Increase funding and recognition for gender equality
equality, while working with key stakeholders to  Engage with the global movement
identify, address, and positively transform the
root causes of gender inequality for women and Focus on five thematic areas:
men, girls, and boys.  Eliminating gender-based violence and all harmful practices including child marriage
 Empowering women and girls
18
  Promoting positive and diverse expressions of masculinities
 Keeping gender equality at heart of advocacy
 Integrating gender equality into how STC thinks, plans and operates as a global organization
UNFPA
A gender-transformative approach in  Promote gender equality and women and girls’ empowerment
Gender Equality programming implies that promoting gender  Improve access to sexual and reproductive health and rights
Strategy 2018-2021 equality — the shared control of resources and  Address gender-based violence and HTPs in all contexts
Cited in UNICEF decision-making — and women’s and girls’  Engage men and boys
Evaluation of Gender empowerment are central to an intervention and  Strengthen capacities for gender data/statistics collection, analysis and use
Action Plans, 2019 programme. It means that while working to  Facilitate greater engagement with young people
meet the main objectives of the programme, the  Develop capacity and strengthen systems for implementing women’s and adolescent girl’s
approach also helps challenge underlying, rights in international treaties/resolutions
harmful gender norms and stereotypes in the
process.
UN Women Transformative results contribute to changes in Eight areas for contribution
social norms, cultural values, power structures
‘United Nations SWAP and the root causes of gender inequalities and 1. United Nations system change
2.0 Framework and discrimination. 2. Access to gender-responsive services
Technical Guidance’, 3. Financing for GEEW
2019 Cited in UNICEF 4. Women’s engagement and participation
Evaluation of Gender 5. Women’s economic empowerment
Action Plans, 2019 6. Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls
7. Norms and standards
8. Knowledge
USAID USAID uses the version of the Gender Integration Key elements of gender equality and women’s empowerment
Continuum developed by Population Reference
Advancing Nutrition Bureau, which defines gender-transformative 1. Access to and control over resources
Gender Equality programmes as those that: 2. Practices, participation and time use
Strategy (2017) 1. Foster critical examination of inequalities 3. Roles, responsibilities, knowledge, and perceptions
and gender roles 4. Legal rights and status
2. Support and create an enabling 5. Power and decision-making
environment for gender equality
3. Promote the relative position of women,
girls, and marginalized groups, including
transforming underlying social structures,
policies, and social norms
4. Work to abandon the binary nature of
gender (PRB 2017)

19
World Vision Gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) Five programming approaches to support empowerment:
International approach is based on ecological model
(individual, household, community, societal  Social model – understand how social construction disempowers individuals
Gender Equality and levels); aims to achieve agency, empowerment,  Positive child and adolescent development
Social Inclusion: The and transformation in five areas:  Male engagement
World Vision Approach  Access: assets, resources, opportunities,  Empowerment of women and girls
and Theory of Change services, benefits, infrastructure  Economic empowerment
(2020)  Decision-making: free of coercion at
For transformation: focus on challenging the root causes of vulnerability that sustain gender
individual, family, community, and societal
inequality and social exclusion such as restrictive sociocultural norms, unequal power relations and
levels
disempowering systems.
 Participation: engagement in systems of
power that influence development
 Systems: equal and inclusive systems that
promote equity and account for different
needs of vulnerable populations
 Well-being: agency, capability and status,
overall physical, emotional, psychological
and spiritual well-being

20
Annex 2. Measurement

The development of gender-transformative programming has been accompanied by efforts to strengthen the
measurement of changes associated with these programmes. Measurement approaches align with different
organizations’ conceptual frameworks and objectives, with different organizations putting different degrees
of emphasis on different aspects of empowerment and norms changes. A number of organizations working in
this area have produced frameworks and indicators, on which UNICEF could draw.

The approach suggested here is framed to align with result-based management and focuses on measuring change
in impacts, outcomes and outputs to capture changes towards greater gender equality. Taking into account the key
elements of a gender-transformative approach outlined in Section 2 above, monitoring, evaluating, and learning
for gender-transformative results must include the following:

A clear theory of change identifying the types of shifts which would constitute evidence of progress towards
changes in the root causes of gender inequality.

A participatory approach, in which a range of stakeholders including representatives of marginalized groups

(normally including girls and women) identify what would constitute transformative change in a given
geographical and sectoral context; ensuring meaningful participation may mean making creative use of a wider
range of tools to engage different stakeholders – including tailoring tools to be accessible to people with
disabilities, young children, and others.

Data that can be disaggregated by gender, age, location, and other intersectional differences as possible.

Both qualitative and quantitative measures. The case for quantitative metrics is well-established: they can
provide insights into the extent (depth and scale) of change. The role of qualitative measures of
transformative change is sometimes neglected. However, it is vital to complement quantitative measures for
at least three key reasons. First, some changes in empowerment, agency, and shifts in norms are difficult to
measure well quantitatively (though much guidance on doing so exists); second, given this difficulty, a
qualitative approach may be a more cost-effective alternative, particularly for mid-programme monitoring;
and third, qualitative measures can illuminate pathways of change (or lack of change), which can be essential
for adapting initiatives for greater effectiveness.

Table 2.1 indicates the types of measures that could be used to monitor changes towards gender equality,
using three main types of indicators: output, outcome and impact indicators. Much recent work on developing
more effective measures of progress towards gender equality has focused on the level of outcomes, particularly
changes in gender norms. Measures of change in knowledge, agency, attitudes, behaviour are important
complements to measures of norms.

Moving from top to bottom in Table 2.1, measuring change will require different sources for data; in particular, measures
of changes in outcomes are most likely to require the collection of primary data. Where possible, data-collection should:

 Focus on collecting data on a few key indicators using simple templates and ideally building the indicators into
existing systems for collecting data (both for cost and sustainability reasons and to avoid burdening project
participants)

 Be integrated with project activities – as in Communities Care, for example, where periodic discussions of issues
also provide data indicating the extent of change

 Try to probe the impact of UNICEF activities as opposed to wider forces. This could be achieved through the
design of monitoring, evaluation & learning (MEL) activities, for example, by including a control group or by
including questions in qualitative and quantitative data gathering that involve reflection on the role of the project
or initiative as opposed to wider forces

21
 Table 2.1 Indicators to measure gender-transformative change

Type of indicator What it Dimensions of change Example Data source

measures
Activities What programmes do Can help identify any # of (content producers) who Project management
systematic biases in attend (broadcaster gender data
implementation socialization workshop)
Outputs Short-term changes in Can include: Increased government budget Project management
capacities or actions of skills, resources, allocation to subsidies and data plus some
individuals or motivation and bursaries for the education of additional data-
institutions authority to undertake girls in rural areas collection
a specific action)

Outcomes Medium-term changes Agency Proportion of girls who Primarily new data-
in behaviour or express increased sense of collection (quantitative
performance of self-efficacy; who feel or qualitative)
targeted institutions or confident in their ability to Some data may be
individuals (negotiate and delay early- available from external
marriage) sources, but they may
Knowledge % of (teachers) at different not be updated
levels who can correctly frequently enough to
identify (gender-equitable show change
teaching practices)
Attitudes % of (adolescent boys and
girls) who believe that (men
and women are capable of
the same roles)
Intended/ % of (male
reported behaviour parents/caregivers) who play
with and/or tell stories to
their young children (exhibit
desired behaviour)
Norms % of respondents who believe
that their family and friends
will only respect them if (they
have a son)
Impacts Long-term changes Indicators of various Adolescent birth rate External sources such
towards greater aspects of well-being % of young men and women as MICS, DHS etc
equality (18-24) in education and
workforce

22
Table 2.2: Approaches from various external partners

Organization Approach
PLAN Measures immediate and intermediate outcomes. Indicators can be examined separately in each of
International the domains below. These can also be examined in aggregate through the Women’s and Girls’
Empowerment Index (WGEI).

The five domains are:

1. Gender roles and responsibilities
2. Access to and control over resources
3. Participation and decision-making
4. Social norms
5. Moral and primary duty-bearers and institutions

Suggested indicators are available here.

CARE Suggests measuring changes in:

 Power over: control over income and labour, assets, and resources; control over one’s mobility
and body; control over the agenda
 Power to: capacities, skills, awareness
 Power within: internal and psychological resources
 Power with: collective agency and action

For each of these, CARE suggests measuring change in: agency, relations, and structures.

This document contains links to suggested indicators for each area and dimension.

Save the Gender-sensitive indicators (GSI) measure things such as:

Children
 Participation of girls, boys, women, and men in project activities
Save the  Access to decision-making, project resources and projects services by girls, boys, women, and
Children. men, and whether this access is equitable
Gender  Expected and unexpected project outcomes for girls, boys, women, and men (compared with
Equality project objectives
Strategy  Met and unmet practical and strategic needs of girls, boys, women, and men (compared with
2019-2021. expressed needs)
 Changes in project budget allocation towards gender equity issues
 Changes in the capacity to mainstream gender equality approaches by project staff, project
partners, and government service providers and officials
 Identification of new gender inequalities in the project or as a result of the project

23
Annex 3: The gender integration continuum

Table 3.1 Applications of the gender integration continuum across goals

24
25
Applying the continuum to FGM

26
Annex 4: GenderPro and E-course

GenderPro
Source: UNICEF (2019) Realizing Potential: Evaluation of the Gender Action Plans

Developed with George Washington University, GenderPro aims to enhance the skill sets for, and formalize or
professionalize gender capacity in organizations. The theory relies on trained professionals to effect change in their
own areas and diffuse to peers over time. Several different models of GenderPro are currently available, targeting
different audiences:

 GenderPro GWU option: Run by George Washington University and piloted in early 2019. Participants
choose either public health or social development and gain practical skills on how to apply gender analysis
in programme design, monitoring and evaluation. A total of 38 UNICEF staff members participated in the
15-week pilot programme, which took approximately five hours of participants’ time per week in addition
to a residential component.

 GenderPro for UNICEF Gender Focal Points: A facilitated programme held once or twice per year that
includes online learning, webinars and digital communities of practice.

 GenderPro Gender Focal Point Credential: This option provides recognition of competency of the Gender
Focal Point skill profile. Credentialed Gender Focal Points are profiled in a roster in the Human Resources
Talent Management System and receive an official notification from the system.

 GenderPro Global Development Professional: This provides for a globally recognized credential in gender
and development – planned for launch late 2019.

E-course outline and learning objectives

1. Foundations of Gender Transformative Approaches

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you should be able to…
 Explain gender transformative approaches and why they matter
 Explain the gender continuum, identify where a program sits within the continuum, and articulate the
distinction between gender responsive and gender transformative
 Apply an understanding of multi-sectoral interventions and the socio-ecological model for shifts in unequal
power relations between genders.

2. Gender Transformative Approaches to Adolescent Girls Programming

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you should be able to…
 Clarify how to link gender transformative approaches to adolescent girls’ empowerment
 Understand why intentional girl-centered programming a key strategy in achieving gender transformation

3. Submodule 1: Gender Transformative Approaches to End Child Marriage

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you should be able to…
 Understand gender transformative programming in the context of ending child marriage
 Develop and apply practical gender transformative strategies to end child marriage

4. Submodule 2: Gender Transformative Approaches to Eliminate FGM

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this module, you should be able to…
 Understand gender transformative programming in the context of eliminating female genital mutilation
 Develop and apply practical gender transformative strategies to end female genital mutilation
27