Summary of UNIT 3 Gender and Development

3.1 Introduction
Gender and development is an important topic in understanding how social sectors contribute
to progress. Historically, women have been sidelined in societal development. However,
modern development theories recognize the essential role of all members of society,
including women. Women form nearly half of the world’s population and are critical to the
success or failure of national development efforts.

Objectives:

● To establish the relationship between gender and development.

● To define gender and explain its components.

● To analyze gender indicators like the GDI and GEM.

3.2 The Relationship of Gender with Development

3.2.1 Meaning of Gender

Gender is the social dimension of being male or female. It refers to societal roles, behaviors,
and identities assigned to individuals. Unlike biological sex, gender is about how people
perceive themselves and how they express this identity. It involves social expectations and is
not restricted to being "masculine" or "feminine."

3.2.2 Relationship Between Gender and Development

Gender helps analyze inequalities, particularly those affecting women. Development theories
now stress inclusive participation of all genders. Notable contributions:

● Amartya Sen emphasized that women should be viewed as active contributors, not
passive beneficiaries.

● Gender equality helps ensure that the benefits of development are distributed fairly.

● Gender as a concept emerged due to discrimination and unequal treatment in society.

3.3 The Role of Gender in Development

Gender Roles

Gender roles define expected behaviors of men and women. These vary across regions and
cultures. For example, rural women may be confined to household work, while urban women
may engage in economic and political activities due to better access to education.

Historical Development

Initial development models, especially in the 1930s–1970s, excluded women. Focus was on
modernization based on Western standards. It was assumed that benefits would automatically
reach all, which did not happen. As a result, many development projects worsened women’s
economic conditions.

UNDP Focus Areas:

● Democratic governance

● Poverty reduction

● Crisis prevention and recovery

● Environment and energy

● HIV/AIDS

Importance of Women

Women contribute significantly to family, agriculture, livestock, and even small businesses.
Their participation in public decision-making is vital to holistic development.

3.4 Gender Empowerment and Development

Empowering women is essential for meaningful development.

3.4.1 Economic Participation

Women’s access to the labor market improves household incomes and national economies.
Despite progress, gender discrimination in jobs still exists:

● Women are underrepresented in skilled and higher-paying jobs.

● Discrimination is caused by both internal labor market structures and external

social norms.
 ● Social responsibilities and fewer training opportunities disadvantage women.

3.4.2 Economic Opportunity

Societal roles often limit women’s economic options, particularly in rural or traditional
settings:

● Maternity benefits are often not provided.

● Women in managerial roles often sacrifice family life.

● Landholding rights are disproportionately low among women, limiting access to

credit and decision-making.

3.4.3 Political Empowerment

Women are underrepresented in political institutions:

● Globally, only 15.6% representation in parliaments.

● In India, representation in Lok Sabha increased to 11% in the 15th Lok Sabha.

● Despite local reservations, many elected women serve as figureheads for male
relatives.

3.4.4 Educational Attainment

Education empowers women by:

● Enhancing confidence.

● Reducing maternal and child mortality.

● Improving employment choices.

Women make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population.

3.4.5 Health and Wellbeing

Women face health disadvantages due to:

● Biological risks.
 ● Unsafe abortion practices.

● Poor maternal care.

Maternal mortality rates are much higher in developing countries. Diseases like
HIV/AIDS also disproportionately affect young women.

3.5 The Gender Development Index (GDI)

Introduced by UNDP in 1995, the GDI measures gender disparities in human development. It
modifies HDI components to reflect gender-based differences in:

1. Life expectancy

2. Educational attainment

3. Income levels

3.5.1 Calculation Method:

Step I: Calculate male and female indices separately for education, health, and income.
Step II: Combine them in a way that penalizes inequality.
Step III: Average the three adjusted indices to get GDI (range: 0 to 1).

India’s GDI score (2007/08) was 0.6, ranking 113 among 177 countries.

3.6 The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

While GDI focuses on gender gaps in basic development, GEM assesses women’s
empowerment.

Definition:

GEM measures gender inequalities in:

● Political participation

● Economic participation

● Control over resources

Developed in 1995 by UNDP, it uses scores between 0 and 1.

3.6.1 Components of GEM:

1. Share of women in earned income.

2. Representation in professional/administrative jobs.

3. Seats held in Parliament.

3.6.2 Factors Affecting GEM:

● Patriarchal social systems.

● Historical deprivation of women.

● Low literacy rates.

● Urban vs. rural divide.

India’s GEM score was 0.451 in 2006.

3.7 Gender Adversaries

3.7.1 Missing Women

“Missing women” refers to girls/women who die prematurely due to neglect, discrimination,
or violence. Causes include:

● Patrilocal customs (sons stay with parents, daughters marry out).

● Preference for sons due to economic returns.

● Poverty and patriarchal norms.

Sex ratio disparities are evident: Kerala had the highest (1058 females/1000 males), while
northern states had low ratios.

3.7.2 Violence Against Women

Women face physical, emotional, and sexual violence. Forms include:

● Domestic violence
 ● Rape

● Sexual harassment

● Dowry deaths

● Human trafficking

● Honour killings

● Workplace and school harassment

Traditional practices like devadasi system and witchcraft accusations continue in some
regions.

3.7.3 Prevention and Care Measures

● Legal reforms and enforcement

● Education and awareness

● Support from organizations like UNFPA through:

○ Emergency contraception

○ Gender-sensitive advocacy

○ Financial and psychological support for victims

○ Research and awareness campaigns

3.8 Measures for Engendering Development

Strategies for Gender-Inclusive Development:

1. Discourage Gender Discrimination:

○ Create incentives for firms to promote gender equality.

2. Improve Service Delivery:

○ Mobile banking, peer-based microfinance to increase women’s access.

 3. Promote Economic Growth:

○ Poverty reduction leads to improved gender equality.

4. Redress Resource and Voice Gaps:

○ Political reservations and quotas help increase representation quickly.

5. Strengthen Institutions:

○ Support both government and non-government efforts to empower women.

○ Implement gender budgeting and monitor equal opportunity measures.

6. Media Role:

○ Media must responsibly portray women and highlight success stories.

○ A gender-friendly media policy is essential.

Feminist movement

Feminism is a movement that fights for equal rights for women in politics, education, the
economy, and society. It believes that:
Men and women should be treated equally.
Violence against women should be stopped.
Women should have the freedom to make their own choices, including about their bodies and
lives.
Even though the word “feminism” became common in the 1970s, it was used earlier too. For
example, the 1942 film *Woman of the Year* used the term “feminist movement.”

Goals of Feminism:

Equal education and job opportunities for women.

Equal political rights, like the right to vote and run for office.
Financial independence for women.
End of violence, harassment, and discrimination against women.
Support for sexual and personal freedom.

Three Waves of Feminism

First Wave (1800s – Early 1900s):

Focused on voting rights and legal equality for women.

Fought against women being treated as property of their husbands.
Key figures: Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton (USA), and the
Suffragettes and Suffragists in Britain.
Important victories:
Britain gave voting rights to women over 30 in 1918 and to all women in 1928.
In the U.S., the 19th Amendment in 1919 gave women the right to vote.
Feminists like Margaret Sanger also campaigned for reproductive rights.

Second Wave (1960s–1980s):

Focused on social and cultural equality, not just legal rights.

Famous slogan: “The personal is political” – meaning personal experiences are linked to
larger social and political issues.
Worked for:

Equal pay
Ending workplace discrimination
Access to education and reproductive healthcare

Key achievements:

U.S. passed important laws like:

Equal Pay Act (1963)

Civil Rights Act (1964)
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978)
Women’s Education Equity Act (1972)
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (1974)

By this time, most women around the world had the right to vote and could run for office.

Third Wave (1990s–Now):

Started because some felt the second wave didn’t represent all women—especially women of
color, LGBTQ+ women, and women from non-Western countries.
Focuses on diversity, individual freedom, and challenging traditional ideas of gender.
Talks about how race, class, and gender all affect a woman’s experience.
Some third-wave feminists believe there are real differences between men and women, while
others think these differences are caused by society, not nature.

Achievements:
1992 was called the “Year of the Woman” in the U.S.
Four women entered the U.S. Senate in 1992.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) was passed.
Violence Against Women Act (1994) passed.
In 1995, the UN held a global women’s conference in Beijing.

Postcolonial and Black Feminism:

Not all feminism came from Western countries.

Women in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America developed their own ideas, called
Postcolonial Feminism or Third World Feminism.
These feminists criticized Western feminism for ignoring the struggles of non-white, poor, or
non-Western women.
Famous thinkers: Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Angela Davis, Alice Walker.

Historical Background of Women’s Struggles

Early Feminists:

Christine de Pizan (14th century): The first known female writer who stood up for women.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, people like Mary Wortley Montagu and Condorcet pushed for
women’s education.

Important Events:

1791: Olympe de Gouges wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman during the French
Revolution.
1792: Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, calling for equal
education and full citizenship for women.
1848: The first Women’s Rights Convention was held in New York.
J.S. Mill (inspired by his wife Harriet Taylor) wrote The Subjection of Women.

The Suffrage Movement:

Fought for women’s right to vote.
Emmeline Pankhurstin the UK founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU)
with the motto: Votes for Women.
Women were not allowed to vote in most countries until the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Key Milestones in Women’s Right to Vote Around the World:

1776: New Jersey allowed women to vote (right later taken away).
1838: Pitcairn Islands allowed women to vote.
1893: New Zealand – First country to grant full voting rights to women.
1906: Finland – First country with a female member of parliament.
1913–1917: Norway, Denmark, Soviet Union, Canada allowed women’s voting rights.
1928: UK gave equal voting rights to women as men.
1947: Pakistan granted women the right to vote.
1984: Liechtenstein was one of the last to grant women voting rights.

Today, most countries allow women to vote, but this was made possible by a long, hard
struggle by women (and some men) over many years.

(Re)visiting education and development agendas

At the start of the 21st century, new ideas began to shape gender studies, especially with the
rise of issues like diversity, multiculturalism, and changing views of citizenship and
nationhood. Scholars started rethinking how women fit into modern society and how gender
equality should be understood in both academic and political spaces. At the same time, global
organizations began putting women’s empowerment—especially through economic
development—at the center of their agendas. This situation offers a unique chance to connect
gender research from both Western (richer) and non-Western (developing) parts of the world.
However, until now, there hasn’t been much interaction between these two traditions, which
limits the full potential of global gender education research.

In developed countries, gender researchers have worked on making education and workplaces
more equal, using tools like anti-sexist teaching and policies that support girls. Meanwhile,
researchers in developing countries are focused more on basic access to education for girls
and finding enough resources to support mass education. This has led to a divide: Western
researchers often use complex gender theories (from people like Judith Butler and Pierre
Bourdieu), while development studies don’t often include these ideas, possibly because they
are seen as too specific to Western history. As a result, gender and education research in
development has not grown as a strong global academic field. To bridge this gap, researchers
now suggest combining the strengths of both fields. Doing this would help students and
scholars understand gender in a wider, international context using new methods, like those
used in studies in India and Kenya. Recently published guides and books are also helping
learners understand gender analysis better and build connections between global gender and
development thinking.

Global gender goals and gender education

1. Role of International Organizations in Gender Education

Since the 1990s, global organizations like the United Nations have played a big role in
promoting gender equality in education. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
Dakar Declaration (2000) helped set clear goals for reducing poverty and improving
education for all, especially girls. These efforts made it easier to talk about gender issues in
education worldwide. However, these goals also raised concerns, as some people see them as
Western ideas being pushed onto other cultures.

2. Global Action and Concerns

Important meetings like the G8 Summit in 2005 discussed how rich countries could help poor
nations achieve these goals. But many still felt that economic growth alone was not fixing
gender inequality. Reports from UNESCO in 2003 showed that most illiterate people in the
world were still women and that many countries were not reaching basic school equality for
girls.

3. Challenges in Different Regions

Every country is different. For example, in South Asia, even with economic progress, girls’
education stayed low. In Latin America, being literate didn’t always lead to jobs. Cultural and
religious values, family traditions, and how society sees women all affect how gender and
education connect. Many changes in girls’ education actually come from NGOs (local and
international) instead of governments.

4. Uneven Progress and Research Gaps

In many poor countries, schools and teachers don’t have enough support. Gender reforms
often happen outside schools, led by small groups or NGOs. There’s little research on how
these efforts actually affect girls’ lives, their learning, or their futures. Most studies only
report numbers like how many girls enroll in school—not how they learn or what they
achieve

5. The Need for Better and Broader Research

To understand and improve gender education worldwide, we need better research that
includes both Western and non-Western views. Researchers must understand how local
politics, culture, and teaching methods affect girls. This book aims to study all these different
ideas and actions in gender education to support social justice around the world.

Feminisms and Activisms

1. Feminist Approaches in Development

 Since the 1970s, feminist ideas have shaped global efforts for gender equality.
 Three key feminist approaches:
o WID (Women in Development): Focused on recognizing women’s unpaid
work and role in the economy using statistics.
o WAD (Women and Development): Showed that development and gender roles
affect each other.
o GAD (Gender and Development): Focused on gender as a power system
shaped by history, culture, and society.

2. Western vs Non-Western Feminism

 Western feminism studied gender in rich countries, focusing on identity, roles, and
culture.
 Non-Western feminists (Africa, India, Latin America) criticized this for ignoring
other power issues like race, caste, or age.
 Concepts like “woman,” “man,” or “family” differ across cultures, so Western ideas
don’t always fit.
  Some global goals like the MDGs were seen as imposing Western gender norms on
others.

3. Cultural Diversity and Gender

 Western feminism struggled with cultural differences and sometimes accepted

inequality in the name of multiculturalism.
 Some scholars suggest looking more closely at local situations and challenges.
 Capability theory (Sen, Robeyns): Suggests education helps women achieve their life
goals by building their skills and resources.

4. The Power of Women’s Voices

 Feminists helped global organizations understand how patriarchy affects women.

 “Voice research” — sharing women’s experiences and views — is now important for
shaping better policies.
 This helps shift the focus from just school numbers (like enrolment) to deeper social
issues like power, identity, and equality.

5. Education and Gender Equality

 Many declarations (like Beijing 1996) called education a human right for women.
 UNESCO reports showed data on gender gaps but also exposed problems like lack of
female teachers and poor school funding.
 Feminists now demand better indicators to measure real progress in women’s
empowerment—not just school attendance.

6. Growing Field of Study

 New and young researchers are joining this field, mixing theory and real-life stories
from communities.
 Today, it’s important to include voices of poor and diverse women, not just global
policies or statistics.
 The field now connects scholars from the Global North and South working for gender
justice through education.

7. Positive Future for Gender and Education Studies

 Gender researchers now influence global reports, including on men’s role in gender
equality.
 More people are interested in studying education and development together.
 The field is growing and has strong potential to improve policies and lives.

Redefining Gender Education Research

The idea of gender education research has expanded over time to include both global policies
and local, everyday realities. Scholars now recognize that gender equality in education cannot
be understood through statistics alone, such as enrolment numbers. Instead, we must look at
how gender roles and identities are shaped by culture, community, family traditions, and
power structures. Global agencies like the UN have created frameworks like WID, WAD, and
GAD to guide gender development, but these often reflect Western ideas that may not fully
apply in non-Western settings. In many cases, meaningful change comes from small, local
actions—what some call “acts of citizenship”—like a girl attending school despite family
pressure or a female teacher challenging community norms. These everyday gender
performances help move society toward equality, even when large systems do not fully
support it.

Many studies now focus on how women and girls experience gender in specific local settings,
including rural schools, religious communities, or poor urban areas. For example, research in
Tajikistan shows how historical and cultural conditions affect gender relations and access to
education. In East Africa, young people discuss how gender, sexuality, and the HIV/AIDS
crisis shape their lives. In Ghana and Bangladesh, the roles of women teachers are shown to
be important symbols of empowerment. These women are not just educators—they challenge
gender norms and serve their communities. The research also highlights how women use their
voices and social roles creatively to bring change, often in quiet but powerful ways. Gender
equality, then, is not just about access to school, but about empowerment, respect, and voice.

Finally, gender education is deeply connected to broader issues like poverty, nation-building,
and globalization. In countries like India and Ghana, international agendas such as the MDGs
and Education for All have shaped national education policies. But these policies often ignore
deep-rooted inequalities and focus too much on numbers, like enrolment targets. Feminist
organizations, especially in Latin America, have found alternative ways to promote change—
through adult learning, community-based programs, and informal education spaces. These
efforts show that true gender equality requires understanding how education interacts with
politics, economics, and cultural beliefs. Overall, gender education research is now moving
toward more inclusive and locally grounded approaches that consider real-life struggles,
identities, and power dynamics affecting women and men.

Gender responsive Policy Making

What is meant by “gender”? Are “gender” and “sex” interchangeable?

Gender and sex are distinctly different terms. Sex refers to the biological differences between
men and women, and specifically to biological, physiological and anatomical features.
Gender connotes the socially established set of identities, attributes, and roles for women and
men in a given culture.

What’s meant by “gender norms” and how does this relate to policymaking?

Gender norms are the standards and expectations to which women and men generally
conform within a particular society, culture and community. Policy interventions should
analyze gender norms to determine how they shape and influence gender roles and whether
they contribute to greater gender equality or intensify an imbalance of power.

What is “gender analysis” and what is its purpose?

Gender analysis is the study of differences between women and men in their assigned gender
roles in terms of their conditions, needs, participation rates, access to resources, and
development, control of assets, and decision-making roles. Gender analysis is critical not
only at the onset of the process of designing a policy intervention, but it is also important
throughout the policymaking and implementation process. It is important to allow for
periodic opportunities to review, analyze and reflect on the gender dimensions to ensure
gender remains a priority throughout the policy initiative. Without ongoing gender analysis, it
will not be possible to develop and sustain a gender-responsive policy.

What is a “gender-responsive policy”?

A gender-responsive policy takes into account both women’s and men’s interests and needs.
It is an inclusive policy that also considers the unique needs of subgroups within the
dominant framework of gender (for example, the youth; the elderly; people with disabilities;
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex community; ethnic and religious
minorities, indigenous groups). Policies can be either gender specific (for example, a policy
to promote gender equality in Parliament) or a gender-integrated policy (for example, a
policy on natural resource management that includes elements specific to women’s and men’s
needs).

Who is responsible for gender integration and when is it relevant?

Gender integration is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any
planned action, including legislation, in all areas and at all levels. Integrating an
understanding of gender should be the responsibility of all who are involved in the
policymaking process as it is relevant for all policy areas. This may include issues that on
their surface may not seem relevant but — after a gender analysis — may have consequences
or elements that perpetuate gender inequality or have differential impact on certain subgroups
of the population.

How can international norms and legal frameworks support gender integration?

There are many international frameworks that promote gender integration and gender
equality, including international conventions, treaties and resolutions that can be used to
integrate gender into policymaking and promote gender equality. The following are some of
the most significant:

 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW)
 UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
 Beijing Platform of Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women
 UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and subsequent
resolutions
 Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (concerns gender equality)
  Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of
Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol)

PHASE 1:Problem Identification

The first step in making a policy is to clearly understand and explain the problem and what
you want to achieve. Right from the beginning, it’s important to look at the issue through a
“gender lens” – this means thinking about how it might affect women and men differently.

To do this, you need to carry out a gender analysis. This helps you find out the different roles,
needs, and power differences between men and women. Without this step, you may miss
important information and your policy may not fully support gender equality.

After the gender analysis, you can set your goal – the big change you want to make with the
policy. This goal should reflect how the issue affects women and men in different ways and
should also aim to improve gender equality overall.

PHASE 2: Policy Design

Phase two of making a policy is about using gender analysis while collecting information to
help design your policy in a way that supports gender equality.

Your policy action might involve:

 Making a new policy

 Changing an old policy
 Giving suggestions for a policy
To be successful, your policy must be based on evidence. This includes numbers (quantitative
data), stories and experiences (qualitative data), and the views of people affected by the
policy.

Collecting this information takes time and may change as you learn more. By using a gender
lens, you can better understand what shapes the issue and how it affects men and women
differently. This helps you create a stronger policy that solves the problem more effectively.

KEY STEPS FOR EFFECTIVE POLICY DESIGN

Step 1: Understand the policy context – This means learning what policies already exist and
who has the power to change or influence them. There are some helpful tools to do this:

1. Environmental Scan:

This is the first step. It helps you find out:

oWhat policies and programs already exist

oWho is involved or has power over them
oWhat research is available
oIf gender issues are included in those policies or programs
2. Stakeholder Mapping:

This means listing the people and groups who are involved or affected by the policy.
It helps you see:

oWho has the power to support or block the policy

oWho makes the important decisions
oHow much they understand or care about gender equality
3. Gender Policy Analysis:

This means carefully looking at the policy to understand:

o What the policy is about

o How it affects women and men differently
o How it can be carried out in a fair way
4. Forces For and Against Your Policy:

Look at the barriers (what can stop the policy) and opportunities (what can help it).

o Understand the arguments in favor of your idea

o Know the arguments against it
o Identify the gender issues in both sides to improve your chances of success

Gender policy analysis Questions

 How does the policy address the different interests and needs of women and men?
  Does the policy explicitly address the gender dimensions of the issue in its definition
of the problem?
 Does the policy include gender-neutral language that could lead to the exclusion of
women?

THIRD: Develop your policy intervention. At this stage, you should be able to decide
whether you are drafting a new policy, amending an existing policy or developing policy
recommendations. When considering which course of action to take, keep in mind:

 Efficiency: What is the cost-benefit analysis?

 Effectiveness: How likely is the policy to achieve the goal?
 Gender Impact: To what extent will the policy contribute to greater gender equality?
Does the intervention redress historical disadvantages between men and women?

Always ask how gender is taken into account within each component of the policy, including
in the:

 Background
 Goal
 Objectives
 Outcomes
 Activities
 Beneficiaries
 Indicators
 Implementation plan
 Monitoring and evaluation
 Budget
 Annexes
 Communication strategy

Think about what resources you will need to make your policy successful. A key part of this
is creating a gender-responsive budget (GRB) — a budget that supports both women’s and
men’s needs and helps promote gender equality. This ensures your policy has the funding it
needs to reach its goals in a fair and inclusive way.

Gender-responsive Budget (GRB)

A GRB shows how money is being used to reduce gender gaps in government plans, policies,
and spending. It helps track progress, challenges gender stereotypes, and focuses on the needs
of the most disadvantaged groups. GRBs also make sure that money is spent where it is really
needed, and they make the process more open and responsible.

PHASE 3: Policy Adoption

Phase Three: Collective Advocacy for Your Policy

This phase is about taking action together to support your policy. It includes strategies like
gathering support, shaping your message, and making a communication plan that considers
gender.
FIRST: Choose Your Advocacy Tactics

These are the methods or steps you will take to reach your goal. There are two main types of
advocacy:

 Constructive Approach: This uses teamwork and cooperation to find solutions and
achieve the goal.
 Confrontational Approach: This uses challenge or pressure to push for change and
reach the goal.

CONSTRUCTIVE APPROACH

 Meet with policymakers

 Raise public awareness
 Build partnerships with experts and civil society groups
 Do and share useful research
 Form supportive relationships with policymakers
 Use media to highlight policy issues and show chances for action

CONFRONTATIONAL APPROACH

 Organize actions such as strikes, protests, sit-ins

 “Naming and shaming” politicians who have failed their constituents on a given issue
 Organize petitions
 Use the media to criticize politicians and press for policy issues

Step 2: Work with your allies

Advocacy is more powerful when many different people and groups support it. Teaming up
with a variety of individuals and organizations can help you:

 Build stronger support

 Bring in new ideas and skills
 Make your message more trusted
 Show that people from different backgrounds agree with your policy

Before getting support for your policy, you need to know who supports you (allies) and who
may oppose you. It’s important to have a diverse group of supporters so your campaign is
strong and includes voices from people affected by the issue.

There are different ways to work with others:

 Networks are made up of people or groups who work together in a flexible and
informal way.
 Coalitions are more organized groups of organizations that work together for the
same goal.
 Allies are individuals, organizations and institutions that can help you achieve your
policy goal. Make sure your allies have a commitment to gender equality.
 Opponents are individuals, organizations and institutions that resist the change you
are seeking to achieve.
These partnerships can be long-term or short-term, formal or informal, and can focus on one
issue or many.

To get support for your policy, think about what will interest and motivate different people to
join your cause. Everyone has their own priorities, so explain clearly how your policy will
benefit them and why it’s worth their time. One of the best ways to gain support is by
building strong personal relationships. Talk to potential allies, share your goals, and invite
them to be part of your campaign. Trust and good communication can help bring people
together for your advocacy efforts. Some ways to develop trusting relationships include:

 Collaborate on projects of mutual interest

 Help bring attention to their work
 Assist them with special projects
 Share information
 Attend their meetings and invite them to yours

Engaging Male Allies

Involving men in gender and policy work is important but often overlooked. Since men
usually hold more leadership roles, including them can make advocacy efforts stronger and
more effective. Ignoring male allies can reduce the impact of your policy and may even
continue gender inequality.

Raising Awareness Among Men

To engage men, help them see how harmful gender norms affect both men and women. Show
them how gender equality can benefit families and communities, and encourage them to
support the cause and involve others.

Building Community Support

It’s also essential to gain support from the people who will be most affected by your policy.
Policy change takes time, so building trust and understanding in the community is key for
long-term success.

THIRD: Craft your message. Effective messaging is tailored to your audience and inspires
them to join you. Your audience includes individuals, organizations or institutions that can
push your policy intervention forward.

You have two main audiences to focus on:

1. Policymakers – These are the people who will introduce, support, and approve your
policy. They also help make sure it gets implemented.
2. Allies and Influencers – These are individuals or groups who can help you by
convincing the policymakers to support your policy.

Once your audience is identified, the next step is to learn:

 What issues do they care about?

 Do they have an interest in gender equality?
  Do they have a stand on your policy goal?

After learning about your audience, craft your message. Your message should convey:

 The problem you are trying to solve

 The solution you propose to address the problem
 An explanation of how the audience can help achieve your

FOURTH: Create a gender-responsive communications plan. Communicating with

policymakers, civil society and affected stakeholders is necessary in all stages and at all
levels and a good communications plan is an integral part of the whole process. Using a
gender analysis process will help you ensure that the message is formulated and delivered in
a way that is respectful of women and men. Some questions to ask include:

 Do women and men read different publications?

 Do women and men watch or listen to different types of electronic media?
 Do women and men have different media consumption patterns?

PHASE 4: Policy Implementation and Oversight

This phase focuses on building a gender-responsive plan to guide how the policy will be put
into action, tracked, and improved. It includes planning for implementation, collecting data,
analyzing progress, and making changes as needed.

First: create a gender-responsive implementation plan. This means clearly stating which
activities include gender considerations so that gender integration can be monitored properly
throughout the process.

Second: Create a gender-sensitive monitoring framework. This helps track how well your
policy is being carried out and whether it’s meeting its gender equality goals. Monitoring
should be ongoing so you can spot challenges early and make changes when needed.

A gender-sensitive monitoring plan includes:

 Clear gender equality objectives where possible.

 Matching existing gender gaps with specific strategies.
 Showing how those strategies will lead to real improvements.

You can include gender in two ways:

1. Make sure goals, results, and activities mention the expected impact on women, men,
girls, and boys.
2. Add specific objectives and actions that promote gender equality, like improving
women’s access to services or resources.

To make your plan effective, you must know:

 What gender equality results you’re aiming for.

 What steps are needed to get there.
 What indicators you’ll use to measure progress.
Third: Choose your data collection methods. Use different tools to gather reliable and
gender-sensitive information. Examples include:

 Document review: Check if documents are written with gender considerations in

mind.
 Surveys/questionnaires: Adjust for literacy levels—especially since women and girls
may have lower literacy—to ensure everyone can participate.
 Interviews: Make sure the interview setting feels safe. Women may not feel
comfortable speaking to male interviewers, and men may feel awkward conducting
such interviews. Adjust accordingly.
 Focus Groups: Sometimes, mixing men and women can prevent honest discussions.
Consider having separate groups to make participants more comfortable.
 Observation Locations: Talk to women in spaces where they feel at ease—often
their homes—rather than public places.

FOURTH: Analyze your data

You should collect and review your data every three months to check if your project is
working well. Focus on the gender-related information to see if there are any gaps between
men and women.

If you find any gender gaps, do a gender analysis to understand the reasons behind them.
Then, make changes to fix the problems and improve gender equality in your project.

It also helps to hold discussion sessions with team members and community leaders. These
meetings can show which parts of the project are working and which need improvement.

FIFTH: Evaluate and Learn

This step is about looking back and asking, “How did we do?” It’s time to review the whole
project and see what worked well and what didn’t.

You should write down what you learned and what good methods or ideas you used so you
can do even better next time.

Make sure your evaluation focuses on gender — check if your project helped improve
equality between men and women. You might need to bring in a gender expert to help with
this review.

Three important areas to evaluate:

 Have your objectives been met?

 To what extent has your goal been achieved?
 How were the interventions and outputs delivered and the outcomes attained?

When writing down lessons learned, include the problems you faced, any gender gaps that
remained, and how some actions helped fix gender issues. This helps others learn from your
experience.
After you finish the evaluation, think about sharing it with others. Making it public can help
others learn and improve their own policies. Your findings may help create new policies or
improve old ones.

Also, think about how your policy connects to the larger gender equality goals. If there were
successes, share them so they can be used in other projects or made bigger.

Many gender-related policies work alone and are not shared widely. Gender analysis is often
left out. Your goal should be to make it a regular and important part of all policy work.