Gender
Passport to Mainstreaming Gender in Water Programmes. Key questions for interventions in the agricultural sector
FAO, GEWAMED, GWA, July 2012
Water management in agriculture has been very effective in raising food production worldwide. Water professionals have been successful in developing and promoting different techniques in the field of irrigation, rainwater harvesting, flood control, watershed management, etc. By doing so, they have managed to improve agricultural production significantly.
Until recently the focus of many agricultural water management projects and programmes has been on technical issues. When it became clear that projects are more successful when the potential users are involved, many adopted a participatory approach trying to involve the water users in the planning and the design of their projects. However, contrary to the actual situation in many areas, planners, engineers, extension staff and decision-makers still do not perceive women to be farmers. This situation is enhanced by the fact that these professionals are often male and they do not adequately recognize the agricultural work of women. They are less familiar with the specific needs and priorities of women, and might encounter difficulties in targeting them because of specific socio-cultural norms. The most common gender stereotype that has guided and shaped many irrigation policies and the planning and design of irrigation systems is that women are primarily housewives and mothers, while men are farmers and irrigators. As a consequence, policies and programmes frequently overlook the knowledge, tasks, needs and requirements of women in agriculture water management.
Topic Guide on Gender
GSDRC, 2012
Considering gender involves examining how social norms and power structures affect the lives of, and opportunities available to, different groups of men and women, boys and girls. This guide – available to browse as web pages or to download as a 129-page PDF – is a reference for policymakers and practitioners on this important topic. It introduces some of the best recent literature on a range of gender issues and highlights major critical debates, practical guidance, and lessons learned. New publications and emerging issues will be regularly incorporated.
Gender Equity Index 2012: Know the size of your gender gap
Social Watch, 2012
The achievements made by women all over the world towards equity in education are still very far from making an impact on their having a fair share in the economy or in political power. This can be concluded from the updated figures of the Gender Equity Index (GEI) 2012. None of the 154 countries considered in the study has narrowed the gender gap to an “acceptable” level. The annual GEI measures the gap between women and men in education, economy and political empowerment. The index is an average of the inequalities in the three dimensions. In literacy, it examines the gender gap in enrolment at all levels; economic participation computes the gaps in income and employment; empowerment measures the gaps in highly qualified jobs, parliament and senior executive positions.
FAO Policy on Gender Equality: Attaining Food Security Goals in Agriculture and Rural Development
FAO, March 2012
The purpose of this policy document is to provide FAO with a framework to guide its efforts to achieve gender equality in all its technical work and to assess results, and calls on the whole organization to contribute to these efforts. This policy specifies FAO’s goal and objectives related to gender equality, and delineates an accountability structure to ensure policy oversight, and achievement of results (Annex A). This includes specifying roles and responsibilities for coordinating and supporting the implementation of the policy (Annex B).
Clapping with both hands: 15 studies of good practice in promoting gender equality
ACT Alliance, Gender Report 2012
This publication celebrates innovative ACT programmes championed by brave women and men in 13 countries that have enhanced the voice of women in workplaces, government and society at large. It highlights 15 projects describing a range of programmes from peace-building to women’s political participation, sexual health campaigns to female-run micro-enterprises.
Rural Women and the Millennium Development Goals
Inter-Agency Task Force on Rural Women, 2012
This fact sheet highlights the progress of rural women against key Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators, pointing to some of the advancements made and gaps that still exist. It suggests that globally, and with only a few exceptions, rural women fare worse than rural men and urban women and men for every MDG indicator for which data are available. While data collection along these lines has improved in recent years – in part because of increased donor and government interest – there still remains a general lack of data not only disaggregated by sex, but also by rural and urban areas. This has an impact on our global ability to confidently monitor progress toward the MDGs for all people in all regions, urban and rural, and particularly where progress is needed most.
Global Gender Gap Report 2011
World Economic Forum, Nov 2011
Through the Global Gender Gap Report series, the World Economic Forum has been quantifying the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress over time. By providing a comprehensive framework for benchmarking global gender gaps, the Report reveals those countries that are role models in dividing their resources equitably between women and men, regardless of the overall level of those resources. While gender equality ratios have improved in 85% of countries over the past six years, economic participation and political empowerment for women has failed to match the steady progress of health and education.
World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development
The World Bank, September 2011
The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century. The pace of change has been astonishing in some areas, but in others, progress toward gender equality has been limited—even in developed countries. This year's WDR argues that gender equality is a core development objective in its own right. It is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative. The Report also focuses on four priority areas for policy going forward: (i) reducing excess female mortality and closing education gaps where they remain, (ii) improving access to economic opportunities for women (iii) increasing women's voice and agency in the household and in society and (iv) limiting the reproduction of gender inequality across generations.
Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2011 - So, what about boys?
Plan International, 2011
This is the fifth in a series of annual reports published by Plan examining the rights of girls throughout their childhood, adolescence and as young women. The report shows that far from being an issue just for women and girls, gender is also about boys and men, and that this needs to be better understood if we are going to have a positive impact on societies and economies. Drawing on research and case studies, the report argues that working for equality must involve men and boys both as holders of power and as a group that is also suffering the consequences of negative gender stereotypes. It also makes recommendations for action, showing policy makers and planners what can make a real difference to girls’ lives all over the world.
Approaches to Gender and Sexuality: Responding to HIV. Report on the findings of a survey among Alliance Linking Organisations
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, February 2011
Gender and sexuality have long been recognised as key factors affecting the dynamics of the HIV epidemic. Issues vary across communities and countries, but power imbalances, harmful social norms, violence and marginalisation affect women, men, girls, boys and transgender people across the world, limiting their ability to prevent HIV infection. There are a growing number of HIV and broader health initiatives that not only highlight gender issues, but also aim to change harmful norms and practices. These are called ‘gender-transformative’ approaches. However, there are few approaches to achieve gender transformation, and many organisations within and outside the Alliance have struggled to overcome the controversies, sensitivities and structural barriers that impede progress.
The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics
UN, 2010
This report shows that progress towards gender equality has been made in some areas, such as school enrolment, health and economic participation. At the same time, it shows that much more needs to be done to close the gender gap in critical areas such as power and decision-making and violence against women.
GEMS Toolkit. Gender mainstreaming strategies in decent work promotion: Programming tools
ILO, 2010
The GEMS Toolkit is a set of 12 practical tools to facilitate the implementation of Gender Mainstreaming Strategies (GEMS) in organisations, policies, programmes and projects. The toolkit aims to share knowledge, skills and tools with ILO constituents and partners on how to:
- do a gender analysis of their work and their organisation;
- put gender in the mainstream of policies, programmes and projects;
- carry out gender-specific action to redress inequalities.
Apart from the full toolkit (87 pages), there is also a “GEMS toolkit in brief” Fact Sheet (24 pages).
Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: Differentiated pathways out of poverty
FAO/IFAD, 2010
Gender equality is an essential component of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Equitable access to more and better jobs in rural areas enable rural women to become effective economic actors and engines of growth; as well as to produce or acquire the food, water, fuel and social services their families need. Indeed, the quality of the care mothers are able to give to their children and other household members contributes to the health and productivity of whole families and communities and improves prospects for future generations. The important gaps in data availability and analytical work in many key areas handicap policy makers’ efforts to address these crucial issues adequately when designing poverty alleviation and growth strategies.
With the aim of promoting gender equitable rural employment strategies, FAO, IFAD and ILO partnered to carry out an assessment of the latest thinking on the gender dimension of rural and agricultural employment. The three organizations are committed to improving gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture and rural areas, and to strengthening women’s leadership and decision-making participation.
Gender Inequality and the MDGs: What are the Missing Dimensions?
OECD Issues Brief, September 2010
As world leaders meet in New York in September 2010 to review progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), new research by the OECD Development Centre finds that looking at women’s control over resources, their level of decision-making power in the family and household, and their degree of control over their own physical security can shed light on the bottlenecks that hamper further progress across all the MDG targets.
Men are changing. Case study evidence on work with men and boys to promote gender equality and positive masculinities
IPPF, March 2010
In recent decades, interest in understanding masculinities and working with men and boys on gender issues has increased enormously. More is known about different ways to engage men and boys to challenge harmful expressions of masculinity and to promote gender equity. Men’s ability and desire to change is increasingly understood; a recognition of the benefits this brings to themselves, and to other men, women and children. This report seeks to strengthen and broaden the evidence base on working with men and boys. It describes and analyzes 12 programmes from around the world that sought to alter the attitudes and behaviours of men in relation to sexuality, sexual and reproductive health, violence and relationships. The report discusses challenges in this field, provides an overview of emerging good practice, and makes recommendations for improving existing policy work, programmes and services. Its findings are clear: working with men and boys is effective, men are changing, but greater efforts are still needed to scale up gender-transformative interventions with men and women.
African Women’s Report 2009. Measuring Gender Inequality in Africa: Experiences and Lessons from the African Gender and Development Index
UNECA, November 2009
The report’s theme is opportune as African countries are being urged to improve their statistical systems and data collection methods to respond to development concerns. This includes the need to accelerate gender equality in the social, economic and political fields. The central message of the report is that gender equality cannot be adequately implemented and monitored without appropriate data.
Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives
Catalyst, May 2009
Catalyst believes that men have a critical role to play in diversity and inclusion efforts, especially initiatives to eliminate gender bias. In What Change Agents Need to Know, the first report in the Engaging Men in Gender Initiatives series, Catalyst provided pivotal information about the cultural forces that can undermine organisational efforts to fully engage men as champions of gender initiatives. In the second report, Stacking the Deck for Success, Catalyst examines factors that can heighten or dampen men’s interest in acquiring skills to become effective change agents for gender equality at work.
Bridging the gap: FAO's programme for gender equality in agriculture and rural development
FAO, 2009
Women's empowerment and gender equality are fundamental to FAO's vision of a world free of hunger and malnutrition. This guide describes the gender dimensions of each of FAO's new strategic objectives, and FAO action to achieve gender equity in agriculture and rural development.
Gender equity in agriculture and rural development agricultural growth and rural development, gender
FAO, 2009
Gender equity means fairness and impartiality in the treatment of women and men, according to their respective needs. This is a quick guide to gender mainstreaming in FAO’s new strategic framework.
Women and Rural Employment. Fighting Poverty by Redefining Gender Roles
FAO Economic and Social Perspectives - Policy Brief No.5, August 2009
About three quarters of the world’s poor live in rural areas. Among those, women constitute a particularly vulnerable, yet crucially important group for social and economic development. Investing in rural women is thus not only a moral imperative; it can also be a promising strategy to effectively fight poverty and hunger.
Gender and Governance
BRIDGE Cutting Edge Pack, April 2009
Governance processes – with their emphasis on principles of accountability, transparency, responsiveness and inclusiveness – should be a means to social transformation. But despite this potential, they are failing to deliver on gender equality, and women are having to struggle to get their voices heard and needs met. This Cutting Edge Pack maps out persistent obstacles to gender equality in governance and offers possible ways forward – including promoting gender balance in positions of authority, making rights central to governance institutions and processes at all levels, and building political will for change.
Gender and Care
Bridge Cutting Edge Packs, 2009
Providing care can be both a source of fulfilment and a terrible burden. For women and girls in particular, their socially prescribed role as carers can undermine their rights and limit their opportunities, capabilities and choices - posing a fundamental obstacle to gender equality and well-being. How can we move towards a world in which individuals and society recognise and value the importance of different forms of care, but without reinforcing care work as something that only women can or should do?
Women 2000 and Beyond: The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality
UNDAW, December 2008
Gender equality is not a women’s issue; it concerns men and boys as well as women and girls. Garnering sufficient support for the profound social changes required by the gender equality agenda cannot be achieved by women alone. It also requires the active involvement of men, all the more so as they often control the resources needed for this work. Moreover, the maintenance of an unequal gender order is likely to have negative consequences on men, for example the suppression of emotions to stay "in control" or the absence of nurturing relations with children. Recognition of these costs is an important rationale for men’s involvement in gender equality work. This publication discusses entry points and opportunities for engaging men in work on gender equality, focusing on issues of violence, health, fatherhood, the workplace and the need to engage youth. Strategies for and lessons learned from male engagement in these areas are presented, covering both modifying men's personal attitudes and behaviours; and mobilizing men to take action on the political, economic and social structures that maintain gender inequalities.
Progress of the World’s Women 2008/2009: Who Answers to Women? Gender & Accountability
UNIFEM, 2008
This report shows that realising women’s rights and achieving the MDGs depends on strengthening accountability for commitments to women and gender equality. The report demonstrates that for women’s rights to translate into substantive improvements in their lives, and for gender equality to be realised in practice, women must be able to fully participate in public decision-making at all levels and hold those responsible to account when their rights are infringed or their needs ignored. The publication presents clear evidence that women’s empowerment and gender equality are drivers for reducing poverty, building food security, reducing maternal mortality, safeguarding the environment, and enhancing the effectiveness of aid.
Mapping Aid Effectiveness and Gender Equality in Africa: Regional Issues and Trends
EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace, 2008
This report provides an overview of the issues and trends that emerged from mapping studies on aid effectiveness, gender equality and women’s empowerment in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia and Ghana. The findings point to increased government–donor cooperation in developing and supporting nationally owned development plans. At the same time, they indicate that these plans are not yet fully country-owned, and donors have not yet aligned support to national gender equality priorities. Challenges also remain with regards to the integration of gender equality plans in national development strategies and participation of gender equality advocates in discussions on aid delivery.
Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook
World Bank, FAO, and IFAD, 2008
Women play a vital role as agricultural producers and as agents of food and nutritional security. Yet relative to men, they have less access to productive assets such as land and services such as finance and extension. A variety of constraints impinge upon their ability to participate in collective action as members of agricultural cooperative or water user associations. In both centralized and decentralized governance systems, women tend to lack political voice.
Gender inequalities result in less food being grown, less income being earned, and higher levels of poverty and food insecurity. Agriculture in low-income developing countries is a sector with exceptionally high impact in terms of its potential to reduce poverty. Yet for agricultural growth to fulfil this potential, gender disparities must be addressed and effectively reduced.
Gender Equality Now. Accelerating the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
UNIFEM, 2008
Attention to gender equality and women's empowerment are essential to enable countries and the international community to achieve the MDGs. This resource pack explores and makes recommendations on the actions needed to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs; the progress made so far and the backlogs on gender equality; and the costs of prioritizing gender equality as well as the costs of failing to do so
Gender and Landmines - From Concept to Practice
Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines - 2008
The relevance of gender has taken time to impose itself clearly to anti landmine programmers, decision-makers, implementers, donors, and stakeholders working in the area of mine action. The main treaties regulating general mine action activities (the Mine Ban Treaty and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its additional Protocol II) are gender blind and do not explicitly discuss the different impact landmines can have on women, men, girls and boys. Moreover, mine action belongs to a traditional "masculine", technical sector, one of war and weapons, in which the relevance of gender might not appear clearly at first sight. This report, with five country profiles, examines how issues of gender might better be incorporated into mine action.
Gender and Development: Media
Oxfam, Gender and Development, Volume 15, Number 3, November 2007
This volume of "Gender and Development" journal includes 10 chapters by experts on Gender and the Media.
EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace
EC/UNIFEM/ITC-ILO, 2007
This brochure introduces the EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace, a joint initiative of the EC, UNIFEM and the ITC/ILO. The three-year programme (2007-2009) supports stronger action on gender equality and women's empowerment in national development processes and in cooperation programmes supported by the EC. The programme also includes a focus on effective implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325, adopted in 2000 to mainstream gender equality and women's empowerment in responses to conflict and post-conflict situations. The programme is being implemented in 12 countries: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the Ukraine.
More information - download brochure 
Gender policies for responsible fisheries. Policies to gender equity and livelihoods in small-scale fisheries
FAO, 2007
The aim of this policy brief is to: encourage policy-makers to address gender issues in fisheries; present experiences dealing with gender issues in fisheries to guide the development of gender policies; highlight strategies to improve the delivery of gender policies in small-scale and industrial fisheries and aquaculture. A holistic approach to gender analysis, focusing on gender relations throughout the fish supply chain is recommended, like the one adopted by the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods Programme (SFLP), which incorporates local gender action planning into its mainstreaming strategy, in a framework for action that spans different organizations and institutions located at micro, meso and macro-levels. Some suggestions for the development of effective gender policy are provided in the final section of the report.
Gender and Indicators, 2007
Bridge Cutting Edge Pack, July 2007
What does a world without gender inequality look like? Realising this vision requires inspiring and mobilising social change. But what would indicate we are on the right track - and how will we know when we get there? Gender-sensitive indicators and other measurements of change are critical - for building the case for taking gender (in)equality seriously, for enabling better planning and actions, and for holding institutions accountable for their commitments on gender.
Gender Mainstreaming in Practice: A Toolkit
UNDP, May 2007
The integration of a gender perspective into programming and policy-making - Gender Mainstreaming - has become a key priority of UNDP. Towards this end, this publication integrates a gender perspective into the analysis of work, home, and public life in order to improve policy-making and programming. It reflects the work of more than a 100 specialists, who have contributed their expertise to this collection of practical tools and guidelines, examples and illustrations. The toolkit targets public policy and development practitioners with varying levels of experience in this area; it also serves as a useful resource for NGOs and advocacy groups, students, project staff, gender specialists, and consultants.
Revisiting gender training - the making and remaking of gender knowledge. A global source book
Royal Tropical Institute and Oxfam GB, 2007
Revising gender training is concerned with the thinking behind gender training and education rather than with day to day practice. It explores the explicit and implicit assumptions in gender training about the nature of knowledge (epistemology), about how knowledge is imparted (pedagogy) and about knowing (cognition). The book brings together case studies and analyses at country, regional and global level to look critically behind the practice. The contributors are gender specialists from different geographical regions: India, Uganda, the Machreq/Maghreb region, South Africa and the French-speaking world. An extensive and up-to-date bibliography of international (print and online) literature on the topic is included.
Gender: The missing component of the response to climate change
FAO, 2006
Gender aspects have generally been neglected in international discussions and agreements on climate change. The authors see this as the result of a general preference for scientific and technological measures, rather than in policies which address behaviour and social differences. While poor people will face more difficulties in relation to climate change, women are generally more vulnerable to its impacts. In this brief report, the authors argue for the need to acknowledge gender differences, and the need to integrate gender in governments’ and organisations’ responses. On the basis of the key role which women have in development, these responses need to make sure that the effects of climate change do not further impoverish women.
The State of the World's Children 2007 - Women and Children: The Double Dividend of Gender Equality
UNICEF, December 2006
This report examines the discrimination and disempowerment women face throughout their lives - and outlines what must be done to eliminate gender discrimination and empower women and girls. The report argues that investment in women's rights will ultimately produce a double dividend: advancing the rights of both women and children.
Women, girls, boys and men, different needs - equal opportunities
IASC Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action, December 2006
This handbook aims to provide actors in the field with guidance on gender analysis, planning and actions to ensure that the needs, contributions and capacities of women, girls, boys and men are considered in all aspects of humanitarian response. It also offers checklists to assist in monitoring gender equality programming. The guidelines focus on major cross-cutting issues and areas of work in the early response phase of emergencies. It is also useful to make sure that gender issues are included in needs assessments, contingency planning and evaluations. It can be used as a tool for mainstreaming gender as a cross-cutting issue.
Gender and Health Policy and Practice. A Global Sourcebook
KIT Publishers and Oxfam UK, November 2006
How do current efforts aimed at improving women’s health contribute to achieving the Millennium goals? This is the question addressed by this publication, which offers insight into the influence of gender roles on the health of women and men. Particular attention is paid to health needs and rights, as well as to improving equal access to healthcare. Besides case studies from Malawi, Ethiopia, Argentina, South Africa and Brazil, the book also contains an extensive bibliography of summaries of printed and online publications.
The Global Gender Gap Report 2006
World Economic Forum, 2006
This report measures the size of the gender gap in four critical areas of gender inequality, namely, economic participation, educational attainment, political empowerment and health and survival.
Gender and law. Women's rights in agriculture
FAO Legislative Study No. 76 Rev. 1 Rome, 2006
This study analyses the gender dimension of agriculture-related legislation in a selection of different countries around the world, examining the legal status of women in three key areas: rights to land and other natural resources; rights of women agricultural workers; and rights concerning women's agricultural self-employment activities, ranging from women's status in rural cooperatives to their access to credit, training and extension services.
Engaging men in gender equality: positive strategies and approaches - Overview and annotated bibliography
BRIDGE Bibliography 15, October 2006
Bibliography which provides an overview of literature, outlines strategies for change and explains the importance of involving men in development programs. Descriptions of books, papers, tools and training materials are divided into sections that cover men as partners against gender-based violence, strengthening men‚s resistance to violence and conflict, fostering constructive male involvement in sexual and reproductive health and rights, encouraging men‚s positive engagement as fathers and carers and promoting more gender equitable institutional cultures and practices within development organisations.
The Other Half of Gender: Men's Issues in Development
The World Bank, June 2006
This book is an attempt to bring the gender and development debate full circle - from a much-needed focus on empowering women to a more comprehensive gender framework that considers gender as a system that affects both women and men. The chapters in the book explore definitions of masculinity and male identities in a variety of social contexts, drawing from experiences in Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.
Incorporating Gender into your NGO
Network Learning, May 2006
This manual explains the basic concepts and definitions on gender, followed by 'what to do and how to do it', both within and outside your organization, in order to scan all aspects with a gender sensitive eye. The separate checklist "Gender Issues in the Project Cycle" is designed to be used in conjunction with the manual.
