The ADS and Gender
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| The integration of gender concerns throughout USAID's portfolio is the responsibility of the entire Agency. |
USAID Planning and Programming Gender Requirements
USAID has updated its Automated Directives Systems (ADS) gender programming requirements to reflect the Administration’s core commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The updated ADS reinforces the importance of gender analysis for its role in informing the design of strategies and programs to deliver better results.
Gender analysis is now mandatory for the design of strategic plans and assistance objectives. Gender analysis continues to be mandatory for projects/activities. Attention to gender issues in the procurement process has been significantly strengthened. Technical officers are required to integrate the findings of gender analyses into all aspects of a proposed project. Technical evaluation criteria of all procurements must address gender issues so that contractors and grantees can be held accountable for their ability to impact gender inequalities.
These strengthened requirements provide USAID technical officers with a very powerful tool to identify and take gender inequalities, roles and relationships into account, leading to more effective and sustainable development.
Summary of ADS Gender Requirements:
High-level Planning (ADS 201.3.9.3)
- USAID staff must conduct a mandatory gender analysis to inform strategic plans and assistance objectives. USAID's approach to gender analysis is built around two key questions:
- How will the different roles and status of women and men within the community, political sphere, workplace, and household (for example, roles in decision-making and different access to and control over resources and services) affect the work to be undertaken?
- How will the anticipated results of the work affect women and men differently?
Project/Activity Planning (ADS 201.3.11.6)
- USAID staff must conduct a mandatory gender analysis to inform the design of activities and projects.
- The gender analysis findings must be integrated into the scope of work/program description for an activity that will be implemented through a contract or cooperative agreement.
- Gender issues must be integrated into the technical evaluation/selection criteria for any solicitation financed under the project or activity.
- If the planning process indicates that gender is not an issue in a planned activity or project, then a rationale must be included in the Activity Approval Document (required for the activity/project to move into the procurement phase).
Project and Activity Procurement (ADS 302.3.5.15 for contracts and ADS 303.3.6.3c for grants and cooperative agreements)
- The Contract/Agreement Officer must ensure that the technical office integrates gender issues into the different components of an RFP (e.g., Statement of Work, project deliverables, key personnel qualifications, monitoring and evaluation requirements), or an RFA (e.g., Program Description, key personnel qualifications, monitoring and evaluation requirements). If it is determined that gender is not an issue, a statement explaining the rationale for this conclusion must be included.
- The Contract/Agreement Officer must ensure that once gender has been integrated into the solicitation components, gender is also reflected in the corresponding technical evaluation criteria (RFPs) or technical selection criteria (RFAs/APSs). These technical criteria include, but are not limited to, technical understanding and approach, monitoring and evaluation, and personnel.
Project and Activity Monitoring and Evaluation (ADS 203.3.4.3)
- Performance management systems and evaluations at the assistance objective and project/activity levels must include gender-sensitive indicators and sex-disaggregated data
Click here to view the ADS chapters in their entirety.
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