GenDev Gender Overview Course
Training stresses the importance of gender analysis and utility of a gender framework
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Michal Avni, Bureau for Global Health, who participated as a trainer for the Gender Overview course, leads a discussion on integrating gender in USAID’s work.
Photo: Stewart Grand, USAID, EGAT/PAICO |
To reverse the sharp deterioration of USAID’s overseas workforce, the Agency is currently implementing the Development Leadership Initiative (DLI). The DLI is intended to double the number of Foreign Service Officers and likewise add strength to the Agency’s Civil Service workforce over the next several years.
The Gender Overview course is now mandatory for incoming DLI classes. It is also available to past DLI classes and other USAID staff. The Office of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GenDev) held training sessions for DLI classes in June and July 2009 with the next session scheduled for August 24, 2009.
The course reviews key concepts and terminology of internationally recognized gender issues, describes the relationship between gender and development and the ways in which gender can enhance the quality of participants’ work, informs participants of USAID gender requirements and resources, and familiarizes participants with a framework for gender integration.
Participants commented that they learned the importance of conducting a gender analysis and found the gender framework to be a practical tool.
Key Concepts from the Gender Overview Course
Program and policy planners and managers should follow two gender integration principles:
First, under no circumstances should programs/policies adopt an exploitative approach since one of the fundamental principles of development is to “do no harm.”
Second, the overall objective of gender integration is to move toward gender transformative programs/policies, thus gradually challenging existing gender inequities and promoting positive changes in gender roles, norms, and power dynamics.
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Continuum of Approaches for Gender Integration |
“Gender blind” refers to the absence of any proactive consideration of the larger gender environment and specific gender roles affecting program/policy beneficiaries or how objectives impact on gender. [Examples: a poverty assessment that does not consider differences between male-headed and female-headed households; a voter registration campaign that relies on billboards/printed media but doesn’t consider women’s low literacy rates.]
In contrast, “gender aware” programs/policies deliberately consider gender issues and anticipate gender-related outcomes during both design and implementation.
Gender exploitative approaches take advantage of rigid gender norms and existing imbalances in power to achieve the health program objectives. While this may seem expeditious in the short run, it is unlikely to be sustainable and can, in the long run, result in harmful consequences and undermine the program’s intended objective. It is an unacceptable approach for integrating gender. [Example: condom social marketing campaigns that use aggressive imagery to reinforce male decision-making power and control.]
Gender accommodating approaches acknowledge the role of gender norms and inequities and seek to develop actions that adjust to and often compensate for them. Such projects do not actively seek to change the norms and inequities, but they strive to limit any harmful impact on gender relations. This may be considered a missed opportunity because it does not address underlying structures and norms that perpetuate gender inequities. However, in situations where gender inequities are deeply entrenched and pervasive in a society, these approaches often provide a sensible first step to gender integration. As unequal power dynamics and rigid gender norms are recognized and addressed through programs, a gradual shift towards challenging such inequities may take place. [Examples: information and communications technology (ICT) projects that take services to women who have limited social mobility; doorstep distribution of condoms.]
Gender transformative approaches actively strive to examine, question, and change rigid gender norms and imbalance of power as a means of reaching health as well as gender equality objectives. Gender transformative approaches encourage critical awareness among men and women of gender roles and norms; promote the position of women; challenge the distribution of resources and allocation of duties between men and women; and/or address the power relationships between women and others in the community, such as service providers and traditional leaders. [Examples: income generation activities; projects to secure property rights for women; education programs that work with young men and young women to challenge rigid gender roles].
Projects may not fall neatly under one type of approach. They may include, for example, both accommodating and transformative elements. Also, while the continuum focuses on goals, it can also be used to monitor and evaluate program outcomes, since sometimes programs result in unintended consequences. For instance, an accommodating approach may contribute to a transformative outcome, even if not the explicit objective. Conversely, a transformative approach may produce a reaction that exacerbates gender inequities. Monitoring gender outcomes allows for revision of interventions.
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